Locals pitch in for Myanmar disaster relief

In response to Cyclone Nargis, a Christian nonprofit based in Charleston is sending a dozen water purification systems overseas today "on faith" that the government of Myanmar drops its political posturing and opens its borders to foreign aid.

Beaufort residents Steve Brown and Perry Hall are part of that effort. Thursday afternoon, Hall trucked one of the 1,600-pound systems out of the parking lot of Brown's catering business where it had been on display to raise awareness of Water Missions International's headquarters in Charleston.

In 6 months, the display outside Steve Brown Catering helped raise about $2,500 for the nonprofit.

"We're doers. Just had a man drop $100 on my desk (for Water Missions)," Brown said. "We're just people doing what's right."

The purifier that Hall took to Charleston isn't bound for Myanmar, said Danya M. Jordan, vice president of development for Water Missions. The organization has gotten many more requests to see the systems, she said, since the cyclone hit Saturday. The Beaufort unit will serve as a display model.

The cyclone killed tens of thousands and imperil that many again with rampant disease. Health experts are scrambling to prevent widespread illness after reports of malaria outbreaks and diarrhea surfaced in areas of Myanmar hardest hit by a cyclone, U.N. health officials said Thursday.

Early estimates indicate 20 percent of children in the most devastated areas are suffering from diarrhea, and the situation could worsen, said Osamu Kunii, UNICEF's chief of health and nutrition in Yangon, Myanmar's largest city.

"Most of the area is covered by dirty water," he said. "There's a lot of dead bodies and they have very poor access -- sometimes no access -- to clean drinking water or food."

Each of Water Missions' systems can support about 3,000 people for everyday needs and purify up to 10,000 gallons of water a day.

After a press conference today, the 12 purification systems are headed to Charlotte, N.C., where they'll join $1 million in relief supplies assembled by nonprofit Samaritan's Purse bound for Bangkok, Thailand, said Water Missions spokeswoman Lindsay M. Wine.

The aid must sit there on standby because Myanmar has blocked foreign aid.

"It's a sad situation," Wine said. "They'll wait there until the government is ready. ... We're stepping in on faith."

Shipping out aid without clearance in the intended destination may seem rash, but "people are dying," Wine said. "That's why we have to act now. When those borders are open, we can act immediately."

More local efforts to help may be in the works. Hall said Beaufort officials are meeting Tuesday to consider organizing aid for the cyclone survivors.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.