Six months On - Relief Efforts
Reuben Abrahams at Zoo Station re-posts a list of relief efforts, 6 months after the disaster :
Today marks the 6th month after the devastating Tsunami hit the Indian Ocean. I still remember sitting in Switzerland and watching a breaking story on the Tsunami, without quite comprehending the scale of what was happening. In the first post I made that morning, I had no clue (250 dead in Indonesia, I thought) the death toll would be so staggering. Current estimates suggest that over 300,000 people perished and several millions were left homeless. The re-building has begun to some extent, but there's a long, long way to go. Obviously, six months on, the disaster has faded from media memory for the most part, so it's imperative that we keep the story alive in whatever form we can. To that end, I am reposting our orginal Tsunami relief post, with some minor edits to make it less dated. Please read through it and see if there's some way you'd like to help. By way of clarification, the updates are all from the old Tsunami relief post, and not something new I have added in June.A good list of relief efforts at his post.
good blog
Thanks for your deepest symphati.from Indonesia
hello, my name is lizzy .i am a 14 year old girl and ..i would like to now if there is any way that i can help..and i would also like to now if there is any possible way for me to go over there and help out in person..plese get back to me ..at curlyfriesforsale@yahoo.com..please email me ..i am very interseted..thank you
Yesterday (3rd July 2005) I received a phone call from my best friend who is currently in Southern Sri Lanka, she was very distressed at the devastation she witnessed that is still apparent. Collapsed buildings still laying where they fell and refugee camps full of hungry, homeless, orphaned children. It sems that Aid is not reaching some places and dare I say it, some Aid money has quite probably gotten lost in the Goverment system. My friend lives in Kerela, India just a short flight from Sri Lanka, she has promised to personally deliver food Aid to some of these camps if I can raise and send money to her, this I intend to do as I felt extremely choked at hearing her story. However I have not a clue where to start, I would really appreciate advice or feedback on this subject. Many many thanks, Simon (UK) - panther_cs@hotmail.com
Hi Lizzy,
I'm an Information Systems Specialist with VolunteerSriLanka (VSL) and we've been operating in Sri Lanka ever since the tsunami hit Sri Lanka last year.
VSL is a network of volunteers and volunteer projects operating mostly in the southwest third of Sri Lanka since the earliest days after the tsunami of December 2004 devastated the coastal regions of the island.
Our mission is to mobilize volunteers to help rebuild and rehabilitate Sri Lanka in the coming years.
If you want to come to Sri Lanka to volunteer we can help you find a place in the reconstruction efforts by matching your skill set with the needs of NGOs and other volunteer projects operating at the community level.
You have not specified which country you'd be interested in helping out in person, however, I do know that Aid Chennai in India are still accepting volunteers for many rebuilding projects.
In Sri Lanka, VSL has been the focal point for matching incoming volunteers with I/NGOs and other tsunami relief organizations in the country.
Lizzy, you may find out more about VSL on our website, alternatively you may download the volunteering (Sri Lanka) application form the site and email VSL's volunteer coordinators on volunteersrilanka[at]gmail.com or get in touch with Tod Bruning who's the VSL Team Leader regarding the best way you may go about in getting involved with post-tsunami related relief assistance in Sri Lanka.
Angelo Embuldeniya,
IS Specialist,
VolunteerSriLanka (VSL).