Silver Spring, Maryland--—The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) regretfully bids farewell to April Win, an ADRA Myanmar employee who died during the devastating cyclone that hit Myanmar on May 2 and 3, which left more than 130,000 dead or missing and as many as 2.5 million homeless.
Although the body of April Win has not yet been found, her family has confirmed her death in the disaster.
"In a tragedy that has affected so many, the loss of one of our own makes this disaster even more personal, both for me and for the entire ADRA family," said Charles Sandefur, president of ADRA International, shortly after hearing the news.
"To the grieving family, know that our hearts and our prayers are with you throughout this time of loss," he added. "April was our colleague and will be greatly missed."
On Tuesday, May 27, President Sandefur led the observance of a minute of silence in remembrance of Ms. Win during a large assembly meeting at the ADRA World Headquarters.
A recent graduate of the Myanmar Union Adventist Seminary, located in Myaungmya, Ayeyarwady Division, southern Myanmar, Ms. Win was 22 when she disappeared on May 3, during the onslaught of the deadly cyclone. At the time of her disappearance, she lived in the Hman Gone village, Labutta Township, with her parents, Ngwe Win and Tin Tin Hla, whom she looked after.
Ms. Win had been working as a part-time accountant for ADRA, assisting in the daily financial operations of a tsunami rehabilitation project in the Irrawaddy Delta. Her colleagues in the ADRA Myanmar office described her as hard working, with a quiet disposition, and "very bright." Ms. Win was planning to pursue graduate studies in Yangon through a distance-learning program offered by the Philippine Education Institute.
Ms. Win is survived by her parents and brothers.
ADRA Myanmar has also reported that four sub-contracted workers engaged in an ADRA tsunami rehabilitation project in the delta region also died during Cyclone Nargis. Their identities have not yet been released pending confirmation.
In response to the continued needs of at least 1.4 million Cyclone Nargis survivors who have not yet received aid, ADRA is providing additional emergency food aid, water, shelter materials, and medical assistance in southern Myanmar.
ADRA is present in 125 countries, providing community development and emergency management without regard to political or religious association, age, gender, race, or ethnicity.
Additional information about ADRA can be found at www.adra.org.
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Author: Nadia McGill
Media Contact:
Hearly Mayr
ADRA International
12501 Old Columbia Pike
Silver Spring, MD 20904
Phone: 301.680.6376
E-mail: Media.Inquiries@adra.org
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
A family look for traces of their house, on a marooned embankment, in the village of Pay Kunhnasay in the Kawhmu township May 30, 2008. Myanmar must stop forcing Cyclone Naargis ...
