Dear Nina,

Just to let you know that I have the 2 receipts for $20,000 and will mail them to you. Will also enclose a report.

I just want to add, that, from what I have heard here on the ground, XYZ is doing a very good job of responding quickly to the needs in the Delta. It is very providential that XYZ already had a presence in that area because of the Tsunami. These local organizations are much more able to respond quickly than either the INGOs or the UN as they don’t have all of the bureaucracy to deal with, so I would encourage you, in your fund raising, Nina, to continue to donate to local NGOs rather than to the INGOs.

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Dear Mrs. Nina,
I had missed your friend in Yangon. I apologized to her for my late contact due to difficulty of internet access. There are 20 houses needs for 20 families which will cost about $1000/ for all. It will cost about $ 50USD per small house to help set them.

The market prices have settled down somewhat. At first prices skyrocketed to 20 50% of normal. Here are the answers to the questions asked by visitors to your website:

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From: A Myanmar NGO observer

Three camps have been setup in a football stadium and on a golf course. Yesterday supplies were delivered to 670 families staying in the football stadium. And the distribution of supplies continues daily in the two other camps.

About 3200 families are living in 1160 tents. Some villagers have come back from villages to the camp as it is not feasible for them to live in villages. Water is also the main issue in villages. More and more families are coming and the more tents are built up each day.

The township is trying to reopen the schools with no fees to be charged to students, to accept any student even without official transfer certificate and no need to wear school uniforms. Thirty-six schools to be constructed by a private company with a donation of 110,000 roofing sheets.2000 roofing sheets have been received and also school tents are being provided. It appears less than 50% of schools in this rural area can be operational by July 1st.
Water is still the most urgent need in camps.

Over the last few days 1000 families have been sent back to their villages with donations of tarpaulin, bucket, jerry can and soap distributed through NGOs.

Hi John and Nina,
Good to hear from you again.
The situation here is mixed.
We were lucky to be able to move 200 staff and 9 international staff [10 days ago] to the delta. We can reach > 200,000 people but can’t cover the whole area.

Most organizations are extremely slow. So as a result there are still many people without help and that is a shame.

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The cyclone hit Yangon hard; almost all trees were damaged or uprooted. Concrete poles carrying telephone and electricity lines broke, leading to large parts of the city being cut of from electricity and telephone services. Access to water was also difficult as there was no electricity for the pumps. But Yangon city is returning back to normal as the trees and debris was cleared off the streets. Electricity and telephone lines are being repaired and people are receiving water.

Things are still very difficult in the outskirts of Yangon and in the Irrawaddy Division. As you well know, foreign aid workers are not allowed into the Delta region. They are turned back at the first check-point. International news focuses on the aid workers not allowed into the country, but there are several international aid workers in Yangon. Most of them already had visas before Nargis. Others managed to receive visas from Embassies other than the one in Bangkok. They are working hard to organize aid shipments and are cooperating with local organizations to get the aid to the people.

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Dear John & Nina,
You should know a few things:
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Love,

Dear Everyone,

I am so happy that I am here in Yangon, better than watching on TV. It has been an incredible 24 hours. Things are going very smoothly and very quickly. It ‘s like my ideas or dreams are just happening. How weird.

I came to help out a friend and a group of senior businessmen from Yangon. They have been assigned one of the hardest hit areas. So far the cooperation from the government has been exceptional. In addition, his group is working closely with Save the children, the British Government and several other NGOs. I spent most of the day today at the airport walking around like I owned the airport. We had 3 cargo planes arrive today bringingin supplies. This included 14 boats and motors which I believe are crucial to the operation. (My dream/prayer). Certainly 14 boats will not be enough. However, they will certainly make all of the difference in the world.

After unloading the flat bottom boats, I spent the rest if the day working with about 10 foreigners who are here with the British Government doing disaster relief and they are certainly a most interesting group. Two of the men ( one has a son in Vancouver ) are here to train the Burmese to operate the boats over the next few days and before the end of the week these boats will be bring supplies into the deep south and bringing back those who are badly injured.

The group also has a floating boat (cruise ship) which is on its way to the assigned area and will be used as a hospital. In addition, in a more remote area where the causalities are very high they have sent today a prefabricated building that will be used as a clinic to treat the injured. This will be operational by the end of this week and will make a tremendous difference. These two medical facilities are being operated by 3 medical groups and they are currently desperate for so many medical supplies. I just trust that tomorrow some help will walk in the door or come through the internet.

Today arrived 30,000 plastic sheets which (which this group hopes to recieve 7,000) can be used as roofs for the hundreds of thousand of people who are homeless. There are more planes coming tonight and it is amazing how many people are coming forward to assist. The command centre here has been non stop with people coming in offering to help. It is like blessings keep coming through the door.

The situation in the far south is far worse then anyone could ever imagine or explain. Transportation is a nightmare, there is a shortage of gasoline, the people have absolutely nothing and I am afraid the worst is yet to come. It is going to get unbelievably worst. Please pray for all of those who are truly suffering.

Andrew Kirkwood, Director of Save the Children Myanmar, has been keeping a diary of his life in Yangon (formerly Rangoon) in the days following Cyclone Nargis.

FRIDAY 16 MAY

Ken Caldwell, Save the Children’s Director of International Operations is here with us, so I’ve been in meetings today with the British and American ambassadors, amongst others. There are so many dimensions to this crisis and it seems overwhelming at times. But, at least our mission is clear. Our absolute priority right now is to save children’s lives. I think we’ve been clear and vocal about the dire situation children are in, and the need for urgent action to reach them.

Save the Children has now, less than two weeks after the cyclone, reached more than 120,000 people who have been forced out of their homes by the cyclone, including around 50,000 children – 90,000 people around Yangon and 30,000 in the Irrawaddy delta. And, we’re reaching around 15,000 more people each day. This gives me incredible hope and energy. Today is my last installment. I’ll be relieved not to have this on my list of things to do every day. I usually end up writing at the very end of the day, when I’m impatient to go home – even though the family is usually asleep already. But, I’m really glad I have written it. I think it’s been a good way of staying sane, since it’s forced me to process what’s happened during the day. For most of the past two weeks I’ve had to read my blog every night to someone in our Bangkok office, because I’ve had no other way to send it. At times it was really hard to read it – last Thursday it took me nearly five minutes to read the last paragraph and I was in tears when I finished. It sometimes felt self-indulgent, and I wondered why I was taking time away from my family or from the efforts to save children. But, it’s also been a way for me to stay in touch with friends and family, almost all of whom I’ve had no other contact. I wonder how I’ll feel when I read this in a few months.

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From: Foreign NGO worker based in Yangon

Hi,
I was doing logistics stuff last week, but we now have a team of REAL loggies here and they have taken over. My understanding is that ALL our supplies have been received and we have not had anything seized, though I think there may have been a scuffle in the airport I’m not sure it involved us. I heard a similar story about another org. There was one shipment originally consigned to us without notification by an outside org and they did not notify us, but it worked out and we got the goods.

So….the long and short of it is no problems so far. But we are also buying whatever we can here to avoid the issue of the airport, so trying to minimize clearance. I can’t speak for other orgs, but I have not heard of anything major. It seems to be mostly the UN having trouble.

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“As the recent apocalyptic Myanmar (Burma) hurricane unfolded before our eyes on hundreds of millions of screens, the world watched with impotence. The numbers of those killed in the swath were staggering: over 100,000 (the real number may never be known); over 1.5 million people homeless, without food, shelter, water or medicine. Living in our relative security, try to imagine what it must be like trying to survive such conditions even for a week!

Fortunately, we’ve joined up with Nina & John Cassils, and their very worthy and credible non-profit Myanmar Relief effort. John and Nina have been heroes on this side of the world, selflessly working 20 hour days raising awareness and funds, and making sure that all relief gets to the people in the worst affected areas. Nature’s Path is having the honour of contributing several pallet loads of energy bars that will make a difference between life and death for many families. I heartily urge all who can help with food, medicine, water purification equipment and funds, to support legitimate Myanmar Relief, where every day, every hour counts.”

Arran & Ratana Stephens
Nature’s Path Foods Inc.