Situation Summary
ACT International
PWRDF Response
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Anglicans in Canada
Other Organizations
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Cyclone Nargis Response
Action By Churches Together
Update May 9: Rapid support
ACT International has established a rapid support team in Yangon and Bangkok. The team is assisting with coordination and communication for ACT members and supported local organisations,which are meeting daily in the region.
"This is a major disaster and we are working as quickly as possible to get resources and support to communities that need it the most," said ACT International Director, John Nduna. A preliminary response in the coming days will aim to assist at least 10,000 families through water, shelter and cash for work programs. Full ACT update...
PWRDF is a member of ACT. Response updates...
Situation Summary
Cyclone Nargis, the worst Asian cyclone since 1991, hit Myanmar (Burma) on May 2-3, 2008, triggering a storm surge and flooding in the five worst hit states,where more than half of Myanmar's 53 million people live. In the low-lying Irawaddy delta, around 5,000 square kilometers are under water.
Devastating toll
As of May 9, the latest official figures put the death toll at 22,980 people, with as many as 42,119 still reported as missing.
Other reports cite fears that as many as 100,000 people may have died. Additionally, the UN says that 1.5 million people are
severely affected by the emergency.
An ACT member-supported local organisation reports from the Irwaddy delta region, "Many townships are totally destroyed with much loss of life and infrastructure. Electricity supplies are cut off, while diesel, natural gas and petrol are unavailable." Initial reports indicate that the devastation is overwhelming, with little assistance having been delivered to communities. The most urgent needs are food, water, medicine and shelter.
Serious food shortage
ACT members are raising serious concerns about increasing food costs and fear that many communities might miss the next planting season. Members report that price inflation and food shortages are inevitable in the south, but could also affect the whole country. Sixty to seventy percent of Myanmar's rice production is grown in areas affected by the cyclone. Seed rice for the next planting season is being consumed and land has to be cleared in many areas. Planting for the next harvest is likely to be delayed and a longer term impact on food security is expected.
Larger image. Photo: Eva Pineda Hansen/DCA-ACT International.
PWRDF Response
The Primate's World Relief and Development Fund has committed $30,000 as an initial response to the devastation in Myanmar (Burma). Action by Churches Together (ACT), through whom PWRDF works, is expected to launch a formal appeal for funds in the next week. PWRDF will re-evaluate the level of its response at that time.
PWRDF partners in the Thai-Burma border: A number of border-based Burmese organizations, including a PWRDF partner, have teamed up for impact assessment. These agencies have expertise as health service providers and may respond in health sector.
Updated May 8, 2008
To Make a Donation
Anglicans across Canada may respond with their donations through their local parishes, through online donations, or by calling PWRDF directly.
On-line donations
At the Canada Helps website.
By Phone
Contact Barbara Wilkins at (416) 924-9199, ext. 320 for credit card donations. Please do not send your credit card number by e-mail or fax.
By Mail
Please make cheques out to "PWRDF" mark them for Cyclone Nargis Disaster
and send them to:
The Primate's World Relief and Development Fund
The Anglican Church of Canada
80 Hayden Street
Toronto, Ontario M4Y 3G2
Anglicans in Canada Respond
Partnership in Mission: The Anglican Church of Canada, through the Partnership in Mission Department, has partnerships relations with the Anglican Church of Myanmar and the Myanmar Council of Churches. There is still difficulty connecting with the contacts in Burma.
Diocese of British Columbia: Diocese of British Columbia has twin relationship with the Church of Myanmar. The diocese has appealed for donations to PWRDF for this disaster response. PWRDF will share resources with the Church Myanmar for relief operations. So far, neither the Bishop of the diocese of British Columbia nor the PWRDF staff has been able to establish contacts with the Church of Myanmar.
Other Organizations Respond
Canadian Foodgrains Bank: CFGB members are in regular contact with their networks that have partners in Burma to respond to the urgent need for food. Some CFGB members are deploying regional staff to work with partners for assessment and initial response. PWRDF will determine our involvment in this effort based on our response.
Episcopal Relief and Development: PWRDF's counterpart in the U.S., has been supporting development programs of 5 out of 6 dioceses of the Church of Myanmar for the last 2 years. They plan to support the Church of Burma in relief efforts and also in rehabilitation and reconstruction. Although efforts to communicate have yet to be successful. ERD will send a staff member to assist partners with assessment and early response and will also support the upcoming ACT appeal.
Related Documents:
- ALTSEAN Alternative Asean Network on Burma Disaster (8 pages PDF version)
- Amnesty Backgrounder Myanmar: Constitutional referendum flouts human rights (1 page PDF version)
Please Pray for the People of Burma/Myanmar
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has written to the Anglican church in Burma following the devastation of Cyclone Nargis in the area of the Irrawaddy River Delta. In the letter to Archbishop Stephen Than Myint Oo, Dr Williams assures the church of the prayers of the Anglican Communion and commends the rescue operation now underway:
"I am heartened to know relief efforts are underway to help hundreds of thousands of people who are without clean water, food, or shelter. Our hearts grieve with all those who have lost their loved ones, their homes and their livelihoods. In the face of such loss, all I can offer in my prayers for you is the totality of the love of God, even in the face of all that on earth is disfigured by natural disaster. 'This is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.' (John 6.39). Please be assured that your brothers and sisters across the Communion are holding you in their prayers."
More Information
Naba Gurung
PWRDF Development Program Officer
Asia-Pacific, Global and Emergencies
Phone:416) 924-9199, ext. 321
FAX:(416) 924-3483
