In Burma (Myanmar), how many cyclone orphans?
Rangoon, Burma – Like thousands of orphans, Jo Jo was fit enough to survive last month’s cyclone Nargis. Sheltered now by church members in Rangoon, the main city in Burma (Myanmar), he faces more challenges: finding his parents even though, like most Burmese, he has no surname; and surviving in a society where children are widely considered a source of cheap labor. “The price of everything these days is rising, except one thing – the price of life,” says a Burmese celebrity who has been quietly bringing aid to villages in the delta. “Cheapest of all is the cost of children.” In a working-class area of central Rangoon, children pump gas, fix generators, sell fruit, serve tea, cook food, clean monasteries. Across the country, kids steer coconut boats loaded with contraband or fight in ethnic wars in the jungle. Most have at most four years of schooling. Almost every mom-and-pop business employs children for less than a dollar a day. While some seem happy to be working with parents or re
