U.S. Ministry Helps Restore Tsunami Survivors' Livelihoods
by Allie Martin
February 23, 2005
(AgapePress) - The Christian relief organization Samaritan's Purse is helping provide new jobs for thousands hit hard by December's tsunami in south Asia.Workers from the ministry have been involved in the disaster response and recovery efforts from the outset. While initial tsunami relief efforts focused on meeting the needs of displaced and devastated victims -- necessities such as shelter, food, water, blankets and medical kits -- Samaritan's Purse is now focusing on the survivors' long-term needs.
For instance, according to ministry spokesman Ivan Giesbrecht, an effort is under way to provide a thousand fishing boats to needy families in southern Asia. He says several hundred boats will be distributed in each of the countries in the tsunami disaster zone, including Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and India, where the ministry has been at work.
"This will not only give the boat makers business," Giesbrecht notes, "but it will also give business to the people who make nets for a living. And ultimately, of course, it's going to benefit the fisherman -- maybe five or six men that would be out on each boat -- and their families."
The Samaritan's Purse representative says the ministry will be providing enough fishing boats to put up to 8,000 people back to work. "These are people that could never afford insurance on their homes and their lives and their boats," he points out, "and so, when something like this happens, not only do they lose their members of their family and lose their home, but they lose their livelihood as well."
The North Carolina-based ministry's restoration-oriented relief efforts will mean a great deal to south Asian families that lost nearly everything when the waves of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami swept through their region. Without this kind of aid, Giesbrecht notes, "It would take them years to recover. There's no insurance agent to get on the phone and start filing a claim."
Besides the boats, Samaritan's Purse is also providing other subsistence supplies to the tsunami survivors, including livestock, sewing machines, coconut presses, and other income-generating materials. The ministry has committed more than $13 million for tsunami relief efforts.
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
