LONDON,December 29 2004
IANS
The biggest Hindu temple in Britain is raising thousands of pounds
to rebuild the lives of victims of the tsunami disaster in India and
the rest of south and southeast Asia.
The Swaminarayan Temple in Neasdon, London, has floated an appeal to
the Indian community to help it raise a third of a million pounds that
would go into rebuilding houses and sanitary systems and providing healthcare
to the affected.
"This is a natural disaster of an unparalleled magnitude and it
requires huge amounts of aid to cope with it. We are trying to help
in our own way," said Girvish Patel of the Swaminarayan Temple.
The temple management has already rushed 10,000 packets of food to
the affected states in southern India. More relief materials are being
sent.
"What we have done was to start an appeal for charity and donations
that we could use in the rebuilding process," Patel said.
The temple is holding prayers in memory of those dead in the catastrophe.
It's also become the place where people of Asian origin have been gathering
to share information on their relatives living in the affected areas
and share their worry and grief.
More than 7,000 people have been reported dead in India's tsunami-hit
regions. With thousands still missing and rescue workers still bringing
out bodies from the debris and fishing out corpses from the sea, the
death toll is expected to go up.
Britain's aid support to India and Sri Lanka is being driven primarily
by four charity organisations that are flying out teams to help rescue
workers in the two countries.
Four charities - Oxfam, Save the Children, World Vision and Christian
Aid - had either flown out teams to help workers already in Sri Lanka
and India, dispatching relief material or sending money to the region.
Unicef said it was moving to identify children and unite them with
their parents, particularly in India and Sri Lanka.
"Reports from India say that a large number of children have been
separated from their parents in the chaos. We are moving to try and
get them to unite with their families," said Unicef spokesperson
Katherine Owen.
Unicef said it was particularly worried about the health of surviving
children, as the breakout of diseases was a major cause for concern.
"Sanitation and supply of fresh drinking water is paramount now,"
Owen said.
Owen said Unicef units in the affected countries were already undertaking
relief efforts in what the world body called its biggest-ever humanitarian
aid exercise.
According to Matthew Parry of the Red Cross' disaster response committee,
the organisation was coordinating its efforts in India, Sri Lanka and
Indonesia, where it was still locating disaster-hit areas.
The countries affected by the calamitous tsunami had been divided into
11 disaster zones for the purpose of easy coordination among the aid
agencies.