UM Healthcare’s mobile medical relief team went to the Christ Church in Nowshera Cantt. today. On our visit yesterday to St. Mary’s school, Risalpur we had observed that although there were a number of flood affected people living in the makeshift school camps under the Christian Mission, they have not been targeted by either government or private agencies for relief activities for the past one week since the floods first hit Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Our visit to the first such school (St. Mary’s) provided insight into the problems that these people were facing and the resource constraints for the Church to provide for the affectees.
Two weeks ago, I met by accident taxicab driver poet He Ming who told me about how three thousand Chengdu taxicab drivers had the week before sped to Dujiangyan to help as soon as they heard about the earthquake. They helped rescue people and then brought bring them to Chengdu hospitals. On their own initiative, he told me. "When we heard about it, we just acted instinctively".
He showed me a write up about it in the Huaxi Dushibao (here it is online at unn.people.com.cn/GB/14748/7241608.html one of the Chengdu newspapers on May 22. He shared with me his poem about the taxi drivers going to Dujiangyan on the day of the earthquake that he has been sending around by text message.
(abstract from AIT Myanmar trip report prepared by Wit Hmone Tin Latt, intERLab/AIT)
Two coordinators from Asian Institute of Technology visited Yangon, Myanmar on 30th May, and reported back that DUMBO is now scheduled to be launched on 15 June 2008.
Five Townships will be connected and communicated through IPStar satellite link. Myanmar Egress (ME) has managed to secure 6 IPStar Stations for deploying DUMBO into five hardest-hit areas such as Bogalay, Phyar Pon, Dedaye and Laputta which will have another sub-station either in Malamyaing Gyun or Pyinsalu, whereas the headquarter or the command and control center will be stationed at the ME Head office in Yangon. Sahana registry server will be kept in the Myanmar Teleport. ME will open a resource center which acts as a venue for all relief organizations and the local NGOs to communicate instantly in the mode of video conferencing, text messaging and VoIP etc. with their field offices in disaster areas through DUMBO system.
At the invitation of the local Government and more particularly at their own initiative in the belief that it is their corporate and social responsibility to assist with the Cyclone Relief… many local companies started organizing themselves soon after the event.
The Cape Negrais Relief Group is made up of several (5) local companies and has taken on responsibility to provide relief work in the Western Ayeyarwaddy arena –Ngapudaw Township. Over the past weeks as we move onto reconstruction, each company has chosen to work in key areas, as the Western Ayeyarwaddy Delta (tip)… is the arguably the most inaccessible of the various disaster zones. The SPA group is now working mainly on “Middle Island” (Alekyun in Burmese).
Courtesy of VOA News – Rescue operations are continuing in southwestern China, as the government air lifts relief supplies to the closed-off area near the epicenter of a huge earthquake that struck Monday. The 7.9 temblor is reported to have killed nearly 15,000 people. From Beijing, Stephanie Ho reports that tens of thousands of others are still missing or believed to be buried under debris.
While Relief.Asia is being setup as a platform to drive donation and awarness for people in Myanmar (Burma) after Cyclone Nargis, we also know that rescue work can't wait.
So here's a little idea that gets us started. (update: you can also join our facebook group )
After a week of coordination and consense building in the Internet community in Asia, along with timely support from Mandarin Airlines and Museum of World Religions , on the early morning of May 16th, 2008, Relief.Asia will deliver a number of EeePC to Myanmar to support a local NGO Myanmar Egress. Thanks to intERLab of Asian Institue of Technology and APNIC for making this happened. We start with a number of units first, and are committing to support / donate more when needed.
全力支持
