Rotarians respond to Asia-Pacific disasters
By Ryan Hyland
Rotary International News -- 16 October 2009
Top: Victims of the typhoons in the Philippines line up to receive emergency aid.
Photo courtesy of District 3770 Bottom: An elderly woman is helped through the flooded streets of India.
Photo courtesy of District 3150
Rotarians are ramping up aid to victims left homeless by a series of disasters that struck areas in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific.
A devastating tsunami that hit American Samoa, Samoa, and Tonga; earthquakes in Indonesia; two typhoons in the Philippines; and flooding in India have left thousands dead and millions displaced.
Rotarians are focusing on distributing relief goods, including food, water, medicine, clothing, and shelter.
Rotary clubs from districts in Australia and New Zealand are leading efforts to bring emergency response kits to victims of the 29 September tsunami that wiped out several villages in American Samoa and Samoa.
Rotarians and Rotaractors in Samoa have distributed more than 200 kits, costing roughly US$55,000 total. Full of blankets, food, clothing, cooking utensils, tools, and medicine, they were donated by Rotary clubs in New Zealand in collaboration with Air New Zealand.
"I'm amazed at how fast the support came," says Leanne Jaggs, governor of District 9920, which covers several islands in the South Pacific. "I am proud to be a Rotarian right now because of the way everyone comes together when needed."
Learn more about these relief efforts and how you can help.
A violent earthquake flattened areas on the Indonesian island of Sumatra on 30 September, killing more than 1,100 people and leaving an estimated 500,000 homeless. Immediately after the quake, District 3400 set up a disaster relief team to survey hard-hit communities and worked with rescue agencies to distribute tools and about 1.5 tons of medical supplies to stricken areas.
Learn more about these relief efforts and how you can help.
Two powerful typhoons also slammed into the Philippines in late September and early October, causing widespread flooding and landslides. The Rotary clubs of Cabuyao and Cabuyao Circle, Laguna, distributed 700 relief packs containing rice, sardines, and instant noodles.
District 3770 designated the Rotary Club of Meycauayan Uptown, Bulacan, as the custodian of all donations from the district.
"All districts in the Philippines are continuously unrelenting in their efforts to help all these victims, no matter how long it will take," says Ruben V. Mabagos, District 3770 extension chair.
Also in early October, flash floods and landslides swamped much of southern India, leaving 2.5 million people homeless. Rotary clubs in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad have begun providing relief supplies to victims in the Mehboodnagar District.
Clothes, clean water, and medicine are still desperately needed, says Jhansi Premanand, World Community Service chair for District 3150.
"The catastrophe of these floods is unprecedented, and the number of families displaced unimaginable," says Premanand. "As Rotarians, it is necessary to extend all our help to these victims."
E-mail Jhansi Premanand for information on how to help.
ShelterBox, a grassroots disaster-relief organization supported by Rotary clubs, has deployed response teams to distribute hundreds of boxes of supplies to several areas hit hard by the disasters.