International Rescue Committee

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“The hospital’s ceiling was completely blown off”

Posted by Kate Sands Adams on October 2nd, 2008

The IRC is repairing and equipping health centers damaged by Cyclone Nargis. Photo: Anne Richard/The IRC

The IRC is repairing and equipping health centers damaged by Cyclone Nargis. Photo: Anne Richard/The IRC

Magyi Bin village in Ngapudaw Township, Myanmar, was hit hard by Cyclone Nargis.  The storm ripped through the village, leaving many buildings in tatters, including the station hospital which provides more than 20,000 people with essential medical services.

“The hospital’s ceiling was completely blown off, its walls, beds and equipment were severely damaged, and its small stock of medicine was mostly wiped out,” says Giorgio Faedo, the IRC’s field coordinator in Myanmar. “The crumbling facility is barely able to care for the 50 or more inpatients it receives at any given time.”

Story just posted on the IRC Web site here

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Posted in Asia, emergencies, health | No Comments »

First Lady meets Burmese refugees, IRC staff in Thailand [Photo Share]

Posted by Kate Sands Adams on August 8th, 2008

Laura Bush meets with IRC staff in Thailand
Photo: The IRC
Yesterday, First Lady Laura Bush and her daughter Barbara visited a refugee camp in Thailand where the International Rescue Committee works to support Burmese refugees. Kay Bellor, the head of the IRC’s Overseas Processing Entity office, which assists people seeking admission to the United States as refugees, gave them a guided tour.

Laura Bush and Barbara Bush meet Burmese refugees IRC photo

Mrs. Bush also sat in on meetings with Burmese refugees who are being considered for resettlement in the U.S. and joined a send-off for families who were leaving the camp to begin new lives in South Carolina.

Thanks to IRC colleagues in Thailand who shared these photos.