5.09.2008 - 12:50pm ET

(CSRwire) FORT MYERS, Fla., May 9, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- Fort Myers-based nonprofit New Missions Systems International (NMSI) is organizing relief efforts for people critically affected by the cyclone that devastated Myanmar in Southeast Asia earlier this week. The organization is in desperate need of donations.

NMSI, which trains and organizes relief workers throughout the world, has multiple aid teams already in place in the city of Yangon in Myanmar (formerly Burma), including an American couple who arrived just a few weeks ago. NMSI missionaries in Myanmar have already begun preparations to provide aid, but they need funds to purchase basic supplies such as medicine, water and food.

More than 65,000 people are dead or missing, and millions are homeless. Myanmar's military government is not controlling price gouging, so food and water prices have tripled, and the cost for a gallon of petrol has risen to over $10, according to reports NMSI has received from its missionaries in Yangon. Homeless Myanmar citizens are crammed into Buddhist monasteries, waiting for the much needed-aid that is not coming due to the military government's slow response, they say.

"Getting water is an immediate priority for missionaries and relief workers, but healthcare is also a top concern. Entire villages were submerged, and bodies are floating in the salty water. Ultimately, these villages will have to be rebuilt," said NMSI Vice President JD Whitney. "NMSI will personally deliver the funds, help purchase needed supplies, and facilitate their distribution to the citizens of Yangon."

The nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization is poised to raise $500,000 to alleviate extreme suffering and to leverage additional aid in this remote region.

To donate to Myanmar relief efforts through NMSI, call (239) 337-4336, or send a tax-deductible donation to NMSI, Attention: Myanmar Outreach P.O. Box 547, Fort Myers, Florida 33902. Donations are also accepted online at www.nmsi.org.

About New Mission Systems International

Founded in 1989, New Mission Systems International is a global
non-denominational Christian missions organization based in Fort Myers, Fla. It serves as an accountable arm for missionaries overseas, who depend on the support of private funds. Its programs include humanitarian aid, famine relief, medical assistance, orphan care, HIV/AIDS education, short- and long-term missions, college credit internships, and church missions committee development. NMSI currently has 169 missionaries, 73 of which are living and working overseas in 24 countries, including Myanmar, with 34 more preparing to go overseas within the next year.

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