Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar last weekend devastating five regions. Channel NewsAsia reported that more than 22,000 people are dead with another 41,000 missing. Hundreds of thousands are now homeless. The media reports are horrific. "Witnesses described images of rice field littered with corpses." Save the Children, one of the few relief agencies allowed to operate in-country, said the toll would rise sharply in the coming days as more victims were found in difficult to reach areas.
The photos, videos, and blog reports are giving us vivid citizen accounts. Global Voices, South Asia Editor, Mong Palatino, offers this round up of what blogs in the region are reporting, including these eye witness accounts.
Right now, thousands and thousands of women and children in Myanmar, need help. And BlogHer has responded. Earlier today, Lisa Stone of BlogHer let us know that BlogHers Act and Global Giving expanded the Mother's Day fundraising initiative to include support for a project for emergency relief. (I had already made a donation to the BlogHer's act, but I've donated a second time to the Myanmar project, won't you?)
In addition to donating, I've also put the fundraising widget in my side bar, sent tweets out to my network on Twitter, distributed it in my friend feed, posted it on my Facebook profile and added to Flickr. That took me like 15-20 minutes.
The Burma: It Can't Wait Campaign launched not too long ago by the U.S. Campaign for Burma. They have put up a mini site that is tracking the latest news and information from Burma and how to help. The Network for Good also has a roundup of organizations providing support and where you can donate.
So please consider a donation to help victims of Cyclone Nargis and take a few minutes to share the information with your friends and various networks. Thank you to everyone who has donated to the BlogHers Act.
Beth Kanter, BlogHer CE for Nonprofits and Social Change, writes Beth's Blog
