Dr. Zin, who has been a doctor in Oberon for a year, was born in Burma. Before moving to Australia in 1996 and working all over the country, such as Hobart, Shepparton and Wollongong, Dr. Zin had a great deal of experience with relief efforts. He worked in Thailand for six years and Cambodia for three years, with the International Relief Agency, the Catholic Relief Services and International Rescue Committee. Here he stayed at the refugee camps, providing medical expertise and assistance to refugees.

Dr. Zin had frightening first hand experience of the effect of Cyclone Nargis when his 25 year old son was trapped in Burma during the cyclone and for two days afterwards. Thankfully Dr. Zin’s son was able to fly home to Australia on the first flight available.

Dr. Zin is a member of the Burmese Medical Association of Australia (BMAA), which has over 100 members in NSW alone, and volunteered to go to Burma to assist as the death toll climbs over 100 000. Because Dr. Zin is originally from Burma, he will find less Burmese government resistance entering the country than other western relief efforts have met with.

Dr. Zin travels to Burma on Monday and will be there for three weeks. He will arrive at Rangoon and then travel to the Irrawaddy River Delta area, which runs from the Himalayas to the Indian Ocean. Here, Dr. Zin is working through the Myanmar Medical Association (MMA), providing field relief for those affected by the cyclone.

“It will be a big challenge going in”, said Dr. Zin.

Dr. Zin also has a Certificate for Disaster Management from the University of Wisconsin, a Master of Public Health, and a Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

“ I feel like I can make use of my background and skills”, Dr. Zin said.

We wish Dr. Zin all the best in Burma.

Donations can be made to the Myanmar Cyclone Relief Fund.