Michael Christoff

It’s been quite a bit of time since I last posted, but I just wanted to take a moment to extend a belated thanks to all of those who donated to my campaign to aid the victims of cyclone Nargis. I didn’t quite reach my goal, but we managed to raise $1,498 for Doctor’s Without Borders. Thanks again so much everyone!

As the title says though, a change is gonna come. Over the next few months I’ll be making some changes to the blog and hopefully posting more. Till then, I’ll let Lauren explain.

A few people have asked over the past couple of weeks if the funds donated to Doctors Without Borders will be earmarked specifically for the relief effort in Myanmar. I’m happy to report that I received confirmation before the holiday this weekend that all funds donated via my firstgiving page will be properly allocated for Myanmar.

Thanks so much to everyone who’ve donated so far. We’ve managed to raise $1,250. For those of you haven’t had a chance yet, now is a fansastic time. For as little as $25, Doctors Without Borders can deliver two meals a day to 150 children. Please take a minute to donate.

The following is a quote from a Bloomberg article that came out yesterday:

An international appeal to aid 2.4 million survivors of last month’s cyclone disaster in Myanmar is only 40 percent funded, the United Nations said

The tsunami in South Asia four years ago managed to raise $7 billion from around the world. Obviously, there some debate about how a number like this is calculated, but that is 83x more than the figured quoted in the above article.

“Funding is urgently needed to sustain the pipeline for food assistance,” Amanda Pitt, a spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said in Bangkok yesterday. “The overall concern is to continue to try to get systematic assistance to those most in need.”

To date Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has distributed 1,250 tons of rice, 410 tons of beans, 190,000 liters of cooking oil in Myanmar. Please help them do more by donating anything you can. Even the smallest donation will help.