Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar on Saturday, May 3, bringing 130 miles-per-hour winds and a 12-foot high surge of water that destroyed million of homes. The death toll has exceeded 60,000 with an additional 40,000 reported missing, and over one million now-homeless people in need of food and emergency assistance. The pleas of these vulnerable people have reached our heart, and MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger is joining the massive international relief efforts to provide vital assistance to help the survivors of this disaster.

Cyclone-ravaged Myanmar is the largest country in Southeast Asia and is also the poorest due to the ruling of a reclusive military government. This largely rural country has an estimated population of 50 million people. Tragically, the region that was harshly hit by the cyclone is the highly populated (24 million people) Irrawaddy Delta including Yangon (Rangoon), the nation's main city. The Irrawaddy Delta is also known as the cornucopia land, which yields most of the country's rice and crops. Since the cyclone hit, food has been scarce and the latest reports state that crowds of hungry survivors are storming shops in quest for food and clean water.

In the wake of this humanitarian crisis, critical support is needed to ensure life-saving help to those most vulnerable in the region. MAZON is urging supporters to provide aid to affected individuals through the Relief Fund for Myanmar.

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) is also soliciting donations to fund the relief effort to assist victims of the cyclone. The JDC will identify the most pressing unmet needs and then partner with appropriate organizations on the ground. To make donations by mail, phone, or online, click here.

On May 12, an earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale struck southwest China's Sichuan Province. The epicenter was approximately 92 kilometers from Chengdu, the provincial capital, and tremors were felt as far away as Beijing. This is the deadliest earthquake to hit China in three decades, killing nearly 40,000 people. The toll is likely to rise sharply as 25,000 more remain buried under debris.

In Dujiangyan city, a middle school classroom building collapsed and over 50 students were reported to have died. Some 80 percent of the buildings in Beichuan County are reported to have collapsed. Aid agencies warn that the greatest peril now for survivors huddling in makeshift shelters is exposure to the cold and rain in the mountainous province of Sichuan.

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) is soliciting donations to fund the relief effort to assist victims of the earthquake. The JDC will identify the most pressing unmet needs and then partner with appropriate organizations on the ground. To make donations by mail, phone, or online, click here.