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Myanmar

Emergency Appeal update: Myanmar(Burma) Cyclone Nargis response

Appeal #699-A

REVISED appeal amount: $6,082,005

Contributions/Pledges Received: $5,062,621

Funding Still Needed: $1,019,383

SITUATION:

Relief efforts continue as the second stage of the response to Cyclone Nargis moves forward. Nargis struck Myanmar (Burma) on May 2-3 and, according to figures supplied by the United Nations in July, killed more than 84,530 persons; 53,836 are still reported missing. Access to the affected areas has improved both for local and international workers, and assistance is getting through, though still slowly. Meanwhile, relief and recovery needs remain great and are further exacerbated by the arrival of heavy monsoon rains.

CWS RESPONSE:

SUMMARY OF RELIEF WORK:

(as of June 19)

- 572 villages have been reached by CWS and a local CWS partner, unnamed for security reasons.

- 41,374 households (163,000 people) have received shelter tarps.

- 3,944 clean water baskets have been installed, directly benefiting some 323,000 persons, and others as they arrive back to their communities. This could ultimately benefit some 980,000 persons.

- CWS local partners have been distributing seeds to the targeted farm households in affected areas.

NEXT STAGE: In the next stage of our efforts, CWS will focus on water provision to additional communities, and further temporary shelter assistance, both of which were objectives in our original appeal. In addition, a new objective of agricultural recovery work is planned that has the potential of generating income of $11.9 million by the 20,073 targeted farm families, who will also provide employment for farm laborers. Estimated beneficiaries: 116,000 farmers/farm laborers. The project is expected to last through December 31, 2008.

Working as a member of a larger Action by Churches Together International effort, CWS is supporting the local partner, whose work focuses on helping poor rural families in Myanmar to improve their income.

This partner designs, manufactures and disseminates a range of irrigation products that enable small farmers to increase their food security, incomes and well-being. This CWS partner has been operating in

Myanmar for more than four and a half years and has both local and expatriate staff specializing in horticulture, entomology, agricultural economics and irrigation. Prior to the cyclone, this partner was already operational in several thousand villages in the Irrawaddy Delta.

With the added objective in this revised appeal of assisting in agricultural recovery work, this partner has begun the distribution of seeds to targeted farm households in 11 affected townships. These include landless laborers and small-plot paddy rice farmers/farm households able to now plant rice seedlings.

The numerical breakdown and calculation follows:

- 20,073 farm households of the Irrawaddy Delta will receive rice seed, fertilizer and inputs for their monsoon paddy rice crop.

- Farm households will produce average paddy yields of 50 baskets per acre x 5 acres average = 250 baskets of rice per farm household. About 170 baskets can be sold as surplus for the typical 5-person family. (80 baskets per household will be set aside for one year*s consumption.)

- Employment will be generated by 20,073 farms for landless laborers; daily wages will enable laborers to buy food.

Household income gains:

- Direct cash transfers of $20 per household will allow families to buy food and essential items. This cash infusion or extra purchasing power will help stimulate the rural economy.

- With average household surplus of 170 baskets @ $3.50 prevailing farm gate price per basket, average household income generated from monsoon paddy production will total $595. This income will likely be used by paddy farmers for input capital for their dry season crops.

- Total income of $11.9 million may be generated by the 20,073 targeted households through the project.

Overall rice production:

- A total of 5 million baskets of paddy (88,036 metric tons) should be produced in 11 townships as a result of the project. CWS will support its partner in the procurement and distribution of the following items:

Paddy field preparation tools and equipment: power tillers to villages that have a deficit of available draft animals for plowing. Each tiller has the capacity to prepare approximately 100 acres during this monsoon season.

Diesel: to operate power tillers - this will consume about 3 gallons per day and can till three acres per day.

Rice seed stock: to provide two baskets of seed stock (20 kg) per acre up to ten baskets per small-plot farm family.

Cash assistance: providing around 20,000 kyats (approx. $20) per family so they can afford to hire landless laborers and thereby generate village-level wage employment.

Fertilizer: to provide 50 kg bag of dry fertilizer and 25kg of liquid fertilizer for each paddy farmer.

The project will need support for the initial six months to enable the farmers to prepare their lands and do the planting. Hopefully by the end of the year, the farmers will be able to support themselves. Another initiative will be a capacity building effort to improve the coordination and the quality of humanitarian assistance in Myanmar.

At least 5,000 staff and volunteers of the ACT-member agency partners will receive various training and materials during this time period. This includes training in Sphere Minimum Standards for Humanitarian Assistance. Figures are expected to increase as CWS and the ACT Myanmar Emergency Response Operation Coordination Team encourage ACT members and their partners to take up this opportunity for capacity building support.

BUDGET: $6,082,005, of which $1,019,383 is still needed.

Direct program costs total $5,535,027, of which water efforts are $185,500; emergency shelter work is $250,000; livelihood and community support efforts are $4,623,497; capacity building efforts are $194,030 and warehousing and transport are $282,000. CWS indirect costs are $546,978 which includes personnel, bank fees, audit costs, equipment and

supplies.

HOW TO HELP: Contributions to support this emergency appeal may be sent to your denomination or to Church World Service, P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN, 46515. Please designate: Appeal # 699-A, Myanmar (Burma) Cyclone Nargis Response. For further information about disasters to which Church World Service is responding please visit www.churchworldservice.org or call the CWS Hotline, (800) 297-1516.

CWS Emergency Response Program special contacts: (212) 870-3151

Program Director: dderr@churchworldservice.org

Domestic Response: bvollmering@churchworldservice.org