Singaporean-born humanitarian NGO Mercy Relief, working together with its ground partner, Myanmar Heart Development Organization (MHDO) distributed more than 10 tonnes of food supply to 350 affected households in Kyawtaw Township, Rakhine State in Myanmar. Each household received a family food pack which include rice, cooking oil, canned fish, salt and noodles. This food pack will be able to feed a family of 6 for a period of two weeks.
On Monday 10th August 2015, Mercy Relief personnel arrived in War Taung Village to conduct its first Relief Distribution Operation (RDO). Villagers received their first relief aid since floods ravaged their homes the week before. Subsequent RDOs were conducted in Kha Maung Taw village and other villages within the township.
More than 10 tonnes of food were distributed
Traveling by boat to deliver supplies to Kha Maung Taw Village
Reports from Mercy Relief’s ground team indicate that a number of houses and schools were completely destroyed, river banks were significantly widened and many trees uprooted. At one point, water levels scaled up to a menacing 10-feet high. Access to clean water is a growing issue as most lakes and rivers have been contaminated.
Communities in the Rakhine State also face a possible food crisis for staples such as rice. Unlike other parts of the country that enjoy multiple harvests a year, the state has only one harvest annually. This harvest has been destroyed by the recent floods leaving the community highly vulnerable as they have lost both a source of livelihood and food.
U Khin Thein, 42, pointing to where the river bank used to be. Houses nearby have been flattened
About Mercy Relief
Mercy Relief is a Singaporean humanitarian organisation which engages in both disaster relief and sustainable development programmes. It was established in 2003 as an independent non-governmental humanitarian charity responding to the human tragedies in Asia. Mercy Relief’s aid programme focuses on providing timely and effective assistance to disaster-stricken communities and has maintained the delivery of emergency aid within 72 hours from the point of appeal for assistance.
In the past 12 years, Mercy Relief has disbursed over S$32 million in aid across 40 disaster relief and 53 sustainable development initiatives. Mercy Relief has impacted an aggregate of 2 million lives in 24 countries and areas, namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, DPR Korea, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Palestine, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and Yemen.
For more information, you may call us at 6514 6322 or email corporateaffairs@mercyrelief.org
