More donations needed for Burmese aid shipment
PHUKET: Donations of equipment to provide emergency food and shelter for victims of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar are gradually piling up at collection points around Phuket, but more donations are needed before there is a chance of them providing the much-needed relief.
The Royal Thai Navy (RTN) Third Naval Command at Cape Panwa, Baan Kamala School and the Kusoldharm Foundation have been accepting donations of food and equipment since the cyclone devastated large parts of the Irrawaddy Delta.
Cyclone Nargis hammered the region with winds exceeding 190 kilometers per hour for more than 10 hours on May 2, killing many and leaving an estimated 2 million people without food and shelter, according to the Red Cross.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies estimates that up to 95% of the homes in rural parts of the country were completely destroyed by the cyclone.
Director of Baan Kamala School Nawarat Samuthkota said that people can make donations at the school to be taken to the Third Naval Command. Items collected at the Kusoldharm Foundation will also be handed over to the Navy for transport to Bangkok and then on to Myanmar.
Donations thus far include fluorescent strip lights and fittings, corrugated iron, canvas and tarpaulin for tents, dried and canned foods, rice and drinking water.
People wishing to make donations can do so at the following locations:
The Third Naval Command at Cape Panwa, between 8.30 am and 4.30 pm. Tel: 076-391826.
Baan Kamala School. Tel: 076-279239 (K. Pudsadee or K. Suda).
Kusoldharm Foundation, 34 Phun Pol, Soi 9 Rd, Talad Nua, Phuket City (opposite James Garden). For more information, call 076-211706, 076-246216, or 076-246301. Or email info@kusoldharmfoundation.org
Kamala Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) President Juta Dumluck is also helping to co-ordinate relief efforts. Tel. 089-4643006.
At the time of going to press the Gazette could not confirm precisely when or how the donated items will be taken to Myanmar. However, Capt Sreecharoen of the Third Naval Command said that the items will be taken to the RTN headquarters in Bangkok to be transported to Myanmar by air, for handover to the Myanmar Air Force, when enough items have been collected to warrant transportation.
