How to Help Cyclone Survivors in Myanmar

You’ve heard by now about last Friday’s cyclone disaster in Myanmar - and that the fatality count just keeps rising. 2,000 square miles of the small country formerly known as Burma is still underwater and a U.S. diplomat said the death toll is likely to hit 100,000. Survivors have little to no food, hardly any fuel, and have resorted to throwing bodies into the rivers. It’s total devastation.

Sadly, the U.S. and international aid community is meeting resistance from the ruling military junta of Myanmar. As of yesterday when I started this post, Myanmar was open to accepting relief supplies, but was denying entry to aid workers. This morning, however, there is news that the reclusive regime has actually seized supplies from the World Food Programme and is refusing to distribute them.

This is beyond my understanding. Myanmar is denying its people the food, aid, and support they need to survive. It shouldn’t be a question of who’s in charge or where the food is coming from - it’s all about survival right now.

The U.S. military is presenting a plan to Myanmar that would allow them to drop off aid, but not land planes or even touch the ground. Hopefully, their government will accept this. If you’d like to donate money or supplies to the relief efforts, there are many different ways to do so. We just have to hope they will accept it (you can rest assured if your donations don’t end up in Myanmar, they will go somewhere else they’re needed).

The World Food Programme has already made at least one drop of high-energy biscuits to the area, but their flights have been suspended as of this morning. CARE International is working hard to send relief, as is Save the Children, and World Vision.

To read more about this terrible tragedy, visit CNN’s Impact Your World Special Report.

Myanmar needs to put dividing lines and governing differences aside - we’re all in this together. It’s horrible that these people might not get the aid they need because the people in charge are unwilling to accept help. I guess all we can do is hope they come around.