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6. Tell me more

(1). India and SIFFS

Their website http://www.tsunami2004-india.org has

comprehensive updates on ongoing efforts on the ground

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(2). Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Tzu Chi

efforts and for updates, please visit their website at http://www.tzuchi.org/global/

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(3). Restaurant drive

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(4). Read our daily log of the first few days

3. Rehabilitation - rebuild huts/ homes that have been destroyed. Rebuild schools and eventually get people back to a stage that they were in before the tsunamis.

Update: Dec 30th :
Here’s an update from our NGOs on the ground:

About 40-50 villages in Tamil Nadu and a few villages in Kerala near Kanya Kumari have been affected the most. There is a loss of boats and nets and housing along these coastal villages.  However, as you go inland there is hardly any effect from the tsunami. It is these villages which are providing food, clothes and water supplies. The NGOs are concerned about the breakout of epidemic and measures are being taken to prevent this. There are 60-65 camps set up for the people displaced from their houses/ evacuated.

Janvikas and Abhiyan, in due to their extensive experience in Gujarat are providing a supervisory role to local NGOs in TN and Kerala. The main NGO they are working with is SIFFS - South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies: http://www.siffs.org/

Update: Dec 30th :
We had mentioned a possible clothes drive but after speaking to NGOs working on the ground in India we have decided to hold back on this for now and here’s  why:

We were told while this was a noble and thoughtful effort on our part it would not be as relevant or practical. The NGOs cited several examples from the Gujarat earthquake when people donated old, torn clothes in the name of used clothes and they had piles of these lying around. Most of the victims are self respecting individuals who happen to be affected by a natural calamity and refused to wear these old clothes.

More important, they mentioned most of the clothes donated from abroad are not culturally contextual in South India/Gujarat. T-shirts, pants, jeans, socks, sneakers, shorts are not worn by fishermen or villagers, they would prefer buying new lungis, dhotis, their specific types of shirts and footwear instead. It's even more restricting for women in villages who only wear saris or salwars and not skirts, trousers, stockings, coats. The only exception is clothes for kids.

As for medical supplies, last time around they got a lot of medicines which had passed their expiration date and they had to employ time of several volunteers to sort through these supplies. It was more of a hassle than help since most of these medicines could be bought in India rather easily.

Since most of the people affected by the tsunamis are from coastal villages we decided to rethink our effort for the clothes drive and focus instead solely on fund raising.

According to our inputs, the best way a foreign group like ours can contribute is by raising funds and making a monetary donation. This way the NGOs are able to spend as and when required and can also pace their funds to last a longer time duration. (In emergencies there is always a flood of donations at the onset with an exponential decrease as time goes by). With cash in hand they are able to procure material, food, supplies, clothing rapidly and at negotiated bulk prices in the local market.

Update: Dec 29th :
We have identified Jan Vikas and Abhiyan, two grassroots organizations which have done immense work during the Gujarat earthquake in 2001. They worked with a network of 10-15 villages at various phases of relief  - from short term efforts like arranging temporary housing, medical care, food supplies to sustaining long term projects which involved training, employment for people affected to helping them get back their self-reliance and self-respect after such a devastating and life changing event. Because of their extensive experience in coordinating such efforts they have been approached by several groups in Tamil Nadu and Kerala to help organize similar efforts in the worst hit areas.

As per Indian law NGOs are required to provide their donors timely financial audits and reports (~6-9mos in the case of an emergency such as this) so we will be able to track your contributions and make sure they go to the people who really need them. They are set up with an FCRA Account Number (Foreign Currency Regulation Act) so we can wire donations to them directly on a regular basis.

Other groups we have on our shortlist include the NDTV Relief Fund, Times of India Relief Fund, Indian Red Cross. If you know of any other groups we should be talking to please email us. More details coming soon.

Update: Dec 28th
The earthquake off the island of Sumatra has affected many neighboring nations and inevitably there is now an international effort to raise funds. Officials have reported more than 40,000+ people killed in 10 countries in southern Asia and Africa after massive tsunami waves smashed coastlines Sunday morning

The earthquake and tsunamis which followed have caused immense damage in India as well. The latest estimates are around 5,000-10,000 dead with thousands more missing. The numbers are constantly being revised, unfortunately only higher.

The Tamil Nadu coastline, Marina beach (Chennai), the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (several villages swept away, volunteers who reached there say there was no-one left in the village to mourn), and the coast of Kerala have been all been severely affected with 30 foot high waves that swept everything in their path in a flash (including a group of kids playing cricket on Marina beach). Car Nicobar island is the worst affected with unofficial estimates putting the death toll at 10,000 people in a total population of 30,000. These are just some of the horrific stories being reported.

There are now reports of secondary earthquakes and tsunamis as well. The news media is constantly updating the scenario, and it appears that donations are much needed, not only in cash but also clothing, medical supplies and infrastructure.

Net IP would like to contribute as much as possible with your help. We are in the process of initiating a ‘NetIP Tsunami Relief Fund’.

Our Community Services Director Deepti Kumar is working to link up with local Bay Area groups which have sister organizations back in India while Vivek Kumar who is on vacation in Bombay is working to identify and collaborate with local grassroots NGOs which are providing relief efforts in the worst hit regions of coastal Tamil Nadu, Kerala and the Andaman Islands.

Our aim is to identify NGOs which have low administrative overhead and transparent accountability so as to maximize your contributions. Watch this space for regular updates on NGOs we identify.

If you have questions or suggestions please contact Deepti or Vivek

It is imperative to remember that we are here to help and that our individual and group efforts and contributions will make a difference.

We have set a $10,000 target and hope to reach that in two weeks.

Thank you for your support and contributions. Together we can reach this goal and help make a huge difference.

NetIP Team
 

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