The ongoing humanitarian crisis in Myanmar is hitting close to home in Kitchener, Ont., a city that has a large Rohingya community.

Anwar Arkani, a Kitchener resident and the founder of the , says he feels helpless as reports trickle out of Myanmar about mass killings and the exodus of nearly half a million people in what the United Nations is calling a case of 鈥渆thnic cleansing.鈥� Arkani, who has lost most of his family to the crisis, says he can do little but raise awareness in the hopes the Canadian government will do more for his beleaguered people.

"At some point I was counting how many I lost,鈥� Arkani told CTV Kitchener. 鈥淣ow I cannot count anymore. It's very difficult -- I can't sleep."

Arkani says while his sister is the only person still alive in his immediate family, he has little hope for her future.

"She will be brutally raped before she gets either burned alive or dead," he said.

Every Rohingya family in Kitchener has been impacted by the violence unfolding half a world away, says Nur Hasin of the .

"The people are panicked,鈥� Hasin said. 鈥淭hey have no food in (the) valley."

His community in Kitchener has had enough.

"We cannot do anything,鈥� Faisal Mohammed added. 鈥淚 just feel helpless, worthless, because these are my people dying literally in front of me and I cannot go there and help them out."

Mohammed and his family moved to Kitchener in 2008. He hoped the Canadian government would be doing more by now, a sentiment echoed by many others in Kitchener鈥檚 Rohingya community.

"It's such a shame being a Canadian citizen and seeing that your country is not doing anything," Ahmed Ullah said.

The Canadian government has promised $2.5 million to assist with the flood of Rohingya refugees arriving from Myanmar to neighbouring Bangladesh. The U.S. has given $32 million to assist with the crisis. The majority of Rohingya refugees are now living without adequate shelter or safe drinking water.

As he continues to absorb the heartbreaking news coming from his homeland, Arkani of the Rohingya Association of Canada says that he will continue to do his part by raising awareness, urging Canadians to donate to humanitarian agencies and pushing the Canadian government to speak out -- before it鈥檚 too late.

"We need to act,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e need to act right now, really, to save lives."

With a report from CTV Kitchener鈥檚 Tina Yazdani