FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 3, 2008

Contact: Susan Laarman, 503.341.3799, slaar@imagina.com

- Additional aid enters Yangon via new "air bridge" from Bangkok

- Agency advocates for greater international aid worker access into delta

Portland, OR - Mercy Corps' emergency response assistance in Myanmar expanded today with the departure of a barge into the country's delta region, bound for the hard-hit town of Laputta. This is the first of a fleet of boats Mercy Corps is sending aid to areas that are only accessible by water. The barge that left today contains emergency supply materials including items to jumpstart a "cash-for-work" recovery program that gets people back to work doing clean-up jobs and provides a vital source of income. This program was used effectively in Indonesia following the tsunami and will be implemented by Mercy Corps in Myanmar in partnership with the international aid group Merlin.

Also today, the second of three air shipments of relief supplies lands in the capital city of Yangon thanks to a new air bridge that opened up yesterday linking Bangkok to Myanmar. The relief supplies include 18 pallets (over nine tons) of emergency supplies that originated in Seattle. Northwest-based aid worker Jolynn Fisher is in Bangkok and overseeing the distribution of materials, which includes thousands of pairs of work gloves and wind-up radios and flashlights, tarps, and hundreds of multi-tools - all valued at more than $300,000. The last of the 18 pallets will depart Bangkok this Thursday.

At the one-month mark since Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar, access to the devastated Irrawaddy Delta is remains very limited, a frustration for veteran emergency specialists who are hoping to assist in the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian aid to the vulnerable surviving population in the region. Aid workers worry critical emergency needs have still not been met and that more thorough needs assessments and recovery strategies should already be in place at this one-month point into the crisis. There are real fears that an inadequate response may lead to the outbreak of disease, failed crops, and only partial recovery, all of which could place even more lives at risk. While thorough recovery strategies are being planned by international aid groups in Yangon, simply not enough aid is currently getting to hard-to-reach areas of the delta to provide support and a transition to the population.

Mercy Corps currently has five international emergency response experts inside Myanmar and one logistics and material aid support person in Bangkok. The agency has hired one national staff and plans to expand that team to 150-200 in the coming weeks.

Shelter, clean water and sanitation are core focus areas for Mercy Corps aid workers at this time. Getting seeds and crops in the ground to ensure next year's harvest is also critical right now.

Mercy Corps is currently accepting donations for humanitarian assistance to both cyclone and earthquake survivors. Mercy Corps and reputable local partner organizations will monitor distribution of donations.

HOW TO HELP: Mercy Corps Myanmar Cyclone Fund Dept NR, PO Box 2669 Portland, OR 97208 www.mercycorps.org - or - 1-800-852-2100

About Mercy Corps: Mercy Corps works amid disasters, conflicts, chronic poverty and instability to unleash the potential of people who can win against nearly impossible odds. Since 1979, Mercy Corps has provided $1.5 billion in assistance to people in 106 nations. Supported by headquarters offices in North America and Europe, the agency's unified global programs employ 3,500 staff worldwide and reach nearly 16.4 million people in more than 35 countries.