I overheard about the Tropical Cyclone that hit the Southeast Asian country of Miyanmar over the weekend, and immediately turned on the news this morning to hear about any updates. I shouldn’t have been surprised when the Newscasters introduced the main stories which included an update on Britney Spears, but not the women, men and children sorting through the rubble, and mourning over lost loved ones in the Aftermath of this terrible disaster. Instead I perused the internet and read through many articles and youtube videos to educate myself on this.
On May 2, 2008 Cyclone Nargis battered Myanmar being the worst storm to hit Asia Since 1991. As I write this blog, CNN has just informed me that the death toll has risen from the 22,000 claimed this morning to over 100,000. The delta region was the hardest hit, with nearly 95% of the homes being destroyed. Survivors have stormed the streets and reopened shops, waiting for relief that has been hard to provide, due to the military regime controlling Myanmar.
The media has since provided us with a great deal of statistics to try to describe the devastation of this disaster. However we have to remember that these numbers and percentages are real people… fathers, sons mothers daughters, real people like you and me that are trying to cope. We can look back and blame people, point fingers, but the fact is that this happened and we need to take action. It may be hard for the relief organizations to enter now, however lets make sure that they have the needed supplies when they are given the opportunity to help. The next few days are critical for the vulnerable populations, and without the necessary supplies, the situation will only get worse. Below are some organizations that are helping the victims of this disaster and in need of donations. Even one dollar makes a difference:
Unicef: They are are focusing on water and hygeine, providing items such as oral rehydration salts, water purification tablets, essential medicines, first aid kits and shelter materials.
DirectRelief International: This Santa Barbara based nonprofit is supporting medical teams heading to Myanmar.
Save the Children: They are addressing the needs of the hundreds of thousands of children and families now homeless in Myanmar. They are providing their immediate needs such as food and non food items such as water and shelter.
World Food Program: They have already sent four aircraft with critically needed food and to Myanmar. The need for food is growing everyday. A simple donation will save the lives of the thousands of people now unable to eat due to the devastating crop losses.
Google: They have conveniently provided a link on their homepage to directly donate to funds supporting the cyclone such as Unicef and DirectRelief Internation. Just another one of the many reasons I love Google.
