The death toll has reached 32,000 lives but this number is expected to go into the 50,000 mark for many are still missing in the collapsed rubble that used to be schools and buildings that have been found to have been made not to earthquake standards set by the government. The Chinese government has promised to look into the matters but they insist that the main priority today a week after the killer quake was still saving lives.
Rescue workers move from area to area searching through the rubble with family members wailing in the distance crying for their lost loved ones. As they fail to find anyone to rescue, they move on to the next location much to the discontent of the helpless parents and family members who continue to dig as they try to find the bodies of their loved ones whom they know are still deep in the ruins. Amidst warnings from the UN’s Health experts have had the government mobilize disinfection teams to the many affected areas to spray disinfectants all around the temporary housing areas due to fears of disease outbreaks. They have also advised the government to begin burying the dead for they are continuing to pile up in temporary morgues where they pose a serious health risk.
The government acted swiftly and the international community has taken the call for help but little can be done for the rescue efforts for the extreme length of time and aftershocks have further settled the already mangled buildings. The rescue effort is in the final stages and soon would be turned into a recovery operation to remove dead bodies for proper disposal which if left alone creates the perfect conditions for disease. The death toll is rising slowly as more and more bodies are being pulled. Last Saturday, 165 people were rescued alive including an elderly woman who raised the hopes of rescuers and citizens alike. But time is against any other survivor for the human body can only survive a few days without water and adding injuries to the mix, chances of survival are continuing to fade. The government has announced that the torch relay has been suspended for now and that an official three day mourning holiday is in effect to allow people to mourn for their lost loved ones.
Categories: Charities, Children, Disaster Relief, Environmental, News | Tags: Collapsed Buildings, Sichuan Earthquake
Many have died and there are still a lot of people missing in the deadly earthquake that struck on the 12th of May. The government has sent in their elite paratroopers into the most inaccessible areas that are still cut off from the rescue efforts in hopes of getting a better picture of the total devastation. The Chinese government has already asked for help with regards to rescue equipment and supplies, most of which have already been fielded in the many affected areas. With thousands of soldiers working frantically to free survivors still trapped beneath the many collapsed structures, questions are arising from these areas where some of the most heavily damaged structures are schools and government buildings. Days after the quake, rescuers are getting desperate for the first two days are the most critical and important to get people out. After that amount of time, only bodies would be found but soldiers and other rescuers are keeping hopes up as they work as fast as they can to get to people still trapped in the rubble. The country is beginning to receive aid from Western countries who early on have expressed their intent to help the Chinese government. With resources stretched to the limits, the aid is quickly being fielded to areas that need it most. For more information on how you can help the victims of the Chinese earthquakes you can contact the UN, and other aid agencies who have been working hard to send aid to the many who have suffered as a result of one of the most deadly quakes of recent times.
Categories: Children, Disaster Relief, Environmental | Tags: Collapsed Buildings, Sichuan Earthquake
People of Myanmar are working to help their fellow countrymen in their efforts to help those most affected. Loading their family cars with all the stuff they can spare, they drive into the most affected areas to distribute blankets, bread and other items that the hardest hit areas need. People are expressing frustration at the government’s efforts, taking rotten stores for their warehouses and sending them out to the people with some saying the rice is rotten and the food is not even fit for dogs to eat.
True to this, many are crying out to the rest of the world for the government to allow aid agencies to assist in the relief efforts to alleviate the suffering the already impoverished people are in. Without shelter, they are forced to live in shabby tarpaulin structures that stand no protection form the severe weather that is threatening to hit soon. Aid agencies such as the UN, Doctors without Borders and many others are still out due to the government not granting visas to their personnel for them to properly enter the country. Aid workers in neighboring countries have walked through the border and are getting to the people but their small numbers is not sufficient to cover the wide area that was left devastated by the cyclone. The US has succeeded to convince the government to allow them to fly in supplies with two flights of aid into the capital. They are requesting for more flights and the US military has also expressed frustration at them not being allowed to enter territorial waters. The US fleet is in Thailand and they have the equipment to process water making it safe for drinking to avoid a possible outbreak of deadly disease.
The government insists they can handle the distribution effort but they are only doing so in areas near the capital and to the families of their soldiers who have not been too severely impacted by the storm. The people in rural areas are the ones who are at risk and without proper sanitation equipment and supplies the rotting bodies if left out in the open, would cause more deaths in the months to come.
Categories: Charities, Children, Disaster Relief, News | Tags: Aftermath, Death, Food, Medical Supplies, Myanmar, Shelter
Many have been left homeless and the country is in shambles, the Military Junta run country is facing a catastrophe with them denying entry to most of the aid agencies from the West. Reports are beginning to trickle in that hundreds of thousands are dead and hundreds of thousands are without shelter, safe drinking water and food. The government had not allowed Western aid agencies to enter the most affected areas and reporters from Western news agencies are being told to go out. The government insists they can handle the distribution of aid which they are allowing into the country through aid flights from the US which has offered millions in aid. Many other countries have shown willingness to give aid and send in their aid workers but the government is standing firm and is still not issuing visas to foreign aid people for a proper distribution and mobilization of aid for those who need it most.
The UN has appealed again and again along with many aid agencies from overseas for the government to open air and waterways for aid transportation. The UN has expressed discontent and aid agencies are frustrated for they still could not send in their people to handle the disaster. Reports are trickling in that dead bodies are everywhere, in canals and rice paddies rotting which gives more urgency to the need for proper aid along with people who are better equipped and experienced in handling such situations.
The poor country is in disarray and without proper medical facilities even for a developing country and with little support infrastructure to ferry and distribute aid, many more deaths would surely result in the aftermath of the cyclone. Various aid agencies are now accepting aid and donations in hopes of the border being opened soon to allow foreign aid such as food, water, temporary shelter and many other basic necessities to help the people of Myanmar.
Categories: Campaigns, Charities, Children, Disaster Relief, News, Organizations | Tags: Cyclone Nargis, Death, Foreign Aid, Myanmar, UN
In true fashion of giving, an Israeli Charity has been working for 10 years to save children from various heart diseases that afflict many in the war-torn region. The Hospital, Wolfson in Israel has been operating on Iraqi children who have managed to get there with their parents to seek help for their child’s defective hearts. Children from all over the world have benefited from the work they do there, from Palestinian, Iraqi and all other nationalities, they open their doors to children who would otherwise have died due to heart problems their parents could not afford to pay for treatment. The hospital claims to save a child’s life every 29 hours and that means a lot for the war torn region. This is the true spirit of giving; even long time enemies turn back on their differences for a child whose life is in jeopardy. Pediatric heart surgery is one of the most specialized and expensive types of surgery a child can ever have, many children die from heart problems such as defects and injuries received during conflicts in the region. The hospital works with some of the most sophisticated equipment and some of the best pediatric heart surgeons in Israel and the world over who donate their time and skills to help these children allowing them to live normal adult lives.
The hospital and the Organization also aims to educate doctors in their respective regions and award facilities to develop and cater to their local needs. The full-outreach program does not look at color, race, ethnicity or any other distinguishing factor other than the fact they all share a common goal, to give a child the life they deserve with the best possible treatment the developed world has to offer. Their doctors also conduct outreach programs, going to the far corners of the world to do heart surgery on children who would otherwise have no futures if it were not for their pioneering work. Visit them and get to know the pioneering work and lives they have saved. Be inspired by the stories of survival and hope that have resulted from their actions as they close their eyes to discrimination focusing on the task at hand, saving lives!
Categories: Campaigns, Children, Inspiration, News, Programs, Teens | Tags: Children, Free Care, Heart Problems, Heart Surgery
