Tsunami
The 9.0 earthquake off the coast of Indonesia on December 26, 2004 and the resulting tsunami caused great loss of life and property. “The aftermath is overwhelming,” Chacko said. “The task of rebuilding lives has barely begun and will require a lot of generous compassionate help from the world community.”
The India Mission for Evangelism (T.I.M.E. Inc.) immediately got involved in the relief effort. As soon as news of the tsunami came, Chacko asked representatives from Peniel Bible Seminary to visit the tsunami-affected place nearby-the greater Cochin area (about 30 miles from Peniel)-and provide aid to survivors.
The Peniel team visited two shelters, or relief camps, in schools and other places where more than 3,500 people were being sheltered. These people lost homes and belongings. Many lost loved ones. Dazed and in shock, they congregate outside a temporary shelter. The Peniel team (including Vineetha’s father, Samuel Chacko) brought food, clothing, water and medical supplies to both camps.
The government runs tent cities and gives out daily rations. While they provide shelters, they create a situation where elderly people, women, young girls, infants, single men, and men who have lost partners, strangers to one another, are living together. Some survivors preferred to remain where their homes once stood, using whatever was left, or what they could find in the rubble to construct makeshift shelters. Cooking pots were among the items provided by the Peniel relief team.
The India Mission for Evangelism (T.I.M.E. Inc.) has set up a Tsunami Disaster Relief Fund to help survivors in India and Sri Lanka. When Chacko arrived in India on January 4, 2005, he and a team from Peniel began assessing needs of survivors in their area and how best to help them. What a difference your generosity and sharing made, and is continuing to make, for many survivors in India and Sri Lanka! Thank you.
In one affected area, the Peniel relief team supplied 100 families with provisions for three days, including non-prescription medicines for the sick. The team continues to distribute basic needs.
The tsunami wave tore apart homes, swept away belongings, and took the lives of loved ones. It is difficult to imagine the grief and emotional suffering of the survivors who are left to literally, pick up the pieces of their lives.
TIME’s role has been to provide survivors with immediate necessities-food, clothing, school supplies for the children, etc. Almost all the people living in the coastal areas are fishermen-it is the only occupation they know. Most lost their fishing boats, nets, and all the tools of their trade and are unable to earn living.
“With $5,000 of the relief funds, we purchased fishing netting,” Chacko said. “The fishermen prefer the netting so they can make their own nets, but they are also salvaging and using what they can from the piles of debris.” “TIME has distributed fishing netting to 78 families and helped to repair fishing canoes.” Chacko said.
TIME is not handing out cash. All items for distribution are purchased in the countries in order to get the most for the least amount and to help the local economy at the same time.
TIME Relief Efforts in Sri Lanka
After completing other responsibilities in India, Chacko and his father-in-law, Samuel Chacko, traveled to Sri Lanka on January 21, 2005. “The tsunami wave hit the coasts of Sri Lanka with a greater severity”, Chacko said. “Thousands of people died. Hundreds of thousands lost everything. The devastation is unbelievable.”
Pastor Ranjith Augustine, a local pastor with whom TIME has been involved, accompanied Chacko and his father-in-law on a trip along the Sri Lankan coast. Pastor Ranjith said the local churches, though poor themselves are doing their best to help. Thousands of children, like this group, lost both their parents and siblings. “They are now orphans,” Pastor Ranjith said. “I took the responsibility to take care of them.”
Millions like these are suffering emotionally because of what has happened to them. Please pray for the children.
