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May 6, 2008 - Myanmar Cyclone Relief

Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar (formerly Burma) on May 2nd and 3rd 2008, causing authorities to declare five states - including the country's largest city of Yangon - to be disaster areas. As of Tuesday, reports indicate that the death toll is over 22,000, with over 41,000 still unaccounted for. The UN estimates that up to 1 million could be left homeless in the wake of this devastation.

The enormity of this disaster has forced Myanmar's traditionally secretive military junta to ask for international aid. Clean drinking water, food, medicine, fuel, and shelter are all at a premium. Critical needs also include plastic sheeting, mosquito netting, and cooking sets.

LeSEA Global Feed the Hungry is preparing to be part of the answer for Myanmar in this critical time of need. We have already contacted 3 excellent partners in the affected areas who can implement FTH disaster relief efforts by establishing their churches as relief centres. We are working with Burmese officials to procure visas for our emergency relief team, and for permission to bring food in from Thailand with immediate access to reach our partners in the designated relief centres.

UPDATE: MAY 9, 2008
Information on the situation in Myanmar is difficult to come by, as the military junta is desperately trying to hold on to its isolative power and not allow outside access, even though the country has been completely devastated by Cyclone Nargis, which ripped through the country last Saturday and Sunday, May 2 and 3, 2008.

The U.S. charge d'affaires in Yangon, Shari Villarosa states that "the information we are receiving indicates over 100,000 deaths." She goes on to add that about 95% of the buildings in the hardest-hit region of the Irrawaddy Delta were destroyed, and that 70,000 people are still missing in that area. The delta, known as the 'rice bowl' of Myanmar, has been devastated by Cyclone Nargis, threatening food shortages for the long term.

Satellite images out of the UN show the storm's damage to be concentrated over a 30,000 square kilometer area - along the coastlines of the Gulf of Martaban and Andaman Sea - which is home to nearly a quarter of Myanmar's population of 57 million.

Feed the Hungry Australian Director, Ben Evans, pleads "Myanmar is undergoing a severe crisis, and the outlook is bleak. Please do not underestimate the seriousness, nor the desperation of this situation. I urge you all to contribute to relief efforts for Myanmar - whether it is through FTH or some other organization."

THERE IS HOPE
Feed the Hungry US Director, Stefan Radelich, has managed to secure an entrance visa and will leave for Burma this Sunday, May 11, 2008. He will bring with him 2 water purification units that can pump 30 gallons of clean water per hour. While there he will be able to make a clear assessment of what is needed, and how best to get help to the survivors of Cyclone Nargis.

It is our faith that FTH will be able to bring aid into the country because we have partners on the ground who will handle the distribution, thus avoiding the fear of the military of being overrun by foreign aid workers.

Please continue to be in prayer for this nation.

 

UPDATE: MAY 14, 2008
Arriving early Tuesday FTH Representative, Stefan Radelich, was able to make good connections immediately. He was greatly impressed with the quality of people involved in the Burmese church. They had established numerous church plants before the disaster, but unfortunately have only been able to have contact with a few of them in the days after the disaster. Stefan was not confident how many had tragically been killed in the disaster and how many were simply missing.

The church has already conducted three distributions among the 17 provinces of Yangon. Each distribution would give 2000 families enough rice for 3 days. These food distributions were purchased with the churches own funds. These funds have long since been exhausted. In order to bring perspective to what the church is accomplishing, the WFP has distributed 17 tonnes of rice IN TOTAL, and the church has distributed over 30 tonnes to date.

Yangon, the largest city affected by the cyclone, has reportedly returned to a functioning state of normalcy with shops reopening for business. There are military check points to prevent access to roads to the heavily affected Delta region.
The Delta region is flooded with storm water, and has actually contaminated all fresh water with salt. They are struggling for the kind of clean water that Stefan can help provide through the purifying pumps he brought in. They will be of immediate use if he can get them into the affected areas. He is hoping he can train local FGA team members in their correct usage and begin operations among the survivors, and bring more through the next shipment.

Rice and other food items seem to be readily available at reasonable prices in Yangon. Stefan is recommending for the next few days that food should continue to be bought "in country" rather than pay for the shipping from Thailand. However, basic building materials and items helpful for emergency shelter have skyrocketed. In some cases they are five times more expensive than pre-cyclone prices. FTH will look at helping to relieve these supply problems.

Stefan mentioned reports of people migrating away from the disaster areas and heading to remote villages in the hope of finding food and shelter. They are creating, of their own accord, what the United Nations calls an IDP or Internally Displaced People camps. This could create additional pressure on the villages because they themselves have no resources to help - but are compelled by compassion.

Stefan is continuing to coordinate with other NGO's and the UN representatives that are in country to find the best ways to bring in more aid supplies, and to make sure it gets to the people who need it the most.

Since our inception in 1987, FTH has always operated as a CHURCH to CHURCH humanitarian organization. FTH endeavours to raise funds in the western or first world and distribute among churches in the third world, or in this case, the disaster areas. This not only helps ensure that food is correctly distributed, but also helps build the local church in the community, and therefore gives the local Christians an opportunity to share the Gospel through their acts of kindness.

FTH is continuing to seek emergency donations from Christians and Churches who have plenty to spare and therefore can share. Please contact the office to send your best donation to help bring Christ into this situation and end this terrible catastrophe.

 

UPDATE: MAY 21, 2008

FTH US Director, Stefan Radelich, has just returned from Yangon, Myanmar, where he spent the past week developing the relief effort of the local church in Myanmar after Cyclone Nargis devastated the country.

Stefan tells us the church has very successfully developed a relief centre, and is currently feeding over 50,000 people every day. They are also able to get into the Delta region, where foreign agencies have not been allowed up to this point, and distributed 10 tonnes of rice in the city of Bogale.

The emergency outreach of daily feeding is likely to continue for another 2-4 weeks, at a cost of $23,000 US/day, and then the church will transition into the longer term project of rebuilding. A home can be built for about $500 (bamboo walls and a metal roof), and the church has a target of building 500 homes.

If you would like to donate to the rebuilding project click here.

FTH has also come in contact with another Christian agency who is connected with 185 orphanages in the country. Ten of the orphanages were completely wiped out in the storm, and estimated costs to rebuild each orphanage is $15,000.00.

If you would like to donate to the rebuilding of an orphanage, and food for the orphans, click here.