Aung Set Paing was thinking of a way to help flood victims in Pyay, a hard hit area in Bago region several-hundred kilometres to the north of Yangon.
His answer?
A plastic boat made out of 500 empty energy drink bottles.
It was easy for him. The 41-year-old is a former sailor. Also, he works for the Myanmar Distribution Group, a company that produces an energy drink. When he passed out samples he would collect the empty bottles.
“When I realised I could build this boat I decided to do it,” he told the Myanmar Times this week. “I worked as a sailor in my parents’ company till I was 25 years old. But I never thought my knowledge of boats would come in useful like this.”
A photo of the boat navigating the Pyay floodwaters has been viewed widely on social media. It needs an outboard motor and cables to make it a floodworthy vessel.
So far, the sailor turned aid relief worker says his boat has been used to ferry packages and supplies.
“It was really needed. We saved people,” he told the Times.
He donated the boat to a group in Pyay. Naturally, they were happy to take it.
“They really liked it.”
Photo / Facebook / Aung Set Paing
