Published: Monday, 19th May, 2008 16:30
Burmese tragedy appeal
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AS I write this letter the death toll from the devastating cyclone that hit Burma last week is still rising.
Latest figures suggest the storm left 22,000 dead and 40,000 missing, with an estimated one million people left homeless.
In amongst the wreckage lie piles of thatch and bricks that were once the school where we had only recently begun providing Mary’s Meals. We have nine Mary’s Meals projects in the region; three in Burma itself, three on the Burma/Thailand border and three in Thailand. The children attending all of these schools are Burmese. Many are orphans, some are children of refugee families struggling to survive, and some have been rescued from traffickers supplying the sex industry.
The projects we are most concerned about are those at Mae Sot, a refugee camp on the border with Thailand. Our friends here work with refugee children, offering them shelter, food and an education. Since January, 276 children in the three Mar Sot primary schools have been enjoying a daily meal of rice and vegetables thanks to Mary’s Meals.
The Mary’s Meals project was a way of helping them recover a sense of normality. The meal ensured they attended regularly and the hope was that the education they gained would stand them in good stead for whatever their future held.
Even before the cylone left its trail of suffering, the future for much of the population was grim. A history of conflict and an opressive military regime means 30 per cent of the people live below the poverty line, and in some rural areas this rises to 70 per cent.
As an independent charity with close links to people living in Burma and Thailand, we believe we should offer them every assistance at this traumatic time. Over the coming weeks, they expect many people to arrive at the camp destitute, having lost their homes and livelihoods in the cyclone.
We are asking you to help us rebuild the school and ensure the children do not go hungry or lack shelter.
We hope we can re-open the Mary’s Meals projects soon and provide a daily meal and eduation for the children.
MAGNUS MACFARLANE-BARROW,
Chief executive SIR and Mary’s Meals
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