Locals pray for family, collect for cyclone victims

Win Aung, a local computer technician whose parents live in Myanmar, can get information about how bad the situation is there in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, but he can't find out anything about his family.

"All the communications shut down," he said. "I can't even sleep sometimes."

The same is true of Sann Ni, the owner of Sonny Sushi, and Chaiya, a monk who runs a Buddhist monastery here. They each have a brother and several cousins in Myanmar's capital, Yangon, which was in the path of the cyclone that tore through the country's heavily populated coast, bringing 120 mph winds and killing tens of thousands of people.

"I just keep praying for them," Chaiya said. "I hope they're safe."

In the meantime, they're supporting an effort to raise money and gather relief supplies to help cyclone victims, who need everything from roofs over their heads and clothes to food and utensils to eat it.

An estimated 1 million people in the Southeast Asian country are homeless after the storm, and access to food, electricity and potable water is extremely limited.

"There's a huge shortage of food right now," said Sanje Sedera, a mortgage broker who is spearheading the relief effort. "All the roofs are blown off.

"These people have lost everything. They're eating out of plastic bags right now -- used plastic shopping bags."

The Salvation Army and the American Red Cross also are accepting money to address the humanitarian catastrophe.

Sedera said donations of nonperishable food, clothes, blankets, towels and coverings that can be used as roofs are welcome.

The items will be shipped to Thailand, which has become a staging area for relief supplies heading to Myanmar.

Sedera said he'll use his affiliation with the Lion's Club to get money to where it's needed.

He organized a similar effort in 2004 to get relief to tsunami victims in his native Sri Lanka, a push that raised more than $500,000 and filled 16 40-foot containers.

Food items should be in small, easily transportable containers that will be easy to split up and distribute.

The Salvation Army already had workers in Myanmar before the cyclone and was able to respond quickly. They've been distributing meals in Yangon and providing clean water from their artesian wells, according to a news release.

The Red Cross also was on hand and has been distributing clean water, mosquito nets and water purification tablets, as well as kits containing clothes, blankets, cookware and hygiene supplies.

Contact reporter Alan Choate at achoate@reviewjournal.com or 702-229-6435.