This, when I saw it on the news, just completely broke my heart, I started crying my eyes out, seeing parents searching for their children, hearing the stories of people who had survived, but now have no home, no clothing, no clean water or food.
Sri Lanka has no emergency warning system and is one of the poorest countries in the region - average worker earns 3,000 dollars a year (that would be in US funds). To make matters worse in Sri Lanka, there was enormous damage in the north - where there is civil unrest and there are now landmines dislodged by the water, making recovery of survivors even more treacherous.
I know many of you are young - too young to have credit cards or anything like that. But there is a need for donations for medicine, food, clean water and at least temporary shelter.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=363005 has a list of many agencies all working together to try to help all those left behind.
Quote:
The International Red Cross reported 23,700 deaths and expressed concern about waterborne diseases like malaria and cholera. Jan Egeland, the U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator, said millions of people were effected by lost homes, polluted drinking water, destroyed sanitation and that the cost of the damage would "probably be many billions of dollars."
"We cannot fathom the cost of these poor societies and the nameless fishermen and fishing villages and so on that have just been wiped out. Hundreds of thousands of livelihoods have gone," he told reporters.
I know I will do what little I can and I also send my thoughts and wishes for all of these people and all of you who have been, and will continue to be affected. Please know that people do truly care.