Christian Aid Funds Aid Partners in India's Tsunami Relief Effort

Christian Aid has reported that they are supporting eleven long-standing partner organisations in India – providing them with emergency relief since the tsunami struck in the Indian Ocean in December 2004. Christian Aid funds have helped to ease the sufferings of many in India and rebuilt numerous lives across the communities.

The supported organisations are located in the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Temporary housing is being set up all across the coastal areas, and many people may have remain in this transitory accommodation for years due to land shortages and building restrictions in the coastal areas.

In addition, Christian Aid is providing funding that will go towards training for trauma counselling. This is initiative has been undertaken in partnership with the World Council of Church (WCC).

The trainee counsellors will be equipped with skills to enable them to help children, and one hundred new workers will be trained during February and March.

One of the drives to help the people in India has been to encourage people to do something positive to help others in the communities – this has the aim of aiding people to overcome their own stressful problems. So communities have been fully involved in the planning and integration of rehabilitation efforts.

In the UK, Christian Aid has raised approximately £5 million, and plans to use this money through the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) on new projects by December 2005. The money will help to aid existing partners, as well as bringing in more partners over the course of the year.

The works that some of the partner organisations are currently undertaking are:

Women’s Collective - repairing fishing boats and outboard motors; restoring the quality of life to children via educational materials and therapeutic activities; 50 houses and 300 temporary homes are being built; setting up of a medical camp across certain Indian districts, and training volunteers and placing them in 33 villages to help others deal with the trauma of the tsunami disaster.

Church of South Asia - offering counselling, health services, shelter, education to 13 centres, each catering for 30 children; distributing clothes and essential supplies to more than 40,000 people in southern India.

The Voluntary Health Association of India - working in Andaman and Nicobar to run children’s educational, sports and play activities; providing latrines and large tents for the homeless; organising self-help groups; plans to start planting crops; provides food for 3,500 people from its Port Blair base.

Churches’ Auxiliary for Social Action - distributing essential items such as clothing, plastic sheeting, cooking equipment, blankets, candles and matches; offers medical assistance to 50,000 families; building 860 temporary shelters in Tamil Nadu as well as rebuilding 1,000 long-term houses; providing fishing equipment; desalinating 4,800 acres of agricultural land; constructing 20 multi-purpose disaster shelters in vulnerable villages.