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SEACOLOGY ESTABLISHES A DIFFERENT KIND OF TSUNAMI RELIEF FUND |
FOUR VILLAGES IN SRI LANKA, THE MALDIVES, THAILAND AND THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS TO BE TARGETED |
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, Jan. 6 -/E-Wire/-- In response to the devastating tsunami which struck Asia on December 26, Seacology (www.seacology.org) is establishing a Tsunami Relief Fund to directly aid four communities in the region which were impacted by the natural disaster. One hundred percent of funds raised will go toward relief efforts in Kiralakele, Sri Lanka; Kendhoo Island, The Maldives; Trang Province, Thailand; and Kadachang Village, Andaman Islands where Seacology has the experience, expertise and highly regarded locally based volunteer coordinators.
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According to Seacology executive director Duane Silverstein, "I well remember visiting the Seacology mangrove center in Kiralakele, Sri Lanka and awarding certificates of achievement to scores of bright students. It broke my heart to hear that many of these children died in the tsunami." Unlike other relief funds Seacology chose to target four villages where their locally based volunteers live and work to insure all money raised will go directly to assist victims of the tsunami. The Seacology tsunami relief fund will be aimed at rebuilding the local economies and infrastructures of these four villages. "The only thing I ask for is a fishing net," said A.G. Nuwan of Sri Lanka. "We are poor people living for the day. We have no savings and need to get back to making money." "This is precisely the type of relief we will provide," said Silverstein. The tsunami relief fund will be aimed at rebuilding the local economies and infrastructures of these four villages. "We have carefully designed our relief efforts so that we know the money will be spent efficiently and effectively on items the villagers themselves indicate are most needed. There will be no organization or government middlemen. The funds will go directly to the villages to provide fishing equipment, water supply systems and other critical needs to help get these villages back on their feet," added Silverstein.
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Seacology believes that it is very important to stand by and repair or replace the organization's projects that are damaged and destroyed by natural disasters. Out of Seacology's 100 projects in islands throughout the world, four were damaged by the recent tsunami. In Sri Lanka, Seacology has funded a Mangrove Resource Center, Mangrove Products Store and library and resource center. On Kendhoo Island, the Maldives, Seacology funded the construction of a kindergarten in exchange for the village's commitment to banning the harvesting of sea turtle eggs. In Trang Province, Thailand, Seacology has supported dugong conservation and habitat protection projects. On India's Andaman Islands village of Kadachang, Seacology is constructing a Mangrove Resource Center based on the success of Sri Lanka's project. In addition to other relief efforts, Seacology will repair or replace all of these damaged projects.
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Unlike some large-scale relief efforts undertaken by other, more sizable organizations, 100 percent of donations to Seacology designated for tsunami relief will go toward assisting these four villages. To donate to Seacology's Tsunami Relief Fund, mail payment to:
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Seacology Attn: Tsunami Relief Fund 2009 Hopkins Street Berkeley, CA 94707
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Credit card donations can also be made via secure server at https://wsdweb2.wsdsecure.com/secure/seacology/donate.cfm. Please indicate in the comments field that the donation is for Seacology's Tsunami Relief Fund. Questions can be directed to Susan Racanelli, development director of Seacology at 510-559-3505 or susan@seacology.org.
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Seacology is the world's premier nonprofit environmental organization with the sole purpose of preserving the highly endangered biodiversity of islands throughout the world. In the last 400 years the majority of the world's plant and animal extinctions have taken place on islands. Indigenous people are all too often faced with the dilemma of choosing between protecting their precious natural resources, and economic development. Seacology searches for win-win situations where both the local environment is protected and islanders receive some tangible benefit for doing so. Seacology has received a four star (the highest) rating from Charity Navigator the most respected independent evaluator of the financial health and efficiency of non-profit organizations.
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/SOURCE:
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Seacology |
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01-06-2005 |
/CONTACT:
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Duane Silverstein, Executive Director, Seacology – (510) 559-3505, duane@seacology.org |
| /WEB SITE: |
http://www.seacology.org
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