Operation Blessing responds to Myanmar cyclone disaster

Operation Blessing International issued the following release, regarding its medical mission to assist Cyclone victims in Myanmar.

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA, May 6, 2008 -- Operation Blessing International (OBI) has teamed up with German-based medical nonprofit organization Humedica in a medical outreach to help cyclone victims in Myanmar. A team of Humedica doctors arrived in Bangkok last night and is waiting approval of visas from the Myanmar embassy there. Once visas are approved the team will fly into Myanmar to assist cyclone victims in the YMCA clinic located in Yangon. OBI is contributing funding to this Humedica operation, which will be primarily funded by the German Foreign Ministry.

Kumar Periasamy, OBI's International Director of Disaster Relief is in Singapore also waiting for his Myanmar visa. Kumar will join the Humedica team and assess the situation looking for ways OBI can expand relief efforts.

"We are anxious to send water purification systems and more doctors and medical support, possibly from existing OB medical teams in China, India, Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia," says Bill Horan, president of OBI.

"OBI partners DHL, Water Missions International and Mission Aviation Fellowship are standing ready to assist OBI efforts as soon as we get green light to enter the country and permission to clear customs with water purification systems, medicine and relief supplies," Horan added.

In China, the Chinese Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA), a humanitarian arm of the Chinese government, has contacted OBI China in Beijing offering food and relief supplies. "We are studying the logistic issues in anticipation of permission from Myanmar government to proceed," said Horan.

Operation Blessing International (OBI) is one of the largest charities in America, providing strategic disaster relief, medical aid, hunger relief, clean water and community development in 22 countries around the world on a daily basis. In 2007, OBI responded to a record 20 disasters in 14 countries. In recent years, OBI has also made headlines as a first responder to four major U.S. hurricanes; the tsunami disaster in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand; and they were on the ground staging supplies along the Gulf Coast days before Katrina. In New Orleans, OBI has provided nearly $60 million in cash grants, relief supplies, and over 265,000 hours of volunteer service. Most recently, OBI mobilized teams and funded major relief and recovery efforts in the Hunan Province of China, Rift Valley in Kenya, Bangladesh, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, the Darfur region of Sudan, Pakistan, Somalia, India, Indonesia, Mozambique and the Philippines.

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