(PORTLAND, ORE. - Nov. 30, 2007) Oregon nurse Sandy Stone has spent Thanksgiving in Iraq, Easter in Afghanistan and now, Christmas 2007, in Bangladesh-all part of her 19 trips of compassionate care with Medical Teams International.
This Tuesday, Stone and three other U.S. volunteers begin four weeks of service in Bangladesh. Ann Johnson and Don Scott, both RNs, and Dr. Steve Price of Boston will join Stone to help survivors of the horrific Bangladesh cyclone, a super storm that hit the country in mid-November.
Cyclone Sidr killed 3,500 people, injured another 3,300 and affected more than 7 million people. It is the deadliest disaster in the country since 1991 when a similar windstorm devastated the region and killed nearly 143,000 people.
Partnering with in-country relief organization, Christian Service Society, the medical volunteers will care for families camped in government shelters and temporary housing. The relief efforts are now focused on helping displaced families return to their homes and villages.
The team will carry in $15,000 in emergency medical supplies-antibiotics, bandages and medicines to combat diarrhea, malaria and water-borne illnesses. They are common but deadly threats in shelters where clean water and adequate sanitation are scarce.
"Cyclone survivors, especially children, desperately need our help as they begin to rebuild their lives," says Bas Vanderzalm, president of Medical Teams International. "This second phase of a disaster is equally important to saving the lives of the Bangladeshi people."
The Bangladesh cyclone comes on the heels of widespread flooding in the country less than three months ago when Medical Teams International responded by sending medical volunteers and medicines to Dhaka. Medical Teams International volunteers are also currently in Mexico, providing care after flooding left more than 500,000 homeless.
To donate to the Bangladesh Cyclone Relief Fund, please call 1-800-959-4325, give online at our secure Web site www.medicalteams.org or mail gifts to PO Box 10, Portland, OR 97207. Donations can also be made at any U.S. Bank branch.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
