Tsunami Support

Dear Friend,

The Tsunami that swept across the Indian coast in the early hours of 26th December 2004 has left a trail of destroyed homes & displaced people. Thousands of lives have been shattered and families and livelihoods devastated. As with all crises of this kind, the worst affected are the children. Thousands have been killed in India, as many orphaned, injured and traumatized.

The communities that our partner CRY supports in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are reeling from the impact of the tsunami and its after-effects. Three CRY supported projects in Tamil Nadu have been affected by the tsunami directly and four others work in affected areas. In a couple of the southern districts of India 48% of the casualties are children.

In order to ensure that funds for relief-work reached the project areas at the earliest, CRY America directed concerned individuals in the USA to our partner CRY that has been working in the area of child rights for over 25 years in India. CRY responded swiftly to the crisis by deploying its own team, connecting with its project partners and networking with other aid agencies working in the affected areas. CRY made an immediate disbursal of the Rs. 1.06 crores (USD 2,46,512) towards immediate relief needs in these areas (temporary shelters, blankets, buckets, lanterns, kerosene, clothing, utensils, biscuits, milk, rice, oil and daal). Thanks to CRY and its partner NGOs on the ground, we were able to obtain authentic information on the real needs of the communities devastated by the disaster. The rescue and immediate relief phases of work in the tsunami hit areas of coastal Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry are now drawing to a close. Efforts have focussed on delivering that which is not readily available to those who are not being reached. And doing so sustainably and accountably with a long term view.

CRY is simultaneously working with partner NGO's to develop and fine-tune longer-term rehabilitation plans for the affected children, their families and communities. These plans will focus on ensuring no child drops out of school as a result of the tsunami; specialized interventions for infants below the age of six years and provision of specialized services to children orphaned, semi-orphaned, injured or traumatized by the disaster. The plan will also cover children who are not enrolled in schools. CRY's longer term tsunami initiatives will focus on making children aware of their rights, training them to handle crises, strengthening the missing children network, building awareness of ChildLine, monitoring school enrolments and drop-outs and providing technical training. Details of the longer term plans will be available shortly.

CRY America will direct funds towards relief and longer term rehabilitation programs for affected project areas in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. CRY has joined a group of NGOs including Action Aid, Oxfam, CCF, CARE, UNICEF and Save the Children to ensure better planning, coordination and accountability. It is also coordinating closely with State government officials. Tsunami relief and rehabilitation support will be channelised through this group, where each NGO will focus on its areas of strength - geographically and capacity-wise.

CRY America, as always, will place emphasis on children, the most underserved communities and on long-term rehabilitation efforts, not just immediate relief.

Contributions to CRY America Tsunami Support can be donated online or made vide check in the name of "CRY America Inc" towards " Tsunami Support" 19 University Avenue, Medford, MA 02155. Please write to support@cryamerica.org incase you need further information or assistance.

With faith and goodwill,

Shefali Sunderlal
President
CRY America

All Tsunami Support donations to CRY America are 501c3 exempt in the USA.

We regret we do not have the capacity to accept donations in-kind presently. If you'd like to make a material contribution you could consider directing your support to the Red Cross. Their contact details are available at: http://www.redcross.org/donate/goods/