Updated Thursday, May 15, 2008

Baptist aid workers enter Myanmar, China

BWA Communications

Washington, D.C. - Members of Baptist World Aid (BWAid) Rescue24, a search, rescue and relief team, have been granted visas to enter Myanmar and China to assess the needs of those affected by disasters.

A cyclone struck Myanmar on May 3. An earthquake hit China on May 12.

Led by leaders of Hungarian Baptist Aid (HBAid), the two teams are expected to arrive in both countries on May 15 or May 16.

Other members of BWAid Rescue24 are *waiting to respond to the needs that have been identified in the two countries, if permission is granted. BWAid Rescue24 volunteers from North Carolina and Virginia in the United States, Singapore, Australia, and Hungary are making themselves available to go to China and Myanmar. Seven members of Texas Baptist Men from the United States are also on standby.

Laszlo Pavelcze, rescue commander of BWAid Rescue24 and HBAid, is coordinating relief efforts with disaster management authorities in China and will, along with another HBAid colleague, deliver and distribute a donation of tents, blankets, medicines and food on behalf of BWAid, the relief and development arm of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA).

In addition, HBAid has a special water purifier and bottler, with the capacity to purify and package 4,500 liters per hour, or 100,000 water bags per day, on standby to enter China.

The Baptists granted visas to enter Myanmar will make contact with Myanmar Baptists, as well as coordinate relief efforts. They will deliver assistance on behalf of BWAid, which is coordinating the international relief efforts among Baptists.

A special roundtable meeting of Baptist convention and relief and aid leaders is to be held in Bangkok on May 24 to determine the way forward with respect to Myanmar. Initiated by BWAid director Paul Montacute, the roundtable includes Baptist leaders from Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Australia, Hungary, Sweden and the United States.

The Asia Pacific Baptist Federation, one of six continental unions of the BWA, is organizing the meeting. Its main objective will be to listen to the briefings on the situation inside Myanmar and plan follow-ups.

Several Baptist rescue and aid workers are in Bangkok, Thailand, which shares a common border with Myanmar, awaiting visa application approval to enter Myanmar. Volunteers with BWAid Rescue24 from Australia, who did not receive visas, are returning home from Bangkok.

A deadly cyclone hit Myanmar on May 3. The estimated number of deaths ranges from 68,000 to almost 130,000. Another 2.5 million people are estimated to have been severely affected by the cyclone.

An earthquake hit the northwest section of Sichuan Province in China on May 12, killing and injuring tens of thousands with thousands more missing.

Donations to the BWAid Emergency Response Fund can be made at www.bwanet.org/bwaid or sent to: Emergency Response Fund, Baptist World Aid, 405 North Washington Street, Falls Church, VA 22046.