- Hundreds of thousands of homeless forced to migrate north for aid
- World Vision has assisted 78,000 people so far with water, rice, survival
items
YANGON, Myanmar, May 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The lives of
thousands of cyclone survivors are at extreme risk as people scramble out
of the shattered Irrawaddy Delta to find food and shelter, according to a
recent assessment of 26 shelters across the Myaung Mya region of Myanmar.
Assessment teams from humanitarian organization World Vision found
displaced people living in appalling conditions in make-shift shelters and
camps where overcrowding and unsanitary conditions are prevalent.
As thousands of villagers leave the hardest-hit areas of the Delta
region, they embark on a journey where food and shelter are scarce and
water is contaminated by salt, human bodies and animal carcasses.
In Myaung Mya, an area some 30 miles north of the devastated town of
Labutta, World Vision's national staff report that some 30,000 people are
seeking food, water and medical attention. Children - many of them orphans
- are suffering from fever, diarrhea and respiratory infections.
Samson Jeyakumar, World Vision program manager, said, "In this
situation, the most vulnerable people are children under five because they
have the highest mortality rates in emergency situations and suffer the
effects most quickly."
World Vision has been supplying clean water to survivors in the
Irrawaddy area. The agency also has started chlorinating wells, providing
water tanks and disinfecting camps sites with bleaching powder. Meanwhile,
in Yangon, more than 78,000 people have received clean water, rice and
other emergency aid such as clothing, blankets and tarpaulins. Diesel fuel
is being distributed to operate water pumps.
World Vision has also distributed sterile dressings, anti-bacterial
medicines, mosquito nets and disinfectants, but additional resources are
needed. Much of this equipment is available and could be within the country
in hours from World Vision's global warehouses in Dubai and Frankfurt.
World Vision's Myanmar office has close to 600 staff and has been
working in the country for many years, primarily in the area of community
development. It also runs projects to country trafficking and help children
living in vulnerable circumstances.
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to
working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach
their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. We
serve all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender. For
more information, please visit http://www.worldvision.org/press.
SOURCE World Vision
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.worldvision.org
http://www.worldvision.org/press
CONTACT:
Rachel Wolff, +1-253-394-2214 (mobile),
rwolff@worldvision.org; or Casey Calamusa, +1-206-310-5476
(mobile), ccalamus@worldvision.org
|
