Burma cyclone update

Cyclone Nargis, which struck Burma on May 2nd, claimed the lives of approximately 134,000 people. It is estimated that 2.5 million people were affected by the disaster in the Irrawaddy Delta region of the country.

Three months on and many communities are still trying to come to terms with the devastation left by the cyclone.

Y Care International launched an emergency appeal on 7th May to raise money for our partner, ACT International, and our partner YMCAs in the region, to provide vital support to the most vulnerable people.

ACT International is coordinating relief efforts among its members and their local partner organisations. To date, ACT partners have distributed clean water, emergency food and non-food items, such as tarpaulins, to over 170,000 people. They are mobilizing hundreds of volunteers and are procuring relief goods locally in Yangon and the Delta region. An ACT member representative says: "There are fantastic human resources inside Burma and they are being mobilised."

When volunteers first arrived in the devastated Irrawaddy Delta region, they met people in total shock and despair. One young volunteer says: "On our first trip we saw so many dead bodies along the way that we could not count them". On their countless visits to villages in the region, volunteers distributed much needed relief items to survivors, including rice, salt, drinking water and plastic sheeting. They also helped to rebuild some of the houses. 

ACT partners have set up 21 shelters for those who lost their homes in the cyclone, providing assistance to an estimated 60,000 people. ACT also plans to provide up to 1.3 million people with access to safe water by rehabilitating 5,000 water points.

Community based organisations are also sending teams of local doctors, nurses and students trained in psychosocial care to visit families being housed in the shelters.

An ACT member representative comments: "Despite the enormity of devastation, the people of Myanmar (Burma) are showing their strength and resiliance, and are working to restore a future with hope."

Information from ACT International contributed to this report.

Make a donation to our Burma Cyclone Emergency Appeal

Donations can also be made over the counter at the following high street Building Societies and banks:

Bradford & Bingley plc
Cambridge Building Society
Cheltenham & Gloucester plc
Cheshire Building Society
Cumberland Building Society
Dunfermline Building Society
Kent Reliance Building Society
Nationwide Building Society
Northern Rock plc
Norwich and Peterborough Building Society
Principality Building Society
Progressive Building Society
Skipton Building Society
Stroud & Swindon Building Society
Yorkshire Building Society

ENDS 

Notes

• As well as long-term development programmes, Y Care International undertakes relief, reconstruction and rehabilitation work when there is human emergency and natural disaster. Y Care International is well placed to respond to emergencies, as local YMCAs’ local knowledge and ability to mobilise quickly and effectively is invaluable in co-ordinating an emergency response.
• Through ACT International, a global alliance of churches and other related agencies, Y Care International is able to respond to emergencies and humanitarian need throughout the world, even if there is no YMCA operating close to the affected area. ACT and its members are signatories to the Code of Conduct in Disaster Relief.
• For further information, please contact: Gemma Abbs, Communications Manager: T: 020 7549 3150, E: