Professor Returns From Myanmar

More than a month after a cyclone devastated Myanmar, millions are still homeless and in need of aid.  More than 100,000 are dead or still missing.  And, the aftermath promises to be just as devastating as the storm itself.  The country's military government is rejecting U.S. help.  The News On 6's Ashli Sims reports a Green Country professor just returned from the country.

He is now a native son on a mission to get help to the people who so desperately need it.  Dr. Chin Do Kham saw all the devastation first-hand.  He says as he watched the horror in his homeland unfold on television; he knew he had to do something.

"It's indescribable. The feeling I had was indescribable. The devastation was too much.  Too much to bear," said Dr. Chin Do Kham.

Very heartbreaking.  Very heartbreaking," said Dr. Chin Do Kham.

Dr. Chin Do Kham says even more devastating than the pictures are the stories from survivors.

"When the tidal wave came up to their area and they were trying to cling onto and hold onto the pole. And, he was the only one who could hold on to it.  Until today, he doesn't know where they are.  The tidal wave swept them away," said Dr. Chin Do Kham.

Kham was born and raised in Myanmar, formerly Burma.  He spent two weeks in the country, working with doctors from a group, called In His Image.  They helped 1,400 patients in just five days.

"And, the people there in Myanmar were so touched by the genuine love and care that they received from these medical doctors from the U.S.," said Dr. Chin Do Kham.

Kham donated bags of rice to help stem the tide of hunger.  But, he says it's Myanmar's own government, not the cyclone, that's now devastating the people.

"Soldiers and police with guns all along the roads and I ask the locals what are they doing and they say to keep the refugees from coming," said Dr. Chin Do Kham.

With the government blocking refugees and the monsoon season just beginning, Kham says housing is the most pressing need.

"In this small tiny tent, four families are living there now," said Dr. Chin Do Kham.

Seeing what he's seen, Kham says his determination to help his homeland through this tragedy is stronger than ever.

"I felt like I have God-given mandate that I have to do all I can to help the people in Myanmar," said Dr. Chin Do Kham.