Thursday, May 08, 2008

Myanmar (Please Help)

By now most of you know the situation in Myanmar (formally known as Burma). But in case you don't, what happened is that a powerful cyclone slammed into the country a few days ago destroying everything in its path. The number of dead in Myanmar may now be over 100,000, while thousands more are lost or injured. It's the worst disaster to hit that part of the world since the 2004 Tsunami.

If you haven't done so already, please help the people of Myanmar in any way you can. Time is the most important factor here (a person can't live without water for more than three days or a week without food), so the sooner you give, the sooner aid will reach the victims.

I know that some of you may glance at this blog and then move on, thinking someone else will take care of the problem. They won't. So please don't just leave here without doing something to help. If you don't want to give money, there are lots of other things that are needed. You can give food, blankets, water, medicine, toys, etc.

Even a small donation makes a big difference. Here are some websites that are accepting donations. Most have online relief funds you can donate to that take less than a minute to fill out. There are also addresses and phone numbers provided on each site in case you're not comfortable giving money or donating supplies over the Internet.

http://www.WorldVision.org
http://www.DoctorsWithoutBorders.org
http://www.mercycorps.org
http://www.icrc.org
http://www.unicef.org
http://www.thirst-aid.org
http://www.imcworldwide.org
http://www.savethechildren.org
http://www.mahasiusa.org/cyclone.html

3 comments:

Karen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Karen said...

Meghan, I think you are so right, as Dalai Lama says, "It is not enough to be compassionate. You must act." Yes, we can make a difference. The problem is the government is reluctant to receive humanitarian aid, which is really frustrating.

Wynn Bexton said...

I am certain this will be much appreciated. If you look on my MAY Travel Thru History you will see a first-hand story and some upsetting photos that were forwarded to me by some people who run an independant aide organization with connections in Burma (Mayanmar) I felt I had to run the stroy as it's a first hand account of what it was like when the cyclone hit. Those poor people -- suffering so long under that wicked military regime.