| Sri
Lankan Schools Rebuilt With Red Cross Assistance
by Stacey M. Winston
Tuesday, February 15, 2005 — Galle, Sri Lanka—At
first glance, the Gintota School in the seaside village of Galle,
Sri Lanka appears similar to many other schools on the island.
But with a closer look, one can see the children have lost their
classrooms, the library has no books and the computers are ruined.
More important than physical structures, the children and teachers
have suffered tremendous loss and distress. The American Red Cross
is helping heal the shattered lives of children one school at
a time.
When the furious tsunami battered the shores of Sri Lanka last
December, the American Red Cross psychosocial support team based
in India and led by disaster mental health expert, Dr. Joseph
Prewitt-Diaz, quickly responded to the devastated South Asia region.
American Red Cross psychosocial team volunteer, Dr. Anita Ray-Chowdrury
gives a school packet to a student in Galle. (Photo by S. Winston).
The schools situated along the vast ribbon of coastline have
been hardest hit by the catastrophic tsunami. Thus, the American
Red Cross, through the psychosocial support team with help from
the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent
relief Emergency Response Unit (ERU) and the Sri Lankan Red Cross
Society have identified 31 schools categorized by the Sri Lankan
government as severely damaged in the Southern Province of the
island.
“We will focus on the main areas that are affected,”
said Dr. Satyabrata Dash, a mental health professional working
with the psychosocial support team.
Recently, students in two of the affected schools experienced
dramatic improvement in their daily educational routine, when
the American Red Cross and Sri Lankan Red Cross paired to construct
temporary classroom tents, provide school packets and teacher’s
recreational kits.
The Sariputra School in the town of Matara received two temporary
classroom tents to assist 500 displaced children, including 67
orphans.
“These [tents] will be very useful for the students, they
will enjoy the creative and expressive activities,” said
Binera Uyangoda, principal of the Sariputra School. In this school
of 1400 students, nearly a third of the students lost their homes
and 22 children perished in the tidal wave.
In the initial assessment the, psychosocial program is designed
to provide security for the children through schools, thereby
benefiting the families as a whole.
“We’re attempting to create a safe place where children
can explore and express how and where they survived the wave,”
said Prewitt-Diaz. “Through providing a safe place, kids
can have an opportunity to rebound.”
School girls in Galle eagerly run to their newly built classroom,
constructed by the American Red Cross. (Photo by S. Winston).
Opportunities for children to rebound became immediately apparent
when five temporary tents were set up for the students of Gintota
School in Galle to house 241 orphans. One thousand students received
school packs with a drawing book, notebook, pencils, erasers,
a sharpener, a ruler, watercolors, and crayons in a compact clear
plastic bag. The teachers were each given one school recreational
kit including marble boards, chess sets, soccer balls, tennis
balls, scissors, paper, tape, white boards with markers and erasers.
With great anticipation students eagerly waited to receive their
school packs. The contagious excitement spread through the classroom
as they sat at the rickety weathered little school desks and opened
their packs. The significance of giving these school packs extends
beyond the usefulness of the school supplies, according to Antara
Sen Dave of the American Red Cross psychosocial support team.
“Children who have been affected [by the tsunami] do not
feel equal as the others—with this distribution, everyone
is treated as equal--there is group bonding,” said Sen Dave.
“By working on group bonding activities, the children will
become a support system for each other.”
The psychosocial support team plans to follow up with the communities
of the tsunami-ravaged schools through teacher training and psychological
first aid to the children’s families. Prewitt-Diaz said,
“The team will train a group of persons that are prepared
in schools and communities to handle the distress signs that are
present after a disaster, amd to move from a psychosocial support
environment to a disaster preparedness mechanism.”
“The psychosocial support program provides a structure
to children who have experienced great loss, so that they can
recognize what resilience factors help them cope during and after
disaster,” said Prewitt-Diaz. These psychosocial programs
initiated by the American Red Cross team are planning to provide
service to the children and their families for two to three years.
Before leaving Gintota School, the psychosocial support team
had one more gift to give the seaside school on behalf of the
American Red Cross—500 books for children of all ages to
help rebuild the library that was ruined by the tsunami. The librarian
is thrilled to have books to place on the barren shelves for the
children to read.
“This is the donor dollar at work,” said Prewitt-Diaz.
What
Is The Red Cross Doing?
View
The $400 Million Plan - Facts at a glance
The American
Red Cross assistance plan calls for relief in two phases:
the emergency phase to meet immediate needs and the longer-term
phase meeting needs over several years. The plan covers these
main areas of assistance: food and safe water; healthcare and
disease prevention; immediate family supplies; mental health counseling;
and disaster preparedness and prevention measures,
including family reunification capacity building.
To provide
the most effective aid possible in the wake of one of
the worst natural disasters in the world’s history, the
American Red Cross estimates that it will require $400 million
to provide emergency relief and to respond to long-ranging needs
that will emerge over months and even years to come.
Our immediate response stage includes working
with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent
Societies and partner agencies to distribute food, to vaccinate
up to 22 million children against diseases, to distribute supplies
like tents to the millions of people and to ensure safe drinking
water and waste disposal systems.
The long-term
response from the American Red Cross includes mental
health services and continued programs for food distribution,
healthcare, and water and sanitation system rehabilitation. Additionally,
the American Red Cross will work to train and inform affected
communities in prevention methods in order to reduce the loss
of life, livelihoods and property from future natural disasters.
This plan addresses the need as identified at this time.
The American
Red Cross is heartened by the enthusiastic and spontaneous generosity
that Americans have shown for the tsunami relief efforts. The
public trusts the American Red Cross and knows we will tell them
when enough funds have been raised and how the money is being
used.
>>To provide assistance to tsunami victims, we estimate
our plan will require approximately $400 million.
In keeping
with our commitment to financial accountability, once
the Red Cross has received donations totaling this amount, we
will inform the American public and our donors. Should we need
additional resources to help the tsunami victims, we have no doubt
the generous American public will step up and provide us with
those funds.
As of January 13th, a generous American public, along
with corporations and foundations, has pledged $210 million
to the American Red Cross tsunami relief effort.
>> The American Red Cross is committed to turning our donors’
concern into effective action and ensuring that we are transparent
in how these donations are spent.
>> Top charity watchdog groups have recognized the American
Red Cross for being one of the best stewards of the donated dollar.
The American Institute of Philanthropy has just named the American
Red Cross as one of two top-rated charities currently providing
relief for tsunami victims. Of 23 charities listed, the AIP gave
an A+ rating to the American Red Cross for its proven ability
to get quick relief to disaster victims while using every dollar
wisely. Charity Navigator
also designated the American Red Cross a four-star charity –
their highest rating.
This is a catastrophic disaster that occurred half a world away,
and the American Red Cross recognizes the challenges in delivering
aid.
>> There is no question that assistance will get to those
who need it – that’s our commitment.
>> A major challenge that all relief providers are facing
in responding to this disaster is an overwhelmed infrastructure,
including transportation blockages, massive power outages, downed
communication systems and more.
The American
Red Cross role in responding to an international disaster
is very different from our response to a disaster in the United
States. We will be working in a coordinated manner with many global
partners, taking into consideration how the American Red Cross
can provide unique, specialized assistance in the areas
where we can best help.
As of January 6, 2005, the American Red Cross
has received $140 million in pledged donations and has already
collected $79 million of that in cash. We have sent $40 million
in food and $5 million for hygiene kits, family kits, tents and
kitchen kits and personnel from here and abroad to help deliver
it.
Family kits:
10,000 family kits have been delivered. Each kit allows a family
of 6 to set up a temporary household with plastic sheeting for
shelter, sleeping mats and blankets, mosquito netting, 20 liter
portable water containers, kitchen sets and a lantern.
Teams of American Red Cross relief workers who are on
the ground in Asia include experts in highly-specialized
areas such as supply distribution and water sanitation. The American
Red Cross has also sent highly-trained psychosocial experts to
the region to help survivors deal with the tremendous emotional
trauma the tsuami left in its wake.
The American Red Cross is working side by side with Red
Cross and Red Crescent staff from the immediate region and many
other countries. We are working with officials from the
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
in Geneva to determine the exact kind of help that the international
community needs from us.
Locally, the Raven’s organization and
their fans gave a combined total of $79,200 at last Sunday’s
game, a local church collected $15,000 for Red Cross and people
all over Maryland are contributing from $5 to $55,000 to disaster
relief. Many are now choosing to donate to the general
disaster relief fund in honor of the victims, because
funding the mission in Asia is nearly complete.
The American Institute of Philanthropy has given the America
Red Cross a grade of A+ for fundraising efficiency [one of only
two organizations to recieve that grade]. Our organization is
so efficient, 89% of every dollar donated goes directly to disaster
relief.
Please consider sending a donation
in honor of these victims to help provide disaster relief
for people who've lost a home, their life savings or, even a loved
one in a catastrophe that didn't make the news. They, too, are
hurting, often desperate, and equally in need.
Red Cross Societies in
Southern Asia Work Tirelessly to Aid Tsunami Victims
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Linnea Anderson 410-624-2081
As the death toll from December's tsunami races past
150,000, aid workers on the ground in the southern Asia
are concentrating almost solely on helping survivors maintain
their health and rebuild their lives, as hopes for the missing
continue to fade. Many villages in the region are still entirely
cut off from assistance because the scale of the devastation is
so immense.
Relief workers, however, are determined to bring
in desperately needed supplies-- using boats, helicopters, elephants
and any other mode of transportation available. They are in a
tight race against time to get vital supplies and medicine out
to these areas to prevent the outbreak of disease and the possibility
of epidemic.
International Red Cross and Red Crescent societies in
south Asia have adequate staff and volunteers
on-site in the affected areas to assist with the immediate needs.
Emergency assessment and first-aid teams are currently sufficient
to handle the situation. Currently, we do not anticipate needing
additional volunteers.
Donations of clothing/ material goods/food
are not being collected because of the extreme
cost of transportation (a 24-hour flight). Those items can be
much more economically purchased in southern Asia. A financial
donation is the best way to send immediate help.
Raven's Sponsor
Tsunami Relief Fundraiser This Sunday (Jan. 2)
Red Cross and Ravens
volunteers will be outfront of Raven's stadium before their last
game with a brigade of buckets to collect your donations and loose
change. Over 40 volunteers will be stationed at all 4 gates
and the smaller adjoining gates where suiteholders enter, collecting
donations for the massive and long-term relief effort.
The American Red Cross is working with our partner organizations
in the southern Asia and eastern Africa regions to provide disaster
relief to the victims of the tsunami and to help them rebuild
their lives including long-term help with infrastructure and health
issues.
South East Asia Devastated
by Earthquake Driven Tsunami
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Linnea Anderson 410-624-2081
The largest earthquake to strike the globe since 1964 has caused
devastating tsunami waves that have killed over 122,000 in south
Asia. The 8.9-magnitude quake December 26, triggering massive
deadly waves that continue to impact the region.
International Red Cross and Red Crescent societies in south
Asia have mobilized adequate staff and volunteers to affected
areas to assist with the immediate needs. Emergency assessment
and first-aid teams have already working in the affected areas.
“The situation is catastrophic...with so many people affected
in so many areas of southern Asia...it is likely that relief teams
will be there for many weeks helping to put the lives of the survivors
back together,” said Matthew Parry of the International
Disaster Response Unit at the American Red Cross.
The American Red Cross is in constant contact with its partners
on the ground in southern Asia and eastern Africa and is supporting
operations there with relief supplies, financial assistance and
personnel as needed.
You can help those affected by this crisis and countless others
around the world each year by making a financial gift to the American
Red Cross International Response Fund, which will provide immediate
relief and long-term support through supplies, first aid, technical
assistance, and other support to those in need. Donate securely
on https://www.redcross-cmd.org/Chapter/donateform.html,
or call 1-800-HELP NOW. Contributions to the International Response
Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter at 4800
Mt. Hope Drive, Baltimore MD 21215.
Volunteers
are Not Needed to go to S. E. Asia. Many of
you have generously offered to help the Red Cross respond to the
large scale disaster in southern Asia by traveling there to work
on site. However, the American Red Cross has an adequate response
capacity with bilingual, internationally-experiences relief wowrkers,
and does not anticipate requiring further assistance from volunteers
for this disaster.
You can help those afffected by this crisis by making a financial
gift to the American Red Cross International Response Fund. Contributions
may be sent to the Red Cross of Central Maryland, 4800 Mt. Hope
Drive, Baltimore, MD 21215. Internet users can make an online
contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.
We appreciate you willingness to help at this time. The Central
Maryland Chapter, your local chapter, is always looking for people
to volunteer with us at the local level now and in the future.
We hold monthly volunteer orientations. Our next orientation is
on January 24, 2005 at 1:00 P.M. and at 5:30 P.M. You can go to
http://redcrosscmd.org/Chapter/Volunteer/index.html to review
our list of volunteer opportunities.
_________________________________
|
The
threat of disease is significant; the Red Cross will work in partnership
with organizations like UNICEF and the WHO in a massive measles
immunization and health intervention campaign for as many as 22
million children in affected countries.
