The Rebuild
Today has been etched into my memory forever. While I had viewed first-hand the devastation at Patong Beach in Phuket, I wasn’t prepared for the loss of life that confronted me at Kao Lak, in Phangna,” says Greg Young, an Australian living in Thailand, describing his experience just days after the Boxing Day tsunami.
Greg, director of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA)–Thailand, personally witnessed the immediate devastation of the tsunami that destroyed regions of southern Asia. He was also part of the first ADRA disaster team to deliver emergency relief to affected areas.
“Our team, including volunteers from a local hospital, conducted needs assessments and then worked all day and night preparing care packages for the victims,” Greg reports. He says delivering the packages was sometimes slow, not only because of destruction to roads, but also the volume of other aid convoys, clean-up teams and distraught relatives frantically searching for loved ones. “It took two hours to travel a kilometre at one stage,” said Greg, “possibly the longest kilometre of my life.”
As a worldwide development agency, ADRA had a presence in all countries hit by the tsunami, and so was able to deliver immediate assistance. Greg helped deliver care packages containing food, medicine, toiletries and clothing. Among other things, ADRA provided medical supplies in Sri Lanka, food for refugees in India; and medical services to the worst hit places around Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
But the work has only begun. The enormity of the crisis means that there is an overwhelming need for long-term rehabilitation of those so deeply affected. Not only have people lost homes and families, but also the resources to produce an income. Those affected by this disaster need sustained support over the coming months and years, so ADRA is already establishing long-term projects that will help people rebuild their lives long-term.
ADRA–Australia is committed to the restoration of affected regions, and has allocated funds for two long-term projects. The Tsunami Relief and Restoration Initiative for Women in the Tamil Nadu State and Pondicherry Union Territory of India, will help widowed women access income-generation programs to gain a livelihood and provide financial security. It also provides support and counselling, health education and vocational skills.
In Thailand, a three-year Community Recovery and Development program will help at least 20,000 tsunami-affected people through the rehabilitation of water and sanitation, assist community and household recovery, and provide health and psychosocial support. ADRA has committed to helping with education in Indonesia; providing water purification and supply in Sri Lanka; and installing latrines in India.
As the healing continues, ADRA will establish more development projects, empowering the survivors to restore their communities and rebuild their lives.
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