Burma Cyclone

3hird Medium Band will host a concert in Queens on July 12 to raise money for children orphaned by Cyclone Nargis. Tickets are $15 and must be purchased in advance.  Complimentary food and drinks will be available from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Concert kicks off at 7 p.m at the Walter Crowley Intermediate School,  50-40 Jacobus Street in Elmhurst. For tickets contact Ko Ye Lin at 646-299-1683.

–Karen

The note below is from the team at Moegyo Humanitarian Foundation, a group of volunteers from around the world who are working to bring relief to cyclone victims in Burma.

———————————————-

Dear All,

Please come and support us to raise fund for the victims of cyclone in
Myanmar (Burma).

We will have different kind of authentic Burmese food, Cold and Hot
drinks, Gift Items, and T-shirts at the event.  

Date: June 28, 2008 (Saturday)

Time: 12pm - 5pm

Location: PS-150,  40-01  43rd Avenue, Sunnyside, NY 11104

Thank you.

The Moegyo Team

–
“Joining hands to save people life in Myanmar (Burma)”
Together, we can make a difference!
http://blog.moegyo.org/

– Karen

8-8-08 for Burma invites artists to submit original artwork for a tee shirt that will benefit relief and advocacy efforts for the peoples of Burma. Artists are invited to view the photo galleries provided on the 8-8-08 for Burma website to inspire their work.

Submissions should be emailed to info@8808forburma.org as a PDF, by July 2, 2008.

–Karen

There is a facebook group for this event

Event: charity happy hour for Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar (Burma) “donate generously”
What: Fundraiser
Host: Desis in DC
When: Thursday, May 29 at 6:00pm
Where: Josephine

To see more details and RSVP, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?event.php&eid=23067252036

–Divya

(Via Sree Sreenivasan, Dean of Students, Columbia Journalism School)

ASSISTANCE TO MYANMAR (BURMA) CYCLONE RELIEF:

Indo-American organization leaders in Houston met with members of Burmese American Association of Texas (BAAT) to discuss specific ways to provide assistance to cyclone victims at Madras Pavilion Sugar Land on May 19^th 2008.

Options for donations are as follows:

1. Donations by Credit Cards, go to www.baatx.org
   (Online donations are processed by a secure site)
2. Donations by phone, please call AAFS staff at 713-339-3688
   (9 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.)
3. Donations by Cash/Check, please mail to:

Burmese American Association of Texas (BAAT)

P.O. Box 3359

Sugar Land, Texas 77487

Payable to: BAAT Memo: Myanmar Cyclone Relief Fund

For more information contact us at baat.hou@gmail.com
Contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
————————————————————–

–Divya

(Via Sree Sreenivasan, Dean of Students, Columbia Graduate School of Journalism)

From a note from filmmaker Smriti Mundra:

My friends Shruti Ganguly and Riddhika Jesrani have put together a fund-raising organization called Build Burma in response to the recent disaster in Myanmar. They have a $10,000 fund-raising target on behalf of Doctors Without Borders, a reputable aide organization with an infrastructure in Myanmar (read: the money goes directly to disaster relief, not a corrupt government or NGO). I sincerely hope you will all donate even $10 to the cause. There are 561 of you on this list so if everyone donates we will be more than half way to our goal. Just go to http://www.buildburma.org and follow the prompts.

<<< Well, a lot more than 561 folks here, folks, so let’s see if we can help. I just did my part and make a small donation - your turn, everyone: http://www.buildburma.org

To read more about the situation in Myanmar or show support, join the Facebook group (search BuildBurma.org) and check out the website.

This also appeared as a post on Saja Forum - a blog created by members of the South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA).

–Divya

From 8-8-08 for Burma, the opposition group born out of the 1988 student-led protests in Rangoon, now called Yangon:

May 15-16, 2008 UN PROTEST VIGIL & FAST BY BURMESE BUDDHIST MONKS

==============

WHEN: Thursday, May 13, 12pm-8pm // Friday, May 14, 12pm-8pm

WHERE: Ralph Bunche Park, United Nations, 43rd St and 1st Ave

WHO: Sasana Moli International Burmese Monks Organization, Buddhist Peace Fellowship, NY Burma activists

More information on the Global Day of Action available at www.burma-network.org

–Karen

Interesting piece in the NYT Freakonomics blog by Stephen J. Dubner about donations after natural disasters. Notes that international donations for Myanmar cyclone relief are still quite low– and that media coverage, not surprisingly, causes big jumps in the amount of money raised.

Update:Dubner discussed the piece this morning on the new NPR show The Takeaway.

–Karen

As NGOs are having trouble getting into Myanmar, a group of Burmese monks in New York has raised more than $2 million, which will be sent directly to monasteries in disaster-stricken areas.

Avaaz.org is raising money for them (at the moment: $ 1,734,275). Visit their Web site to find out more about their support of the monks.

A video I shot over the weekend can be found here.

- Lam

The International Organization for Migration has assembled a team of relief experts and has appealed to the international community to cough up US $ 8 million for cyclone response. They have provided a breakdown of where the financing gaps are and how much impact the funds can have here. Those in the U.S. can donate on the same page and internationally you can donate here.

For more information please contact:

Chris Lom
IOM’s Regional Office in Bangkok, Thailand
Tel.+66.819275215
E-mail: clom@iom.int

–Divya