How Can College Students Help Myanmar Cyclone Victims?

By Steve

If you haven’t heard about the devastating cyclone that ripped through Myanmar (also known as Burma), then its about time you crawl out from under your rock and brush up on current events.

Over the weekend a cyclone (US equivalent of a Hurricane) hit low-lying Yangon, Myanmar, destroying everything in it’s path.

Estimates say that 70,000+ are dead and 1 million have been left homeless. However, as Shari Villarosa, head of the U.S. Embassy in Yangon, said “the number of dead could eventually exceed 100,000 because safe food and water were scarce and unsanitary conditions widespread.”

The area is in shambles, and because of the clean up effort the poor nation fears of malaria outbreaks, starvation and rotting corpses creating water born illnesses.

As college students and good Americans, we have an obligation to help these victims. Rice, blankets, fresh water tablets and just about aything vital to survival will go along way in Myanmar right now.

If you are interested in helping out, I found an interesting site called, “Network for Good: Help victims of the Myanmar cyclone” that lists various legit agencies that are offering assistance. This is the best route through which to give aid because these groups guarantee that your contributions will reach the people that need it most–and not allow it to get “lost” int he hands of the Myanmar government.