posted December 28, 2004 05:15 PM         

December 28, 2004 (updated 11:00am)

Never in its history has Christian Children's Fund been faced with such great need as that posed by the earthquakes and resulting tsunami that have devastated parts of Asia where we work. CCF immediately responded to the tsunami.

CCF staff on the ground in India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka began distributing food, bedding and utensils to survivors. While we are assisting in all the affected countries, CCF's focus is on Sri Lanka which at this time seems to be the hardest hit country. CCF has sent an international team of child protection specialists to join the CCF-Sri Lanka staff and hundreds of CCF volunteers already assembled in Sri Lanka and working to assist the survivors.

CCF is distributing food, milk, utensils and bedding to survivors who have been moved to safe shelter. And CCF is preparing to establish Child Centered Spaces--safe havens where children can play and recover from the devastation they've witnessed. Many children have lost parents, sisters and brothers, and they need assistance to return to some degree of normalcy.

We already know that two enrolled children have died, and that our staff in Sri Lanka have lost family members.

The first communication from our Sri Lanka National Director Gamini Pinnalawatte gives an indication of the desperate situation that is facing the children and families of Sri Lanka. He reported: “the entire coastal area has been affected...people are starving...hospitals have been damaged...parents are in danger especially pregnant mothers and children. The situation is really bad and becoming worse."

The estimates of the dead as a result of the tsunami is now topping 27,000. More than one million are displaced.

If you would like to assist flooding victims, please contribute online to Child Alert, http://www.christianchildrensfund.org/donate/appeal.aspx

or call 1-800-776-6767.

Or send contributions to:

posted January 20, 2005 03:00 AM         

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