help relief efforts in myanmar

Earlier this month, Cyclone Nargis devastated the country of Myanmar (Burma). Nearly 150,000 people are dead or missing, and the United Nations reports that 1 million people have been left homeless.

Oxfam is working hard to provide relief to these people.

With a crew of 29 staffers and 62 volunteers, Oxfam’s local partner, Metta, has been rushing life-saving aid to more than 68,000 survivors of the devastating cyclone that slammed into Myanmar 10 days ago.

While international aid agencies wait for visas to enter the country so they can begin their emergency operations, five of Oxfam’s local partners are spending more than $100,000 a day on relief supplies—including fuel for search and rescue missions, food, and medicine—for distribution to displaced people. One of the locations is so remote—the island of Pyin Kha Yai—that the nearest community is a 10-hour boat ride away. Everything on that island has been destroyed.

“Experience has shown us that the most effective and timely response can be where local organizations are on the ground and ready to mobilize,” says Mike Delaney, Oxfam America’s director of humanitarian response. “In Myanmar, in the wake of this immense tradgedy, it is the people themselves, facing incredible odds, that have risen to the challenge and are helping to save the most vulnerable.”

Please contribute what you can to Oxfam's relief efforts today to help those in dire need. Every little bit counts and will go further than you think. It is important right now that we save as many lives as we can.