Reuters and AlertNet are not responsible for the content of this article or for any external internet sites. The views expressed are the author's alone.
Rangoon/Bonn, 14.05.2008. Welthungerhilfe has dispatched its first trucks to the Irrawaddy Delta today. Three vehicles carrying a total of 18 tons of relief supplies are now on their way to Bogale. The journey is likely to take around six hours because many parts of the road are still impassable. A team of local helpers is already on location to prepare unloading and the immediate distribution of supplies. "This guarantees that our aid is received by the people who really need it," says Angela Schwarz, Welthungerhilfe's Regional Co-ordinator in Myanmar/Burma.
In Bogale, victims have so far received virtually no support. Thousands of people have fled to monasteries, schools or other places so that temporary settlements have been created. It is here that Welthungerhilfe will concentrate its efforts.
A total of 10,000 people will receive the urgently needed supplies within the next few days. The trucks are transporting rice, lentils, oil and salt. Food supplies will be issued to families as rations for two weeks. Victims will also be provided with plastic sheeting, buckets and canisters to collect rainwater because the monsoon has brought exceptionally heavy rainfall in the last few days. Soap and water purification tablets will also be distributed to minimise the risk of epidemics and disease. So far all relief supplies have been bought locally.
Welthungerhilfe would be able to help many more people if working conditions on site were facilitated. "The government is not making it easy for us to help. We're still not able to work at full capacity. But we're doing what we can," says Secretary General, Hans-Joachim Preuß.
On request, we can arrange an interview with our staff member in Rangoon, Ralph Dickerhof.
Die Welthungerhilfe ist seit 2002 in Myanmar tätig. Schwerpunkte der Arbeit sind die Ernährungssicherung und Wasserversorgung im Nordosten des Landes sowie in Außenbezirken von Rangun. Zurzeit sind rund fünfzig Mitarbeiter der Welthungerhilfe im betroffenen Gebiet beschäftigt.
Die Welthungerhilfe ist Mitglied im Bündnis www.entwicklung-hilft.de, einem Zusammenschluss deutscher Hilfswerke für akute Nothilfe und langfristige Entwicklungszusammenarbeit.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
A priest blesses a Philippine medical team bound for Myanmar as Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo looks on during a send-off ceremony at Villamor Airbase in Manila May 26, 2008. Some ...
Email 
Print 
