Myanmar floods: Ooredoo provides aid, special code for customers to contribute

• Customers can donate spare credit via dedicated SMS crisis-code
• Company supporting relief and reconstruction efforts across the country

MIDDLE-East telco Ooredoo said it offering support to those affected in Myanmar’s 11 national disaster zones following severe seasonal flooding.
 
Additionally, Ooredoo Myanmar has launched a SMS crisis-code ‘Help Myanmar’ which invites customers to donate their credit balance, or part thereof, to flood victims, the company said in a statement.
 
‘Help Myanmar’ will provide immediate and long term aid to flood-affected people and regions, Ooredoo said.
 
In all, 11 out of 14 regions in Myanmar have been impacted by extreme weather conditions resulting in flooding and landslides. Homes, workplaces and schools have been destroyed, and Ooredoo has pledged its commitment to supporting the reconstruction of educational facilities in cooperation with the Ministry of Rescue and Resettlement.
 
“We are deeply concerned for those who have been affected by this severe flooding and are working to help ease their burden during this critical time,” said Ooredoo chairman Abdullah Mohammed Saud Al Thani.
 
“Besides providing essential support, we are working diligently to minimise network disruptions to help ensure that we can continue to provide a vital lifeline to affected communities,” he added.
 
Ooredoo Myanmar said it is utilising its nationwide network of employees, dealers, and distributors to assess local conditions and needs.
 
The firm intends to directly distribute food, water, medicine, blankets and assist with the provision of temporary shelter to the communities that it can safely access. For inaccessible regions, the company will make the same donations to local authorities for their distribution.

It said it is also making donations in other flood affected regions of up to US$170,000. Ooredoo Group has pledged to match this donation with an additional US$200,000 to contribute to reconstruction efforts after flood waters recede.
 
When the flood waters recede, the additional US$370,000 donation will also support clean-up and rebuilding efforts.
 
Ooredoo actively supports the GSMA's Humanitarian Connectivity Charter, launched at the GSMA Mobile World Congress earlier this year, which demonstrates the commitment of the mobile industry to support customers and first responders before and during humanitarian emergencies.
 
In 2010, Ooredoo through its operating company Indosat, provided support for people in Yogyakarta followed the eruption of the Mount Merapi volcano that forced the evacuation of 350,000 people, the company said.
 
It also made significant contributions to victims of severe flooding across Indonesia in 2013 and 2014.
 
Earlier this year, Ooredoo companies united to provide support to people in Nepal following the major earthquake which devastated the country and during a water crisis in the Maldives provided both humanitarian aid and connectivity solutions.
 
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