courtesy of Reuters
A girl sits amidst debris outside of her home southwest of Yangon in Myanmar following the May 2 cyclone. The death toll is between 68,833 and 127,990. A relief team from Christian Blind Mission, whose Canadian headquarters are on Stouffville Road, was waiting in Thailand for access yesterday.
Whitchurch-Stouffville
May 14, 2008 05:08 PM
Visa processing delaying aid to survivors, mission says
By: Jim Mason, Staff Writer
A Whitchurch-Stouffville mission is ready to help the least fortunate in cyclone-devastated areas of Myanmar.
It just has to get into the country.
An assessment team from Christian Blind Mission was to arrive Monday in the southeast Asian country, also known as Burma, to initiate a first response to Cyclone Nargis that struck May 2.
But delays in processing visas have them waiting in Thailand.
“I am still trying to enter Myanmar with my CBM team to assess how CBM can help these poor people of Myanmar,” Valerie Scherrer, the mission’s emergency manager, said today. “(It’s due to) tight governmental control over issuing of visas and receiving help from the outside.
“It is a challenge for all (non-government organizations) and I believe CBM will be able to use funds raised for Myanmar for mid and long-term support for people with disabilities. It will take time to know how funds can best be used efficiently and effectively in Myanmar.”
The death toll is between 68,833 and 127,990, the International Red Cross reported today.
Heavy rains and another potentially powerful storm were headed toward the cyclone-devastated delta today.
That could lead to a second wave of deaths among the 3 million survivors, the U.N. said.
“Visas have been issued for a few, but the process of clearing applications in Yangon (Myanmar’s largest city) is very slow,” Ms Scherrer said.
“There are still areas, which apparently have not been reached, but there is no confirmation of this by local UN representatives.”
The Thai prime minister was supposed to visit the Myanmar government yesterday to try to clear access to visas and goods transportation for relief agencies, she said
The mission’s focus will be on helping people with disabilities and their families, Dave McComiskey, executive director of CBM Canada, said from its Stouffville Road headquarters.
The mission has an emergency fund set up to support one of the partner agencies it has worked with in Myanmar for 20 years.
“We’re committed to saving lives and preventing disabilities by providing clean water, food, shelter and medical care,” Mr. McComiskey said.
“These partners know the region and, more importantly, they know how to best serve the people.”
“Tragically, people with disabilities are likely to suffer the worst in natural disasters; imagine being blind and trying to escape. Even if they do manage to survive, children and families with disability can be lost or forgotten in the chaos that follows.”
People with a disability often suffer the most as they are unable to flee from danger, find food when it is in short supply, and suffer greatly from the longer term economic repercussions of an emergency, he said.
The mission already supports three eye centres in the area hit by the cyclone.
The mission, which is marking its 100th anniversary this year, is an international Christian organization that works to improve the quality of life of the world’s poorest people with disabilities and those at risk of disability.
Go to cbmcanada.org for more information.