Remembering Myanmar and My Friend Joe

The death toll from the 7.8-magnitude earthquake in China's Sichuan province might topple 50,000 soon but lets not forget Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar that's taken twice as many lives. It's getting far less coverage because the Junta refuses to let journalists and aid personnel enter. The Junta is the the nation’s secretive military regime and it's withholding visas from reporters including Dan Rivers of CNN who managed to sneak through anyway and provide us with this brief description.

When I traveled the Irrawaddy in 2005 it was one of the most memorable experiences I had in the Southeast. The vast marshlands were beautiful, the people were generous, kind and helpful and the food was incredibly delicious. Since then I've stayed in touch with my favorite tour guide by the name of Joe (Kyaw) who also sells the most time-consuming handcrafted bamboo gifts ever produced. Joe and a team of doctors and relief workers are helping carry medicine, instant foods, waterguard pills, plastictanks,buckets, plates and anything else they can garner from donations into the troublesome areas. If you'd like to help the people of Myanmar, Joe has a Bank account set up called the "The Nargis Victims of Myanmar Trust"and would appreciate any contribution you feel comfortable with. Here is the information:

Bank: Washington Mutual
address: Yorba Linda Financial Center 1358
20385 Yorba Linda Blvd,
Yorba Linda, CA 92886
Phone: 1-800-788-7000

Name of Account: "The Nargis Victims of Myanmar Trust"
Account # 34033 45916
ABA# 321180748
Swift Code# WMSBUS66
Routing # 322271627

To send a check, please address to "The Nargis Victims of Myanmar Trust" and mail to:

Andrew Khaw
4382 Via Miguel
Yorba Linda, CA 92886

Thank you Capital Region and beyond!