TOKYO, May 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Soka Gakkai General Director
Masaaki Masaki visited the Tokyo office of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) on May 19 to make a donation of 3 million yen (US$28,800)
in support of relief efforts following the May 2 cyclone which has
devastated the Irrawaddy Delta area of Myanmar.
UNHCR Representative in Japan Saburo Takizawa and Japan Association for
UNHCR Executive Director Kaoru Nemoto expressed their gratitude for the
donation. Mr. Takizawa said that UNHCR deeply appreciated this generous
gesture and that the donation would benefit those suffering in Myanmar.
UNHCR has a large local team already working in the country and pledged
that the funds would be efficiently used to buy tents to provide urgently
needed shelter. The agency aims to provide a total of 50,000 tents which
could house 250,000 people.
Mr. Masaki stated, "We strongly wished to take action to relieve the
suffering of the people of Myanmar and we feel confident that UNHCR is well
placed to do this."
Singapore Soka Association (SGI-Singapore) has also responded by
assisting relief efforts organized by Mercy Relief, a Singapore-based
organization promoting humanitarian relief and development projects in
Asia.
On May 9, some 30 Singapore Soka Association members and other
volunteers worked at the SSA youth center to pack 5 tons of relief goods
purchased by Mercy Relief including tents, water purification tablets and
medical supplies. These were sent to Myanmar in two shipments on May 13 and
15.
SSA General Director Ong Bon Chai commented, "SSA's efforts to help
those in need are a natural expression of our Buddhist compassion."
SSA also began a fundraising drive on May 9 and raised a total of
Singapore $48,000 (US $35,000) which has been donated to Mercy Relief for
further relief activities in Myanmar.
Soka Gakkai International (SGI) is a lay Buddhist association promoting
peace, culture and education with 12 million members in over 190 countries
and territories around the world. Its humanitarian relief activities are
part of the longstanding tradition of Buddhist humanism.
Contact:
Joan Anderson
Office of Public Information
Soka Gakkai International
Tel: +81-3-5360-9482
Fax: +81-3-5360-9885
sgicontact@sgi.org
http://www.sgi.org
SOURCE Soka Gakkai International
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Related links:
http://www.sgi.org
CONTACT:
Joan Anderson, Office of Public Information,
Soka Gakkai International, +81-3-5360-9482, or fax,
+81-3-5360-9885, sgicontact@sgi.org
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