While many, if not all, realms of media are reporting on the tragedy which has killed over 20,000 people and left a million homeless, I thought I'd report on how each of us can reach out and help.
"Our biggest fear is that the aftermath could be more lethal than the storm itself," said Caryl Stern, who heads the U.N. Children's Fund in the United States.
ADRA International Myanmar Cyclone Fund 12501 Old Columbia Pike Silver Spring, MD 20904 (800) 424-ADRA ext. 2372 http://www.adra.org
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee JDC: Myanmar Cyclone Relief P.O. Box 530 132 East 43rd St. New York, NY 10017 (212) 687-6200 http://www.jdc.org
American Jewish World Service 45 W. 36th St., 11th Floor New York, NY 10016 (800) 889-7146 http://www.ajws.org
American Red Cross International Response Fund P.O. Box 37243 Washington, DC 20013 (800) HELP-NOW http://www.redcross.org
American Refugee Committee 430 Oak Grove St., Suite 204 Minneapolis, MN 55403 (612) 872-7602} http://www.arcrelief.org
Why should you help? Because I am sure you would hope for the same kindness if in a similar situation.
State radio said most of the 22,464 dead, as well as the 41,000 missing, were in the densely populated Irriwaddy delta, home to 6 million people. It said 671 were killed in the Yangon area. Brig. Gen. Kyaw San, the information minister, said most fatalities were caused by tidal waves.
The death toll is the highest from a natural disaster in southeast Asia since the tsunami of December 2004 killed 229,866 people in Indonesia, Thailand and other parts of southeast and south Asia.
Once again, the Article 13 team is taking action in support of Fairtrade Fortnight. Beginning tonight and through March 9, 2008 Article 13 has "pledged to make the fair trade choice a conscious one each time we walk down the aisles of our local supermarkets or add items to our virtual shopping baskets."
Article 13 advocates the fair trade choice for two reasons. They believe it makes a positive difference to millions of people in poverty across the developing world. Fair trade products guarantee a minimum price which covers the cost of production, as well as an extra premium for community investment. Secondly, as increasing numbers of people turn to fair trade, governments will take more notice and take concrete steps to introduce just global trading rules.
Article 13, the leading corporate social responsibility, business sustainability and governance consultancy, is a signatory of the UNGC and actively upholds its ten principles related to human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption.
The Fairtrade Mission, "The Foundation's mission is to work with businesses, community groups and individuals to improve the trading position of producer organisations in the South and to deliver sustainable livelihoods for farmers, workers and their communities."
