Containers of clothing, food, medical supplies etc... were distributed
by our staff and Bible College students.
The bags of soya granules sent by container from Canada were very much
appreciated by the local mothers.
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Siloam's Response to the Tsunami Tragedy in South India
Your love did matter, your gift made a
real difference!
Fundraisers called it 'the perfect disaster,' money poured in without
even having to ask for it. Between Christmas and New Year the population
was riveted to the TV screen as the tragic events unfolded revealing devastation
in Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and most of all Indonesia. While most ministries
engaged in funding overseas aid programmes saw their own appeals shelved,
people were walking into charity shops donating money from their pockets
to such an extent that agencies like the Red Cross and Medecins Sans Frontieres
launched counter appeals saying they could not handle any further donations
for this cause.
The unique thing about this disaster was that there was no one really
to blame because politicians were not involved, there was no long time
ignored warning like the impending famine crisis in Niger, just the forces
of nature seemingly out of control for a brief moment. Because Siloam
has limited resources, we were only able to send £5,000.00 before the
end of December last year. Fortunately we have bank accounts in India
so money could easily be transferred from the UK to India along well established
banking routes. Our colleagues at Childcare International in Canada and
USA were also able to swing into action raising funds locally making use
of the radio and TV. Dr Max Lange the International President of Childcare
visited India in January and brought back the first photos of our combined
help being put to good use.
By the time I visited India in April, most of the devastation caused by
the huge waves had already been cleared away. Vast areas south of Chennai
had been levelled and the Indian army had removed the corpses and assisted
with the injured in the very early days. Along the southeast coast of
south India numerous non-government agencies set up tented cities giving
shelter to the fishermen and those working close to the beach. The Indian
government stipulated that we should not build homes too close to the
beach in future so Siloam and Childcare helped in a totally different
way. Our most important function was to assist these dispossessed people
to restart their livelihoods. With this aim in mind we appealed for funds
to purchase fishing boats together with outboard motors and kilometre
long fishing nets.
So far more than 20 boats have been purchased and others will be supplied
between now and the end of the year as funds still come in. A boat can
help 5 or more families obtain a good living from the fish caught and
sold in the market place. In April it was my privilege to launch 2 of
these boats and to travel out to sea for more than a mile to see firsthand
how these fishermen eke out a living from the South Indian Ocean.
Funds were supplied for a medical camp on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
now between 50-200 patients per day are treated free of charge and chronic
patients sponsored and referred to the local government hospital. A feeding
programme takes place every morning for more than 600 children and two
auto rickshaws totally written off in the Tsunami were rebuilt and the
owners empowered to work again. A mobile ironing service was also restarted
after the owner's pushcart used for ironing with a charcoal heated iron
was repaired.
Added to this more than 1500 families were helped with cooking vessels,
sleeping mats, bags of rice and items of clothing for women, men and children.
Fishing nets were also purchased as well as 20 goats to assist 10 families
start micro enterprise businesses. One local school here near Leamington
Spa provided funds for a water tower to be erected which I intend to visit
and photograph in November.
And, 6 containers arrived from Canada containing clothing, towels, tables,
desks, chairs, wheelchairs, walking frames, shoes, kitchen utensils, medicines,
stationery, medical supplies, educational items, personal hygiene aids
and toys. One container was filled with tons of soya granules which I
helped to distribute to a number of villages in 5 kg bags to hundreds
of families.
Our colleagues in Canada also sent funds to purchase a piece of land on
which to build a church so now we have a pastor and his wife, who is a
nurse in station, looking after the spiritual and medical needs of the
local people.
Altogether, over £64,000.00 has been sent to India in addition to the
containers yet to be valued.
There is no question that this disaster caused a tremendous outpouring
of generosity the like of which has not been seen in modern times. But,
there has been a cost and most organisations will testify to the fact
that many of their existing programmes suffered as a result of the money
which was diverted to the myriad of Tsunami fundraisers.
So now, to the point of this letter, first to thank you if you contributed
through Siloam to our Tsunami appeals in January and February. Secondly,
to let you know that as a result of the Tsunami tragedy many of our other
programmes are now on hold awaiting funds so they can continue. This month
I am asking for a special donation towards our General Fund which is used
to help projects for which insufficient funds have been raised. Our eye
ministry in Coimbatore has been without funds since March and we were
unable to send what we would like to the Philippines for the baby rescue
centre and the street boys project. Little known programmes like Lambwe
to help the deaf children in Kenya are also in need of funds as are ministries
in Portugal working with children and the 'down and out' community. These
projects may not have the emotional appeal of the Tsunami tragedy but
they do go on every week throughout the year helping our workers to use
social work, educational help and medical aid as a vehicle for the Gospel.
Finally, our sole aim is to help win boys and girls and men and women
for Jesus Christ. This month your gift of £100, £50, £10 or £5 will help
us maintain our existing programmes and keep our finances in credit.
I don't believe I should say more, please give as generously as you can.
Yours sincerely
Richard Norton Director-Siloam UK
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