August 19, 2008

Photos: Reuters/Stringer, courtesy of www.alertnet.org

Mercy Corps is helping survivors of Cyclone Nargis — the most devastating storm to hit Asia in 27 years — by supporting the UK-based medical aid organization Merlin with logistical support, financial resources and a team of disaster-response experts.

Our relief efforts currently focus on Myanmar's Laputta District, where early evidence suggests up to 80,000 of the pre-cyclone population of 350,000 died in the storm.

Three Mercy Corps aid workers are there working with Merlin to distribute rice seeds and tillers to farmers, rehabilitate water sources and latrines, and restart local economies with cash-for-work projects that accelerate the transition from emergency aid to longer-term recovery.

(Read a Q&A with relief worker Carol Ward.)

A floating aid operation of barges and smaller vessels is distributing emergency supplies to survivors who've received little, if any, assistance since the May 2 storm. And salvage and safety supplies shipped from Portland are being distributed through partners including Myanmar Medical Association, a local professional organization of doctors.

Please donate now to bring relief to affected families.

After the cyclone, Mercy Corps immediately dispatched to Myanmar a senior executive and three of our most experienced disaster relief officials — securing entry visas earlier than most international relief agencies. Rather than establish independent operations, we chose to work in the most rapid and efficient manner possible: leveraging the capacity and experience of humanitarian organizations already on the ground.

Mercy Corps chose to support Merlin, a UK-based humanitarian organization with existing operations in the Irrawaddy Delta, because they have years of experience in delivering expert, high-quality health care in Myanmar through training and supporting local communities and health workers. Mercy Corps is providing Merlin with technical support and $500,000 worth of initial funding.

(Watch a video of Merlin's relief operations in action.)

The relationship between Mercy Corps and Merlin has resulted in more hard-hit communities receiving a broader range of assistance, says Richard Jacquot, a veteran emergency-aid worker who directed the first month of Mercy Corps' response.

"With one team, we can go to a community and deliver emergency health services, medicines, restart clinics, train health workers, bring shelter materials, clean water, provide livelihood and food security equipment, and inject cash while improving the community's infrastructure for longer-term recovery," Jacquot says.

Mercy Corps is playing a critical role in efforts to coordinate aid to survivors. Jacquot filled in as acting country director for Merlin while Merlin's director worked on a high-level village assessment project with the United Nations and the ASEAN mission, which is informing the activities of all humanitarian aid organizations. Another staff member, Erynn Carter, helped create the joint assessment tool currently being used by 124 emergency response teams in the Delta, and staffs the Early Recovery Cluster in Yangon, which is led by UNDP.

Formed in 1993, Merlin responds worldwide with vital health care and medical relief for vulnerable people caught up in natural disasters, conflict, disease and health system collapse. Each year, Merlin helps more than 15 million people in up to 20 countries.

Help bolster our response by making an online donation to bring relief to families in Myanmar.

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Please consider a gift to our Myanmar Cyclone Fund to speed relief to families in need.

Program/Issue	Amount (US Dollars)
Where Most Needed Global Food Crisis Emergency Response Sudan Emergency Congo's Displaced Families Silent Disasters Gaza Crisis Myanmar Cyclone	$

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Where Most Needed Global Food Crisis Emergency Response Sudan Emergency Congo's Displaced Families Silent Disasters Gaza Crisis Myanmar Cyclone

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