Disaster in Myanmar, how to help?

[Mike Harvey]

This cyclone in Myanmar is unbelievable. 22,000 dead as of today's estimate...any one have any creative suggestions on how to help?

I was thinking of giving money to the Red Cross but I always worry with huge organizations like that that your money is not going directly to people who need it.

Anyone know of smaller scale organizations or efforts to help?

Thoughts and prayers to people over there...makes me worries feel pretty trivial this morning....

[will_toms]

Mike -- Yes, this is a huge tragedy in Myanmar. I'm involved with an international Christian organization called Youth With a Mission (YWAM). We have workers of all nationalities all over the world often in smaller teams.

YWAM has some people based in Las Vegas, RescueNet, who help out in disasters such as this. The leader is Dave Mansfield, 702-273-8375, who I know has a training going on now. He can probably refer you to the Australian RescueNet guys who should have less trouble getting into Myanmar than Americans. Let me know if I can be of further help.

Blessings -- Will Toms, Flagstaff

[Mike Harvey]

thanks for that contact. I found this site yesterday. This organization looks like they are doing it right.
Global Giving

[Thunderexpress]

Now its 100, 000. Just terrible. Best of luck to you, but the Burmese government's got a stranglehold on all the aid going in there.

[TakemetotheRiver]

Myanmar cyclone victims getting low-quality supplies - Yahoo! News

It seems important to bump this up as the situation is deteriorating. Seems that our government is at least giving lip service to the idea of helping these people though, which is more than we usually do in a country that has little to offer.

[Snowhere]

Originally Posted by Thunderexpress

Now its 100, 000. Just terrible. Best of luck to you, but the Burmese government's got a stranglehold on all the aid going in there.

That is the heart of the problem. Any hard money sent that way will just be taken by the government and not used for the good of the people. The last I heard they actually let one plane load of supplies touch down, but no relief workers are allowed to distribute the aid. So no guarantees that the relief got to the people that need it. I am not sure anything we might send will not be used by the corrupt leaders, instead of for the people. This is a failure of large proportions with no real light at the end of the tunnel........

[caspermike]

Pisses me off cause you know the leaders know they need help. are they 2 proud to accept help? i don't understand why somebody would turn down help in a country that is obviously in serious need.

[Snowhere]

The turn it down because they are scared that if the populace sees foreign workers handing out help, it will undermine their strangle hold on power. So they would rather have their people suffer then appear weak. What they need is a revolution, but they have to survive first. And on top of all that they have suffered, it looks like a second cyclone is trying to form off their coast.

[keith_ccw]

Another great organization is World Vision at Sponsor A Child – World Vision you can donate to specific disasters, regions and is matched 5x by government grants.