News at ABWE
Myanmar Cyclone Report
May 10, 2008
While Myanmar allowed aid to be delivered from the United States and other Western countries for the first time yesterday, the relief effort remains insufficient. The UN continues to estimate the death toll at over 60,000, which is well over the Burmese government statistics of 28,000. Thousands are feared dead in the delta region where information remains hard to get because roads into the area have been destroyed.
Our teammates from neighboring countries have been able to travel to Myanmar and are working with our national partners to assess the situation and determine the best course of action for providing relief to the people in Yangon and the delta area of Myanmar. They have sent back an initial report with some pictures of the destruction caused by the cyclone.
Yangon
Trees and brush are everywhere in Yangon, one week after Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar. Actually, life in the city of Yangon, seems fairly normal. People are out shopping, eating, and attending the theatre. The streets are busy with traffic. The city, which used to have lots of trees along the streets and in the parks, is now a mess and bare. The city is still without electricity, but residents say that is not too bad since they only had it for six hours per day before the cyclone struck. Most businesses have their own generators.
The military is helping with clean up. Trucks, front-loaders, and heavy equipment are clearing away the huge fallen trees and electric poles. Some attempt is being made to repair and replace the electric poles. Internet service has been restored as well as satellite television. Mobile phone service and lines are working most of the time within the country, although there is still no international phone service.
There doesn’t seem to be an extreme shortage of food or water in the city. However, people are saying that prices are soaring. Gasoline has also doubled or tripled in some places. The price of rice has doubled. People are lining up in long lines to buy eggs from trucks, and each person can only buy about six to eight of them. There are also long lines of people waiting to buy cooking oil. Most of the suffering is among the poor, which would include the believers. Many poor people make only the equivalent of three dollars per day with food amounting to one dollar per day. Now with the escalating prices, food for one day will cost them over three dollars per day.
Delta Region (Irrawaddy district)
It appears that the people in Yangon are unaware of the scope of the devastation in the delta region. State media is not reporting it. Traveling to the delta, region is impossible, as it is closed off. There is a sister fundamental Baptist fellowship there. So far, there has been no word about their situation.
ABWE GAP Partner Relief
As of the late afternoon on Saturday, May 10, information has been gathered, but further progress and a plan of action is being discussed with the local fellowship leaders this week. We will continue to pray, brainstorm, and see how the Lord leads the brothers here. They are very appreciative of our help and our willingness to continue to help.
May 7, 2008
We heard from one of our partners in Yangon this morning. He and his family are safe though many people have lost their lives. He says that “Yangon is still a mess and chaos. Though tens of thousands lost their lives, the Lord kept us safe. Daily life is extremely difficult these days with no water, no electricity, no public transportation but increased theft and looting.
“Commodity prices are sky-rocketing. A gallon of gas costs ten dollars. A bag of rice which used to cost fifteen dollars is now thirty-five dollars. According to the latest report, over twenty thousand people have lost their lives and thirty thousand are still missing. I’m sure the numbers will increase as additional reports come.
“Many brothers and sisters in Christ are homeless with nothing to eat or even drink. We deeply appreciate your prayers for our desperate situation. Many of us have opened our homes and fed them. We are also helping to build shelters for them as soon as possible.”
Thank you for your prayers.
May 6, 2008
On Saturday, a deadly cyclone struck the southwestern part of Myanmar (formerly Burma). News reports have listed at least 14,000 dead and possibly a million homeless in Yangon (the former capital) and four other districts of the third world country. The total scale of destruction is unknown and information hard to get as the military-controlled government continues assessing the damage to the tribal villages and outlying areas.
For many years ABWE has assisted dear Christian friends in this country through our Global Access Partnerships (GAP) ministry. Telephone and mobile phone service have been severed by the storm, and we have not yet been able to contact our friends through email. We are very concerned for the people of Yangon, especially these Christian brothers and sisters we know personally. News reports say food and clean water is lacking. ABWE has opened an account to assist our brothers and sisters in the recovery efforts. Teammates in neighboring countries are preparing to visit Myanmar as soon as they can get visas and seats on a plane. They will contact our partners, assess the damage and determine what we can do in the wake of this national disaster.
For more information please contact Beth Isbell at gap@abwe.org or (717) 909-2309.
Donations
If you are interested in assisting in these efforts, you can give to the Myanmar Cyclone Relief Program.
US Donors
Checks should be marked “Myanmar Cyclone Relief” and sent to:
ABWE Donor Services
P.O. Box 8585
Harrisburg, PA 17105
Download and print mail-in form
Canadian Donors
Checks should be marked “Myanmar Cyclone Relief” and sent to:
ABWE Canada
34-980 Adelaide Street South
London, ON N6E 1R3
Download and print mail-in form