Cyclone Nargis the USAID DART stationed in Thailand. On 15 May, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) launched the Burmese HIC website. The purpose of the site was to improve information exchange and collaboration between operational agencies responding to Cyclone Nargis. Based in Bangkok, the HIC was providing support to the Humanitarian Partnership Team and other humanitarian partners in Yangon, as well as those based in Bangkok. By 8 May 2008, the Foundation for the People of Burma had a team on the ground in Rangoon and beyond providing direct assistance to thousands of refugees. Since this
Third Force (Myanmar) Cyclone Nargis in 2008 was seen as a watershed for the local non-governmental scene, as youths became more interested in the affairs of the country, in light of failings by the government in the social sectors. As the military regime blocked international aid, local non governmental organisations sprouted to fill in the relief gap, mainly drawn from the youth and educated of the country's largest city, Yangon. These NGOs also stopped short of criticising the junta, deciding that it would only hinder relief operations. Cyclone Nargis coincided with the junta's attempts to push through a constitution which had taken nearly