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Check out the incredible progress of the Australian school community who created messages of solidarity and support and raised funds for the purchase of school kits to help Burmese students back to school!
Together, you raised $96,599.13 which enabled the purchase of 241 school kits! (AUD$400 per kit)
Each school kit caters for 50 students, so you helped over 12,074 Burmese students to return to school.
School Aid was ranked as Save the Children's 2nd highest corporate/private donor for the Burma Appeal - an outstanding contribution by the Australian school community.
The following summarises the activity by Australian schools:
 = One school kit purchased
Each school kit is valued at AUD$400 (including sending and delivery costs)
 = Part of one school kit purchased
 = Message of Hope created
Abbotsford Public School, NSW  
Abbotsleigh, NSW
Airly Primary School, VIC
Aitkenvale State School, QLD
Albany Hills, QLD
Alfords Point Public School, NSW
Alligator Creek State School, QLD
Amata Anangu School, SA 
Ambarvale High School, NSW
Antonio Park Primary School, VIC
Armidale City Public School, NSW
Arthurs Creek Primary School, VIC
Ascot Vale Primary School, VIC
Ashfield Public School, NSW
Auburn Girls High School, NSW
Auburn North Public School, NSW
Austinmer Public School
Australind Primary School, WA
Avenel Primary School, VIC
Avoca State School, QLD
Babakin Primary School, WA
Bacchus Marsh Grammar, VIC
Baden Powell College, VIC
Ballajura Community College, WA
Balwyn North Primary School, VIC
Banksia Park International High School, SA
Banora Point High School, NSW
Barmera Primary School, SA
Beeliar Primary School, NSW
Begonia State School, QLD
Belmont State School, QLD
Bentley Park College, QLD
Berry Springs School, NT
Beverly Hills Girls High School, NSW
Blair Athol Primary School, SA
Bodalla Public School, NSW
Boondall State School, QLD
Boronia Primary School, VIC
Boyare State Primary School, WA
Branxholm Primary School, NSW
Bray Park State School, QLD
Bridgetown High School, WA
Brisbania Public School, NSW
Broadbeach State School, QLD
Bronte Public School
Buderim Mountain School, QLD
Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School, WA
Buninyong Public School, NSW
Burnett Heads Primary School, QLD
Burnie High School, TAS
Burnside State High School, QLD
Busselton SHS, WA
Cairns State High School, QLD
Caloundra High School, QLD
Calwell High School, ACT
Campbell Primary School, ACT
Canadian Lead Primary School, VIC
Canning Vale Primary Campus, WA
Carina State School, QLD
Caringbah High School, NSW
Carlingford
Public School, NSW
Carool Public School, NSW
Castlemaine Scondary College, VIC
Castle Hill Public School, NSW
Caulfield Grammar School, VIC
Cecil Hills Public School, NSW
Centenary Heights State High School, QLD
Central Coast Grammar, NSW
Charters Towers State High School, QLD
Chester Hill High School, NSW
Chipping Norton Public School, NSW
Chittaway Bay Public School, NSW
Chullora Public School, NSW
Churchill North Primary
School, VIC
Cleveland Street Intensive English High School
Cobar High School, NSW
Cohuna Consolidated School, VIC
Coolaroo South Primary School, VIC
Coonamble High School, NSW
Coorparoo State School, QLD
Cosgrove High School,TAS
Cowan Public School, NSW
Cranbrook School, NSW
Dayboro State School, QLD
Debney Park Secondary School, VIC
Derrinallum P-12 College, VIC
Diamond Valley College, VIC
Direk Primary School, SA
Dominic College, TAS
Dominican School Semaphore, SA
Donald High School, VIC
Dooralong Public School, NSW
Drouin Secondary College, VIC
Drummoyne Public, NSW
Durack School, NT
Duval High School, NSW
Eastwood Primary School, VIC
Elanora Heights Public School, NSW
Ellerston Public School, NSW
Endeavour Sports High School, NSW
Engadine High School, NSW
Epping Heights Public School, NSW
Epping North Primary School, NSW
Erina Heights Public School, NSW
Evatt Primary School, ACT
Farrell Flat Primary School, SA
Fawkner Primary School, VIC
Ferny Grove State High School, QLD
Fingal Primary School, TAS
Five Dock Public School, NSW
Footscray City College, VIC
Footscray Primary School, VIC
Forest Hill College, VIC
Geebung Special School, QLD
Genesis Christan College, QLD
Ghinni Ghinni Public School, NSW
Gilroy Catholic College, NSW
Girraween High School, NSW
Girraween Public School, NSW
Glendale East Public School, NSW
Glenunga International High School, SA
Glen Waverley South Primary School, VIC
Golden Square Primary School, VIC
Grange P-12 College, VIC
Greenacre Public School, NSW
Guardian Angels Catholic Primary School, QLD
Hallidays Point Public School, NSW
Hazelbrook Primary School, NSW
Helena Valley Primary School, WA
Hillbrook Anglican School, QLD
Hills International College, QLD
Holroyd School, NSW
Holy Name School, WA
The Hutchins School, TAS
Indooroopilly State, QLD
Ingham SHS, QLD
International Grammar School, NSW
Isis District State High School, NSW
Ivanhoe Girls Grammar School, VIC
Jells Park Primary School, VIC
John Paul College, QLD
Kadina Primary School, SA
Kambala School, NSW
Kardinia International College, VIC
Katoomba North Public School, NSW
Keira High School, NSW
Kensington Public School, NSW
Kincoppal Rose Bay, School of the Sacred Heart, NSW
Kings Park Public School, VIC
Kinross Wolaroi School, NSW
Knox Grammar School, NSW
Kogarah High School, NSW
Kukerin Primary School, WA
Kuraby State School, QLD
Kurmond Public School, NSW
Kurnai College, VIC
Lake Joondalup Baptist College, WA
Lalor North Primary School, VIC
Lathlain Primary School, WA
Laverton College, VIC
Lavington Public School, NSW
La Grange Remote Community School, WA
Leighland Christian School, TAS
Lennox Head Public School, NSW
Lisarow Primary School, NSW
Little Grove Primary School, WA
Livingstone Primary School, VIC
Londonderry Public School, NSW
Loreto College Marryatville, SA
Lyndale Sec. College, VIC
Mabel Park State School, QLD
Maffra Secondary College, VIC
Malkara Special School, ACT
Manly Vale Public School, NSW
Mareeba State School, QLD
Marsden State School, QLD
Marist College Canberra, ACT
Marshall Road State School, QLD
Marwillumbah Public School, NSW
Mater Dei Catholic Primary School, QLD
Meadows Primary School, SA
Melbourne Grammar School, Wadhurst, VIC
Mentone Girls Secondary College, VIC
The Meridian International School, NSW
Millaa Millaa State School, QLD
Millmerran State School, QLD
Minchinbury Primary School, NSW
Moana Primary School, WA
Montello Primary School, TAS
Montpellier Primary School, VIC
Montville State School, QLD
Mordialloc College, VIC
Mosman Preparatory School, NSW
Mount Claremont Primary School, WA
Mount Erin Secondary College, VIC
Mount Pleasant Primary School, SA
Mt Gravatt State School, QLD
Mulga Street Primary School, SA
Mullumbimby High School, NSW
Murwillumbah Public School, NSW
Myponga Primary School, SA
Myrrhee Primary School
Nambour State High School, QLD
Nazareth Catholic College, VIC
Neerim South Primary School, VIC
Newborough Primary School, VIC
Newcomb Park Primary School, VIC
New Farm State School
Oakleigh State School, QLD
Ormeau State School, QLD
Ourimbah Public School, NSW
Our Holy Redeemer, VIC
Pakenham Consolidated School, VIC
Paringa Park School, SA
Pender's Grove Primary School, VIC
Penguin Primary School, TAS
The Peninsula School, VIC
Pleasant Hills Public School, NSW
PLC Sydney, NSW
PLC Sydney - Junior, NSW
Port Macquarie High School, NSW
Presbyterian Ladies' College, VIC
Pulteney Grammar School, SA
Putney Public School, NSW
Queenwood School For Girls, NSW
Rangebank Primary School, VIC
Red Bend Catholic College, NSW
Reece High School, TAS
Reidy Park Primary School, SA
Resurrection School, VIC
Revesby South Public School, NSW
Richlands East State School, QLD
Richmond Primary School, TAS
Riverside Primary School, TAS
Riverton Primary School, SA
Rolling Hills Primary School, VIC
Rosevale State School, QLD
Rostrevor College, SA
Rowland Hassall School, NSW
Rozelle Public School, NSW
Sacred Heart School, VIC
Saint Edmunds College, QLD
Saint Ignatius' College, SA
Scarborough, QLD
The Scots PGC College, QLD
Shailer Park State School, QLD
Smithton Primary School, TAS
Soldiers Point Public School, NSW
Sorell School, TAS
South Coogee Primary School, NSW
Southern Cross Catholic College, QLD
Southport State School, QLD
Springwood Public School, NSW
Spring Gully Primary School, VIC
Stanmore Public School, NSW
Stansbury Primary School, SA
Stella Maris
Stratheden Primary School, NSW
Strathfield Girls High School, NSW
St Agnes Mt Gravatt School, QLD
St Aidan's Girls School, QLD
St Albans Primary School, VIC
St Andrew's Anglican College
St Bernadine's Catholic School, QLD
St Columba Anglican
St David's Parish School, SA
St George's Road Primary School, VIC
St Ives High School, NSW
St Joseph's School, WA
St Jude's, NSW
St Lawrence's Primary School, WA
St Leonards, VIC
St Maria Goretti's Catholic School, WA
St Martins Primary School, SA
St Marys South Public School, NSW
St Michael's Collegiate, TAS
St Michael's Parish Primary School, VIC
St Monica's College, VIC
St Paul's Grammar School, NSW
St Peter's Anglican Primary, NSW
St Thomas More School, VIC
St Thomas' Primary School, NSW
Sunbury Downs Secondary College, VIC
Sutherland Shire Schools, NSW
Swift's Creek Primary School, VIC
Sydenham-Hillside Primary School, VIC
Sydney Girls HIgh School, NSW
Sydney Grammar School Edgecliff Prep, NSW
Sydney Sec College Blackwattle Bay Campus, NSW
Sylvania High School, NSW
Tara Anglican School for Girls, NSW
Taren Point PS, NSW
Tempe High School, NSW
Thirroul Public School, NSW
Toronto Public School, NSW
Torrensville Primary School, SA
Trinity School, NSW
Tuggerah Lakes SC Berkeley Vale Campus, NSW
Tuncurry Public School, NSW
Ulmarra Public School, NSW
Umina Public School, NSW
Victorian College of Koorie Education, VIC
Wamberal Public School, NSW
Warwick Farm Public School, NSW
Warwick West State School, QLD
Wellington Secondary College, NSW
Werribee Community Centre, VIC
Wesley College, WA
Westall Secondary College, VIC
Wewak Street School, NSW
Willow Grove Primary School, VIC
The Willows State School, QLD
Wingham Public School, NSW
Wishart State School, QLD
Woodcroft College, SA
Woombye State School, QLD
Wooranna Park Primary School, VIC
Wyong Creek Public School, NSW
Yagoona Public School, NSW
Yarra Road Primary School, VIC
Yarram Primary School, VIC
Yarraman Park Primary School, VIC
Yates Avenue Public School, NSW
Yerong Creek Public School, NSW
Yidarra Catholic Primary School, WA
York Primary School, NSW
Latest Update - Wednesday, 8 October: School Aid named 2nd largest donor
With fundraising reaching just over $90,000 for the Burma Emergency Appeal, Save The Children have announced School Aid as it's second largest corporate/private donor to Burma! Congratulations to all schools involved in this Appeal. United - you and your fellow Australian peers are a philanthropic force!
Update - Friday, August 1: Picture of a hand-to-mouth existence in Burma
Startling statistics released recently revealing the hand-to-mouth existence of many Burmese people now indicate that 34% of households had no food stocks
on the day of the survey, and a further 45% reported only having enough to last the next 1 - 7 days. Children in Burma will need our help for years to come and the relief effort still needs more money to respond to longer term needs or people. Now that international aid workers have been given much improved access to the worst affected areas, the international community is being asked to rethink its initial reluctance to help. The Australian Government has recently announced that it will provide a further $30 million in humanitarian assistance to Burma. The latest figures are now telling us that over 4,000 school were damaged or destroyed by the Cyclone, and that of the 2.4 million people affected by the Cyclone, at least 45% of them are children.
Update - Monday, July 28: Hope amid the monsoon rain
"It's raining every day now in
Burma, very heavily. Monsoon season has clearly arrived. It's not the gentle rain we're used to at home - more like someone tipping a bucket of water on your head. Along with the rain, you can't ignore the sound of chainsaws, as slowly all of the trees that were ripped down by the cyclone are being chopped up and carted away. Many people you meet on the street are still traumatised by what they've been through, unable to sleep because they keep remembering how terrifying the cyclone was.
But amid all the heartache are inspiring stories
of ordinary Burmese people helping each other:
There's a cafe in Yangon
in which the owner has been stockpiling big plastic bags full of bread. He has been loading his car up every other day and driving down to the Delta, a round trip of over 200km to hand the bread over to a Buddhist monastery. The monks there have been caring for people displaced by the cyclone. This owner was asked if he had a family connection to the area and he said no. But then he thought abuot it and said: "Well, at the end, those people are my brothers and sisters too, as much as my family here in Yangon".
This story is from from a blog entry by Chris Northey, CARE's Emergency Team Leader, in Burma.
Update - Monday, July 14: Messages of Hope to be delivered in the coming weeks
Over 8,000 Burmese students have now benefited from School Aid's Burma Appeal by receiving school kits
thanks to the kind donations of Australian school students. Now, the messages which have been created by schools all over Australia, are set to be delivered to children affected by the cyclone in the coming weeks. The inspiring messages, which have been flowing into the School Aid office since a fortnight after Nargis struck, have so far been profiled on School Aid's 'Messages of Hope Gallery'. They are currently being translated into Burmese and a Save the Children representative will be presenting them to students in Burma in the coming weeks.
We will of course be uploading photos of this special "hand over" event on the School Aid website as soon as it happens. Stay tuned!
Update - Tuesday, 1 July: BACK TO SCHOOL DAY in Burma
More than 100,000 students across
some of the hardest hit regions in Burma return to school today. Australian schools have so far enabled the purchase and delivery of 124 school kits, which are benefiting over 6,200 students in the Eastern Delta as they return back to school today. School Aid is proud of the achievements of all the schools that have participated in this Appeal so far, and helped to make this a very special day for the returning Burmese students.
Update - Friday, 27 June: Only a few days to go until schools resume in Eastern Delta
July 1 - next Tuesday - is the official date when more than 100,000 Burmese students in some of the worst hit areas of Burma, including the Eastern Delta (where the school kits have been sent to), start returning back to school.
As you can see in some of the photos above, the school kits purchased with funds raised by Austraian schools have already begun arriving and are being delivered to students to enable them to return to school next Tuesday. We will have more images of students returning to school with their new kits next week.
In other parts of Burma that weren't as badly affected by the disaster, such as Yangon district, students have been slowly returning back to temporary schools for weeks now, commencing their new school year.
School Aid will be doing a live interview with Sharyn Hanley from Save the Children, next week, who is in Burma right now about how students are coping with the disaster, and how the kits are helping to restart schooling. We will include a transcript of this interview on the website next week.
Update - Tuesday, 24 June: Min Min, a 6 year old Burmese student, says: "I didn't cry"
Min Min is 6 years old and lived in a village surrounded by rice fields and huge trees, many of which were knocked over by Cyclone Nargis. It is hard to imagine the strength of a cyclone, that destroyed houses and felled trees but Min Min doesn't have to imagine, he can remember what it felt like to run from its power...
School Aid and Save the Children are providing the opportunity for children like Min Min to return to their education, despite the hardships caused by Cyclone Nargis. Read Min Min's full story by clicking on the link at the top of this page.
Update - Friday, 20 June: First photos of temporary schools being set up in Burma coming soon
Very soon, Save the Children will be sharing with us some of the first photos
to come out of Burma of their work setting up temporary schools, to which all the schools participating in our Burma Emergency Appeal have contributed!
Save the Children will also be introducing us to a very special little boy caught up in this disaster, and his tale of courage and survival.
Save the Children are currently focussing their efforts on four townships in the Eastern Delta, called Wakema, Dedaye, Pyapon and Maubin where they are either establishing temporary schools where schools have been completely destroyed or supporting the repair of damaged schools. In each case, the school supplies we are providing are essential for learning to resume.
Stay tuned!
Update - Wednesday, 18 June: The situation in Burma now
The Burmese government has introduced new guidelines for international organisations assisting in cyclone-affected areas; as a result, Save the Children is still having no trouble getting access for their staff. The latest report on disease, just released by the World Health Organisation, shows that disease such as dengue fever, measles, lower respiratory tract infections and acute diarrhoea are prevalent in Burma. Children under the age of 5 are particularly susceptible to these diseases.
Hunger is also still a major concern; Save the Children estimates that 30,000 children were malnourished before the cyclone hit, and thousands are still at risk of severe malnutrition. Transitional education is a crucial step in children's rehabilitation; temporary schooling is being set up with locally available materials such as thatch, bamboo and tarpaulin sheets.
Update - Monday, 16 June: Making the most of the school kits - the challenges of temporary schooling
Save the Children have informed us about some of the complexities and challenges of setting up temporary schooling in post disaster situations such as what's occurring in Burma right now. It involves a lot more than just delivering school materials and setting up tents. Teachers need to be trained in special ways to give them the skills necessary to teach in temporary environments and to know how to respond to their students' feelings about what they've been through. As damaged schools are getting repaired, temporary schools are set up either in people's homes, or in tents. Many volunteers are being recruited to make up for the many teachers that either died or are still missing following the cyclone. Child friendly spaces are being set up where children can play. A wholistic approach is needed to ensure that the needs of children are met so that they can make the most of the school kits that we're providng them.
Don't forget that you can ask Sharyn, from Save the Children, all your questions about the situation in Burma right now by emailing your question to us at admin@schoolaid.org.au.
Update - Wednesday, 11 June: Save the Children, School Aid's partner in Burma, starts to deliver school materials to cyclone-affected children
Thanks to the generous support of Australian schools, our partner Save the Children has already begun delivering essential learning materials
(exercise books, pens, pencils, erasers etc ) to just some of the estimated one hundred thousand children affected by the cyclone in the Eastern Irrawaddy Delta. As well as delivering these educational materials, Save the Children has been repairing primary schools and training teachers. This is bringing real benefits to children and more will be delivered over the coming weeks and months.
We will provide more details on the situation in Burma and how funds raised by Australian schools are making a real difference there, as they come to hand.
Keep up the great
work, everyone!
Update - Tuesday, 3 June: School kits and messages from Australian schools to reach kids in hardest hit region in Burma, the Eastern Irrawaddy Delta
As you can see above, schools across the country have been putting in incredible efforts over the past weeks to create messages and raise funds toward the purchasing of school kits to be sent to cyclone-affected kids in one of the hardest hit regions in Burma, the Eastern Irrawaddy Delta.
School Aid has formed a new partnership with leading development agency, Save the Children, who have been on the ground with 500 staff delivering aid in Burma from when the cyclone hit. With their support, we are able to 100% guarantee that school kits and messages will be delivered to children affected by the cyclone.
Tremendous job so far, everyone!
Update - Tuesday, 27 May: School Aid to launch initiative to help children "back to school"
School Aid is currently working with a leading non government organisation (NGO) on a new initiative, where Australian school kids can directly help Burmese children go "back to school" following the recent disaster in Burma.
Although normal schooling is still a distant reality for children in Burma, providing temporary schooling is seen as essential to helping them regain a sense of normalcy and cope with the tragedy they have experienced.
Funds raised by schools throughout Australia that support the Burma Appeal will purchase and distribute special school kits - designed specifically for post disaster situations - in one of the hardest hit regions in Burma, the Eastern Delta.
Our NGO partner has been working on the ground in Burma for 13 years and has 500 staff on the ground, who have been involved in the emergency relief since the cyclone occurred. They will be able to guarantee that all supplies purchased will go directly to the children most affected.
Please stay tuned for further details when we announce "Burma Back to School" next week.
Update - Friday, 23 May: Local news of two inspiring Australian schools!
Drummoyne Public School in New South Wales has raised an amazing $926.20 in their free dress day for the Burma Emergency Appeal. Students dressed in the colours of the Burmese flag - red, blue and white. This is the biggest donation yet from a single school!
Kukerin Primary School in Western Australia is located in a town of population 50. The 34 students who attend the school raised $58 for the Appeal. No wonder the school motto is "Small But Strong"!
Update - Thursday, 22 May: The challenges of rebuilding schools and children's lives
Many children in Burma will be forced to attend school in relief camps and tents because 85% of the educational buildings have been destroyed or damaged in some badly hit regions, the United Nations says.
According to the Burmese Government, the school year will begin on June 2. However UNICEF says that this leaves no time to rebuild the estimated 2,700 severely damaged primary schools used by 350,000 students, or to replace the unknown numbers of teachers killed or missing following the storm.
Instead, the focus is on training volunteer teachers, providing as many as 300,000 school kits for affected students and setting up schools in temporary locations as soon as possible using tarps, tents and even bamboo.
"Children have been through a terrible tragedy and trauma," said Cliff Meyers, UNICEF's regional education advisor. "Research shows that getting back into a normal pattern represented by attending school really helps them adjust to the tragedy and overcome the horrors they have been through."
Tin Soe, a Burmese boy, whose family lost their home, was begging on the streets of Yangon this week with his grandmother. "We are here to help mother make some money so we can eat," the child, Tin Soe, quietly said. "We are hungry".
Richard Bridle, another UNICEF official in Bangkok, said that getting children back to their classrooms was good for adults too. "It gives parents breathing space to think about things other than the immediate survival of their families," he said.
Guy Cave, from Save The Children, also said that setting up temporary schools by June 2nd would be difficult given many areas still have "not been reached with food and water let alone school equipment."
Cave also warned that authorities could miss the opportunity to build stronger, safer schools if they rush to open classrooms.
Update - Tuesday, 20 May: Australians urged to dig deep for children and families of Burma
On his return from Burma, World Vision chief, Tim Costello, called on Australians to dig deep for the children and families of Burma. Despite the hurdles in getting aid into parts of Burma, Rev Costello said:
"[Australian donors] think it's going into the Government's pockets and they [the Burmese]
are not getting the money. In truth, not a cent of our aid is going to the military. Getting that message through is very difficult ... But we must not give up on them. They did not choose their Government."
The UN estimates that 2.4 million people are currently suffering in Burma after the cyclone hit
on May 2nd. Temporary shelters are now housing displaced persons throughout Burma's disaster zones, with children remaining especially vulnerable to disease, malnutrition and trafficking. Although in the weeks and months to come, some of these shelters will become makeshift schools, normal schooling is currently a very distant reality for these children in Burma.
Update - Monday, 19 May: Thousands of children could starve in the coming weeks
Save the Children warns that thousands of children could die in the coming weeks from starvation.
"We are extremely worried that many children in the affected areas
are now suffering from severe acute malnourishment, the most serious level of hunger", says Jasmine Whitbread, who heads the agency's operations in Britain.
An estimated 30,000 children under the age of 5 were already acutely malnourished prior to the disaster, according to research conducted by the charity.
"When people reach this stage, they can die in a matter of days"
Update - Friday, 16 May: Two suspected child traffickers arrested in Burma
The UN says child traffickers are targeting the youngest and most vulnerable survivors of Burma's catastrophic cyclone and two suspects have already been arrested. Ms Dufay, UNICEF's chief child protection officer in Burma, says children who have been separated from their parents, and who were possibly orphans, are now facing the threat of violence on top of the everyday struggle to find enough food and water.
Update - Thursday, 15 May: "A generation of children could be wiped out"
A generation of children could be wiped out if help does not quickly get through to the cyclone-stricken villages of Burma, according to International officials. Of the 1.7 million people who have been left homeless, many hundreds of thousands are children who are most vulnerable to waterborne diseases.
Update - Tuesday, 13 May: Torrential rain expected in Burma today: death toll could rise substantially.
Survivors of the Burma Cyclone are bracing themselves for further torrential rain. These heavy deluges will hamper aid efforts which are only now starting to reach the more remote areas.
Save the Children spokeswoman, Kathryn Rawe, said huge storms were expected to strike Burma. Speaking from Thailand she said, "Storm warnings have been issued to last until May 15. It is feared that a months worth of rain could fall in just two days.
Oxfam says the initial estimated death toll of 100,00 may multiply by up to 15 times if clean water and sanitation are not urgently provided.
Update - Monday, 12 May
COMING SOON - School Aid to provide Australian schools with the opportunity to send messages of hope to children in Burma.
Over the weekend, the Australian Government increased its commitment in providing aid to the victims of the Burmese Cyclone Nargis to AU$25million.
Schools in the worse hit areas are being used as makeshift refugee centres for women, children and the elderly. Approximately 1.5 million are still clinging to survival in the region. Thousands of children are still unaccounted for.
Update - Friday, 9 May: "Children are separated from their families and injured and many are traumatised"
The UN Children's Fund says, in any disaster, children suffer the most and Burma is no exception. Deputy Director of UNICEF's Office of Emergency Programs, Pierette Vu Thi, says children are most at risk of getting sick. During a disaster, she says, chidlren are particularly vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.
"Many children are separated from their families and injured and many are traumatised" she said. "We are still probably underestimating
the impact and gravity of the situation on the ground".
About 24 million people live in the five regions struck by Cyclone Nargis. Up to forty percent of them are children.
Most schools in these regions have been completely wiped out; those school buildings still standing are being used as emergency shelters to house just some of the millions of homeless and displaced persons currently in Burma.
Update - Thursday, 8 May: 40% of dead and missing believed to be children
Because about 40% of the people living in the delta where the cyclone caused so much destruction are children under 18, it is believed that 40% of the dead and missing are children, says Save the Children.
The death toll could reach 100,000, while up to a million people have been left homeless. The situation is "increasingly horrendous", according to Shari Villarosa from the US Embassy in Burma.
Survivors have walked for days past dead bodies to reach help. People are hungry, thirsty and vulnerable to disease - with bridges and roads blocked, aid has been slow to arrive.
Update - Wednesday, 7 May
State media reports that Burma's Military Government has raised its death toll from the devasting Cyclone Nargis to just under 22,500 people, with 41,000 people still missing.
Although reports on the impact this disaster is having on children are very scarce, we know that disasters such as these often affect children in three major ways. Children can be either:
1. Killed - being small they are physically less able to avoid dangers, such as tidal waves
2.
Orphaned - their parents are killed by the disaster, leaving children without the ability to meet their basic needs
3.
Psychologically traumatised - surviving children are often left with deep psychological scars for many years after the event
Update - Tuesday, 6 May
Cyclone Nargis has claimed more than 15,000 lives with at least another 30,000 reported missing.
Aid workers on the ground say that Nargis is emerging as the worst cyclone to hit Asia since 1991, when 143,000 people died in Bangladesh.
In Burma, schools are closed down and currently being taken over as shelters for displaced persons.
Children are often the worse hit in disasters such as these with families, homes, schools and communities torn apart.
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