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Project 066 - Asian Tsunami Disaster Response


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.

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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