1341 'The Wave' and its aftermath about to turn twelve: VIS reports
austraLasia 1341
'The Wave' and its
aftermath about to turn twelve: VIS reports
ROME: 29th November 2005 -- In just under four weeks
it will be a year since the Tsunami struck coasts and islands in and
around many parts of southern and eastern Asia. The Don Bosco
Network, an amalgam of Salesian-based NGO's, has disbursed
approximately seven million Euro since then, of which VIS, the
Italian-based Volunteer organisation for International Development, has
been responsible for some two and half million. What kind of
projects have been realised with all this money? VIS reports
briefly on the whole picture of DBN relief in a statement issued this
week.
The first point made in the report is that whatever
success has been achieved in rebuilding a degree of normality in
affected areas is due not only to the generosity of donors but also to
the ability of Salesians on the scene to cut through bureaucratic
limitations and get things moving. A classic case has been the
village of Kalampattai, in the Tamil-held North East of Sri
Lanka. In fact this village had been abandoned back in 1992
because of the war, and its inhabitants transferred to Trincomalee, 40
kms away. It was there that their 'new' lodgings were wiped out
by the Tsunami. With the help of DBN funds, the villagers decided
to return to Kalampattai and rebuild from scratch (what was there had
also been destroyed, save a building or two). By end of December
2005 the first 82 homes will be handed over and a longer-term economic
support system of village activity put in place.
Various financial and benefit institutions have
channeled significant amounts through DBN and VIS. The Carife
Foundation - Savings Bank of Ferrara, for example, has constructed a
new hospital wing in a village near Trincomalee in a rural area serving
50,000 inhabitants.
In Negombo, three blocks of four-storey flats have
been built to house refugees. Another nine are in
construction. This project is particularly interesting because in
a nation where most land is not privately owned, the difficulty has
been to obtain land for resettlement purposes. The land on which
these flats are being built has been given to the Salesians by the Sri
Lankan Government. Meanwhile women are attending sewing and
dressmaking courses at the Don Bosco Technical School in Negombo and
children taken in for education: the littlest ones to a Montessori
kindergarten and the older ones in after-school classes.
In Indonesia, on Nias island, 75.000 Euro from
Monaco (the Monaco-Asie Association with Prince Albert II at its head),
has helped build a reception centre for minors affected by the
Tsunami. This Centre has been built with the help of the
Salesians in Indonesia (who are not located in this area, though), and
a local community of the Sisters of Charity of the Mother of Mercy
(SCCM). Additional economic support for this Centre is coming
from Corriere della Sera readers.
Other projects have been carried out in Thailand and
in India (Tamil Nadu). For additional information on how
reconstruction projects are being realised by DBN and VIS, refer to the
VIS website at www.volint.it
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