8 April, Labutta - Aye Aye Naing, 32, is from Chaung Wa Kone village. She wears a smile on her face as she counts the income she has generated from selling water. As the clock strikes to 11 am, the morning session of her work is completed.

“I earn at least 10,000 kyat in one day by selling water. During the past three months, I have built a new house with my income.”

Before Nargis, Aye Aye Naing’s family mainly relied on the income of her husband, who is an electrician. But as soon as the cyclone hit, the family had to turn over a new leaf and start from nothing.

“My family received 85,000 kyat provided by UNDP for livelihood activities in December. I used the grant to buy a handcart and 10 small buckets, each of which can store 10 gallons. I got the water from the pond 15 minutes walk from our village,” Aye Aye Naing explained.

Soon, Aye Aye Naing had high demands from clients, even though there were already 15 water vendors in Chaung Wa Kone servicing 327 households.

“I have the strong demand from NGOs and other more wealthy people in my village. Thus, I usually get around 20 orders in one day, earning about 500 kyats for 100 gallons each time,” she said.

“Sometimes, I think our life condition after the storm sounds better than before. Now I can build a new house which cost over seven lakhs. My children are able to pursue their studies as well,” she noted.

Being a member of “Tha Zin Hlaing” Self Reliance Group (SRG), Aye Aye Naing mentioned that her knowledge and capacities have well improved and she has learnt about other livelihood opportunities.

“I am more and more willing to expand my business. First, I want to buy a motorbike for my husband so he can run a cycle taxi. Then I will consider trading dry prawns to Yangon. To fulfill my desire, it would need to invest over one million kyat at least. Anyway, I firmly believe my dream will become a reality one day,” she mentioned with high hopes.