Second IsraAID/F.I.R.S.T team returns to Israel after providing aid to victims of Cyclone Nargis

(June 2008)

The second IsraAID/F.I.R.S.T. humanitarian relief team returned to Israel on June 6, 2008 from Myanmar after assisting victims of Cyclone Nargis and teaching disaster preparedness to local relief personnel.

The team consisted of Dr. Efraim Laor, Chairman of F.I.R.S.T ? Fast Israel Research and Search Teams - a UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination expert, Alan Schneider, Adv., Director, B?nai B?rith World Center, Dr. Yoav Shoham and David ?Dedi? Gofer, former commander of Golan Heights rescue team.

As part of the mission, B'nai B'rith World Center director Alan Schneider traveled by boat to a remote village of 1,000 in the cyclone-affected southern Yangon Division. With local partners the boatload of essential items were distributed to the poor villagers who lost many of their houses. Among the items replaced were hundreds of straw mats, blankets, plastic buckets (to catch rain water, their only remaining safe source of water), cooking and eating utensils, candles, medicines.

The mission and purchases were made possible by funds donated to IsraAID: The Israel Forum for International Humanitarian Aid - by B?nai B?rith International, the American Jewish Committee, the Israel embassy in Myanmar, The American Joint Distribution Committee, the Jewish Federation of Toronto, The Jewish Federation of Los Angles and private American family donors.

Each family was also given funds to help them to rebuild their bamboo cane-built homes quickly and return to relative normalcy. The villagers -- who rarely see a visitor from outside their region, and almost never a foreigner -- were thrilled by the donation which was distributed in the monastery to each family in an orderly fashion with the assistance of the chief monk. While this was extremely helpful to the 300 families who live in the village, there is still much to do to replace or repair public facilities such as the school, the monastery dining building, fresh water ponds and rice paddies that were ruined in the storm.

In addition to developing plans and setting the foundations for a long-term medical project in the worst affected area in the delta, the team also participated in high-level U.N. coordination meetings together with representatives of the Myanmar government, U.N. humanitarian agencies and other NGO's.

To this date IsraAID members were able to distribute DIRECTLY over 15 tons of relief items to victims of Cyclone Nargis and train over 500 local medical physicians on how to work in massive disaster sites.