The following news and list of recommended aid programs is from Katie Redford, U.S. Office Director and Co-founder of Earth Rights, who is working with lawyers in Cambodia at the moment and is married to the Burmese human rights activist Ka Hsaw Wa.

Dear Friends,

So many of you have reached out, expressing your grief and concern, your thoughts and prayers, and your solidarity over Burma’s most recent tragedy. We want to thank you for that—and thank you for your sincere desire to do what you can to help, once again, in Burma’s time of great need. Your camaraderie has meant a lot to us as we have worried about our friends, our colleagues, our family members, our students and alumni—communications are still down and we simply don’t know if those we love are safe.

We have also, of course, been trying to determine the best way to provide relief and help to ease the incredible suffering that we know is happening right now. You have asked us what you can do to help. To answer that question perfectly honestly, we must say quite simply that we just don’t know. When we ask those who would, in normal circumstances, know more about disaster relief than we do—they wring their hands and tell us that they don’t know either.

Nobody does. It is a great source of frustration and distress. Many major international disaster relief organizations are receiving donations that they currently cannot use, in the hopes that the regime will give them the access that they need soon; other humanitarian relief organizations are sending individual volunteers and staff members into Burma with wads of cash, hoping that they’ll be able to find ways to hand it out in person when they arrive; small local organizations are doing what they can to make a difference for one person, one family, one village at a time.

We know that you are looking to us to give you an answer—to tell you how you can help, where you can send money, supplies, medicine. The truth is, we can’t give you a simple answer.

We have been spending time learning about what organizations that we know and trust are doing right now. We have a new list, below, of groups that we believe are making the most direct impact on the ground. This situation will change every day—and other people, with different contacts and information will have different suggestions. We are not saying that these are the only groups that are doing good work. We know there are more. These are simply organizations that we believe will effectively receive and distribute support in what is truly an almost impossible situation that gets increasing urgent with each passing day.

Please keep in touch, and check back with us regularly. We hope to have more positive news to report soon.

Katie

HOW TO HELP

The Mae Tao Clinic, which provides free medical care to refugees, migrant workers and internally displaced persons is directed by Dr. Cynthia Maung, an ethnic Karen doctor who has received numerous international humanitarian awards and recognitions. The clinic is working with several local organizations inside Burma and have assured us that all donations they receive will go directly to cyclone relief.

www.maetaoclinic.org

Medical Emergency Relief International (Merlin) is a UK-based NGO that focuses on water and sanitation and had an office in the Delta region before the cyclone hit.

www.merlin.org.uk

Save the Children

This is a major international humanitarian organization with a long history of programs in Burma, and many local staff. They have a good reputation for operating inside Burma and can absorb large donations.

www.savethechildren.org

Some smaller but highly effective organizations are appropriate for smaller donations.

Please consider donating to the Foundation for the People of Burma www.foundationburma.org

World Aid is sending water purification tablets directly inside Burma, and 100% of your donation will be used for this purpose.

You can donate to World Aid through www.uscampaignforburma.org, click on the “Donate” link and put “Water Purification” in the “Name” box under the header of “In honor of”. (If you are interested in making a larger donation to one of these two programs, please contact them first and make sure that they have the capacity to absorb it at this time).