As the death toll climbed as high as 150,000 in the aftermath of the Dec. 26 tsunami that devastated coastal areas of Asia, Christian relief organizations have already started assisting those in need in the affected areas of Sri Lanka, Thailand, India and Indonesia.
Compassion International teams have spent the last week trying to reach families in their programs in India, Thailand, and Indonesia. At least one Compassion-assisted child was killed in India, where the organization has projects on the devastated eastern coast. More than 25 fathers of Compassion-assisted children were lost at sea when the waves struck North Chennai, India. Many homes and villages were completely destroyed. Compassion projects in Thailand and Indonesia were not severely impacted.
"In India, Compassion staff is traveling to the home of each child living in the impacted areas to see if all children and family members are accounted for and if their homes have been damaged," said David Dahlin, senior vice president and Chief Operating Officer of Compassion International. "This tsunami has devastated families across many Asian nations."
Compassion, like many other agencies, has created a Tsunami Disaster Relief Fund to help victims. Agencies are asking for monetary donations rather than donations of food and other items because of the difficulty in getting the items delivered. Compassion is pledging $375,000 in a major relief initiative to Aceh, Indonesia, to identify and care for orphaned children and to deliver food, clean water, medical care, and counseling to specific families in crisis.
"A disaster such as this is terribly devastating to those living in poverty because they have few resources to help rebuild their lives," Dahlin said. "They don't have homeowners insurance or health insurance, or any of the safety nets we have in developed countries. Many of our children lost their homes and everything in them, and have no clothes except what they are wearing on the day the tsunami struck."
Through the Tsunami Disaster Relief Fund, Compassion is providing its immediate relief aid to orphans and families in Aceh in a three-phased relief plan over the next 3 months, with a kitchen providing two meals a day, emergency shelter construction, and distribution of basic household and hygiene kits.
The second phase will include distribution of dry rations and cooking kits, while the third phase is a long-term assessment for stabilization of the area.
Food for the Hungry is responding to the disaster by pledging $3 million to relief efforts in the countries of Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and India, and FFTH teams began working in the affected areas immediately after the tsunami struck.
According to David Evans, Vice President of Government and Gift-in-Kind Resources, "The disaster response effort is significantly more complex than most emergencies due to the huge geographical area that has been devastated by the tsunami. At least five countries were hard hit and large swathes of their coastlands are in ruins," said David Evans, vice president of government and gift-in-kind resources for FFTH. "This is compounded by the difficulty in getting help to the many islands that were inundated. Millions of people are without food, water and shelter. Those will be the key needs that we respond to over the next few weeks."
In India, FFTH began working with the local Evangelical Fellowship of India's Committee on Relief (EFICOR) and Evangelical Social Action Forum (ESAF) agencies to hand out food rations, hygiene supplies, clothes, utensils, bedding and tarps to 3,000 people, with plans to continue and expand relief efforts. Food for the Hungry distributed $24,000 to local partners in the first 24 hours after the disaster.
In Indonesia, FFTH is partnering with Church of the Holy Christ Indonesia to reach the remote, hard-hit Aceh province. A response team led by David Sir, FFTH's vice president for Asia reached the province's capital last Tuesday and has handed out food packages to more than 500 families. Medical teams sent by the organization arrived late last week.
In Thailand, FFTH sent a response team led by the organization's International President Randy Hoag, as water, food, and clothing distributions were made to 3,000 victims. FFTH staff also met in Washington, D.C. with Thailand's ambassador to the United States. A mobile medical clinic has been set up and families in five of the hardest-hit villages will each receive $12 to meet their immediate needs.
In Sri Lanka, medical assistance and emergency food and water distributions began shortly after the tsunami struck. Distributions of food, water, medical supplies, well pumps (to remove sea water from drinking wells), clothing, candles and blankets will expand and continue over the next days and weeks to meet the needs of 10,000 families.
At least 62 indigenous missionary ministries who are associated with Christian Aid Mission are expected to be involved in relief efforts to the devastated countries. Within hours of the tsunami's strike, missionary teams were delivering loads of emergency relief to tidal wave victims in coastal areas.
"They didn't wait for foreign assistance," said Dr. Bob Finley of Christian Aid Mission, "but mobilized their meager resources immediately to aid the homeless victims - and now they need our help to carry on and finish the job of giving aid in the name of Christ."
"The efforts will go on for months," said Sarla Mahara, India Director for Christian Aid, "because it will take that long to replace tens of thousands of homes and hundreds of churches that have been destroyed."
Christian Aid staff are also assessing the damage in Thailand and Indonesia where many of the 32 ministries supported by Christian Aid there are already sending volunteers and aid to the most affected areas.
Mercy Ships is also responding to deliver aid to areas in Asia affected by the tsunamis. Working in collaboration with an international aid organization already on the ground in Sri Lanka, Mercy Ships will be shipping a container of emergency medical and relief supplies to Sri Lanka.
Mercy Ships, a global charity, has operated a growing fleet of hospital ships in developing nations since 1978.
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You may support the work of Compassion International by visiting www.compassion.com. You may also mail contributions to "Tsunami Disaster Relief Fund," Compassion International, Colorado Springs, CO 80997 (Phone: 800-336-7676).
Financial donations to support Food for the Hungry efforts should be marked "South Asia Earthquake" and sent to Food for the Hungry, 1224 E. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85034-1102 (Phone: 800-2-HUNGERS) or give online at www.fh.org.
To help Christian Aid Mission bring help and hope to the tsunami victims, please go to www.christianaid.org or send a check to Christian Aid, P.O. Box 9037, Charlottesville, VA 22906 (Phone: 800-977-5650).
You can donate to Mercy Ships efforts at www.mercyships.org. If sending a donation by mail, earmark it "Tsunami Disaster Relief" and send it to P.O. Box 2020, Garden Valley, TX 75771-2020 (Phone: 903-939-7000).
