Boy loses family in cyclone

De Mong San, at only 16 years old, witnessed the loss of several family members to Cyclone Nargis in a village only a few hours south of Yangon.

“I saw babies die,” De Mong said. He points to his chest to show how high the water rose. The area around his home is still flooded.

He estimates that around 2,000 people died in the village across from Yangon named Dalah and his small village to the south.

He sleeps on the ground without a blanket, using only his traditional longi dress for shelter.

“My home broken,” De Mong said.

He walks about 90 minutes every morning from his reconstructed home made out of debris south of Yangon to the capitol in search of work.

His family has received no aid from the government. Instead of waiting, De Mong San and his mother trek to Yangon to earn enough money for food.

Millions in Myanmar’s delta region (also known as Burma) face starvation as aid continues to trickle in at a slow pace.

De Mong boards the ferry with his mother from Dalah to Yangon for $50 kyat or $0.50 U.S. dollars.

His small family is lucky to live near Yangon to cross the Yangon River for access to basic food and supplies.

The cost of roofing nails in Yangon is around $40,000 kyat or $40 USD for 1 kg – more than many families can afford.

With more rain on the way, many like De Mong face bleak conditions without a proper roof and relief in sight.