CURRENT ISSUE:  January 9, 2006VOL. 44, NO. 1Oakland, CA

$1.5 million given locally to CRS for tsunami relief

By Voice staff

Catholics and others living in Alameda and Contra Costa counties have donated $1.5 million to Catholic Relief Services for tsunami relief, officials reported Dec. 26, the one-year anniversary of the massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Southeast Asia that left more than 215,000 dead or missing and 1.8 million displaced.

CRS, the Baltimore-based international relief and development agency, was already working in the region when the tsunami struck Since then, it has committed $188 million to a five-year rehabilitation plan designed to reach more than 600,000 people displaced by the disaster.

While the agency’s initial response after the tsunami was focused on the most critical needs of food, water, temporary shelter and sanitation, in the past 12 months CRS has:
• Constructed 500 permanent homes with plans underway for 6,000 more;
• Built the first women and children’s hospital and reconstructed the main government clinic in Banda Aceh;
• Completed construction of a fish and vegetable market in Pahlawan and nine additional markets in other districts.

A young girl in West Aceh, Indonesia, watches her father as he rebuilds the family’s house with materials provided by CRS. Each family received 20 bags of cement, 48 sheets of metal roofing material, nails, and tools with which to build their homes.

CRS PHOTO

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