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Compelling Personal Stories of Relief Efforts To Be Featured On Multimedia Blog, Plus A Means For Site Visitors To Help

A new multimedia blog called With My Own Eyes (www.myowneyes.org) will offer anyone with an internet connection the opportunity to see first-hand accounts of some of the most devastated, disaster-ravaged and previously inaccessible places in the world, as well as a look at the efforts of one charity to help people that live there.

With My Own Eyes provides users unique and immediate access to some of the most remote and needy areas in the world via video footage, photos and the personal diary entries of team leaders from Operation Blessing International (OBI), the humanitarian organization behind the blog, who are working in nearly-two-dozen countries around the world on a daily basis including China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Peru and the USA.

"Because our relief efforts position us at the center of global conflicts, natural disasters and extreme poverty, we have both an opportunity and an obligation to spread awareness to the public," said Richard Danzeisen, vice president of international operations and programs for Operation Blessing International. "While the remoteness of many of these areas didn't allow for the stories of the people affected by poverty, war, and natural disasters to be told, we are now able to show the world that the urgency of response can't wait and that the need to help does not go away when the TV news cameras leave."

Reporting from some of the most remote and devastated places is never easy, so OBI will be utilizing state of the art technology to relay video footage and other information within hours of arriving at a disaster or humanitarian relief effort. The organization purchased two BGAN satellite units that will enable them to broadcast live video from anywhere on Earth (except the polar ice caps). The units were tested throughout 2007 when natural disasters struck Pakistan, China, India, Bangladesh, Peru and Mexico, and OBI's team were first responders.

"Technology is making the world a smaller place and it can also make a difference in the lives of those who need help," says Danzeisen.

One of the first entries on the With My Own Eyes site is from David Darg, deputy director of OBI, who landed in Kenya's Rift Valley in February for relief operations in the wake of deadly violence and grave human rights violations following a disputed presidential election. More than 1,000 people were killed with multiple clashes between police, gangs and rival ethnic groups. In his first blog, Darg states, "This crisis is much more than angry party supporters fighting over a disputed election. Years of ethnic tensions have surfaced; this is not something that diplomacy in Nairobi can solve. It's sad to think that this time last year I was driving through a stable Kenya towards Somalia to respond to the refugee crisis there. Now East Africa's 'crown jewel' itself is on the brink of collapse. Similarities between the present Kenya crisis and what occurred in Rwanda are all too apparent." Darg captures a gripping video of a toddler's funeral, killed by an ethnic gang.

Other stories currently on the With My Own Eyes site focus on OBI's efforts to help a city of 4 million people in China without electricity and water for two weeks following record snowstorms, as well as OBI's continuing efforts in Tennessee and Arkansas after a series of deadly tornadoes struck several weeks ago.

With My Own Eyes will also provide a link to OBI's donation site for anyone wishing to help the people suffering in those areas. OBI earned the highest rating (four-stars) from Charity Navigator, is ranked #4 out of 431 on MinistryWatch.com, and over 98.7% of OBI's spending goes toward humanitarian programs.

Operation Blessing International (OBI) is one of the largest charities in America, providing strategic disaster relief, medical aid, hunger relief, clean water and community development in 22 countries around the world on a daily basis. In 2007, OBI responded to a record 20 disasters in 14 countries. In recent years, OBI has also made headlines as a first responder to four major U.S. hurricanes; the tsunami disaster in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand; and they were on the ground staging supplies along the Gulf Coast days before Katrina. In New Orleans, OBI has provided nearly $60 million in cash grants, relief supplies, and over 265,000 hours of volunteer service to date, and continues to mobilize an army of volunteers to provide relief through a number of recovery programs. Most recently, OBI mobilized teams and funded major relief and recovery efforts in Bangladesh, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, China, the Darfur region of Sudan, Pakistan, Somalia, India, Indonesia, Mozambique and the Philippines.

judythpiazza@newsblaze.com