Attention News Editors:

Soka Gakkai Japan and Singapore Soka Association Contribute to Myanmar Cyclone Relief

    TOKYO, May 20 /CNW/ - Soka Gakkai General Director Masaaki Masaki visited
the Tokyo office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on May 19 to
make a donation of 3 million yen (US$28,800) in support of relief efforts
following the May 2 cyclone which has devastated the Irrawaddy Delta area of
Myanmar.
    UNHCR Representative in Japan Saburo Takizawa and Japan Association for
UNHCR Executive Director Kaoru Nemoto expressed their gratitude for the
donation. Mr. Takizawa said that UNHCR deeply appreciated this generous
gesture and that the donation would benefit those suffering in Myanmar.
    UNHCR has a large local team already working in the country and pledged
that the funds would be efficiently used to buy tents to provide urgently
needed shelter. The agency aims to provide a total of 50,000 tents which could
house 250,000 people.
    Mr. Masaki stated, "We strongly wished to take action to relieve the
suffering of the people of Myanmar and we feel confident that UNHCR is well
placed to do this."
    Singapore Soka Association (SGI-Singapore) has also responded by
assisting relief efforts organized by Mercy Relief, a Singapore-based
organization promoting humanitarian relief and development projects in Asia.
    On May 9, some 30 Singapore Soka Association members and other volunteers
worked at the SSA youth center to pack 5 tons of relief goods purchased by
Mercy Relief including tents, water purification tablets and medical supplies.
These were sent to Myanmar in two shipments on May 13 and 15.
    SSA General Director Ong Bon Chai commented, "SSA's efforts to help those
in need are a natural expression of our Buddhist compassion."
    SSA also began a fundraising drive on May 9 and raised a total of
Singapore $48,000 (US $35,000) which has been donated to Mercy Relief for
further relief activities in Myanmar.

    Soka Gakkai International (SGI) is a lay Buddhist association promoting
peace, culture and education with 12 million members in over 190 countries and
territories around the world. Its humanitarian relief activities are part of
the longstanding tradition of Buddhist humanism.

For further information: Joan Anderson, Office of Public Information,
Soka Gakkai International, Tel: +81-3-5360-9482, Fax: +81-3-5360-9885,
sgicontact@sgi.org, www.sgi.org