Victims

Published by the Orthodox Christian Mission Center, January 10, 2005

Helping Victims of the Asian Earthquake and Tsunami

The following news report was received at the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) from the Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong & Southeast Asia (OHKSEA).

Hong Kong – Now that the devastation from the incredible earthquake and subsequent tsunamis in Asia has become more transparent, the OMHKSEA is actively pursuing ways to help even more people affected by this terrible disaster.

Immediately following the events of December 26, 2004, His Eminence Metropolitan Nikitas requested that the Office of Philanthropy set up an “Orthodox Asian Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster Relief Fund”. At the time of the fund’s creation, there were no casualties and only minor damage to report. Since then, the OMHKSEA has learned that one of its Jakarta faithful lost her entire family in the earthquake. In fact, her family’s entire village was lost. In addition to this tragic human loss, thousands of dollars of structural damage has been done to various churches and schools in the Medan area as a result of the earthquake.

Dozens of organizations and individuals have responded to the OMHKSEA’s call for help by donating tens of thousands of dollars to help the hundreds of thousands of victims in this vast region. As a result of such overwhelming generosity, the OMHKSEA has donated thousands of dollars to Orthodox response teams in North Sumatra, Indonesia and southern India.

In addition, Archimandrite Konstantinos Tsilis spent a week in Thailand, helping victims of the tsunami from the island of Phuket. Father Tsilis helped Orthodox faithful, some of whom were flown to Bangkok with nothing but the clothes they wore, with financial and spiritual needs. Many had lost loved ones in the massive waves that struck the once tranquil beach resort.

The OMHKSEA is striving to do even more. OP Director Christopher Ebe will meet with a Europe-based International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) representative and Indonesian Orthodox clergy in North Sumatra this week to identify gaps in the current relief efforts and find ways to forge partnerships with existing efforts. The small team will then travel to the hardest hit Indonesian province of Aceh, where nearly 100,000 people have perished, to meet with humanitarian agency representatives and survey the damage. Following the “needs and assessment” trip, the team will work to attract funding to support the front line relief effort in Indonesia.



Volume 7 Number 3 - Tuesday, January 18th, 2005	A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY