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Shaun helps out cyclone victims
A Chorley man is helping the community in Burma rebuild their lives after a cyclone caused devastation and killed thousands of people.
Shaun Edgerley, of Clayton-le-Woods, is part of a humanitarian response team working on behalf of the Department for International Development (DFID).
The 26-year-old is based in the capital Rangoon and has been co-ordinating aid relief to the worst-hit regions in the south Pacific country.
He says even though buildings and the infra-structure in the capital have been hit hard, millions of people in rural parts of the country are still homeless and food crops have been destroyed.
The former St Michael's High School pupil, who studied for a degree in disaster management, said: "This is my first overseas emergency mission and it's a big task but things have improved since we've been here.
"Everything has to be well-co-ordinated and planned and we are working with different non-governmental organisations to get the aid to the relevant people.
"Another 2.5m people are affected by the cyclone and have been made homeless - they are living in small communities and their rice crops and future crops have been destroyed.
"We have not managed to reach those people, particularly in the Irrawaddy Delta, and we are still hearing about people who have not had any help since the cyclone first hit Burma.
"In some places only the men have survived because they were the ones strong enough to hold on to trees and rescue themselves when the cyclone happened."
He said the country would not recover from the natural disaster for up to three years and that a lot of work would need to be done to deal with the psychological and emotional impact of the catastrophe.
Shaun has been working for the DFID since August and has previously worked in Ethiopia and Angola to help with food aid.
His father Colin is a teacher at a Penwortham school and his mum Ann Birch teaches children at Charnock Richard Primary School.
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Weather for Chorley
Saturday 04 February 2012
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