From: Frank Devlyn

To: edmund@astrans.com.sg

Sent: 04 January, 2005 8:12 AM

Subject: Changes in Disaster Relief

I personally feel that letting districts give DDF that they might have available is a possible way to go. I also feel that we should have a user friendly way of allowing Rotarians to give money in a User Friendly Way via internet as Care, Unicef, etc. are doing. Our method when I click on to www.rotary.org is not a very User Friendly Way of giving money. I suggest that all of you try to give a token amount of 25 dollars to TRF to see the complicated process that is involved.

I feel that The Family of Rotary must find it unacceptable that We at the Rotary Foundation mention that Disaster Relief Donations do not get Paul Harris Recognition. If we ever wanted to show that we give Solidarity to Humanity in times of need, we should not limit giving Paul Harris Credit to those requesting. Some will not be interested in Paul Harris Credit but there are some who will be interested. We would give Paul Harris Credit once a Matching Grant is approved.

Your Amigo in Mexico City,

Frank Devlyn

Trustee, The Rotary Foundation 2002-2006

Chairman Elect T.R.F. 2005-2006

Past Rotary International President 2000-2001

-----Original Message-----

From: J.B. Roberts [mailto:hungersupport@texasonline.net]

Sent: Lunes, 03 de Enero de 2005 03:26 p.m.

To: Wayne Merrill; Grimes, Bill; Dr. Marv Ludwig; Jack Blane; Lou Marciano; Ted Holder; 'Norris Lineweaver'; 'Barb Feder'; 'Don Ferguson'; 'John Germany, Jr.'; 'Kelly Brock'; 'Michael Diamond'

Subject: SRI LANKA, MALAYSIA DISASTER

If every Rotarian in America would contribute only $10 for the relief of our brothers and sisters in Malaysia as well as the other countries that have been struck by the tsunami, Hunger Plus, Inc. could send many containers of rice and soybeans to the afflicted areas. Since this tidal wave struck devastation throughout the countries in the Indian Ocean, I have been inundated with calls with how Rotarians could help these stricken areas. Since RI is not in the disaster relief, per se, I believe it would be only appropriate if Rotarians would take up this humanitarian cause.

Hunger Plus, Inc. is a 501c3 non profit organization and we will be most happy and honored to work with you and the Districts involved in this disaster. If you were touched at all by this horrible disaster and the following plea submitted by our Rotary friends in District 3220 and 3300, I am sure you will want to be a part of the relief effort. Please send your contribution to the address listed below and we will be most honored to see that rice and soybeans are shipped just as soon as possible to these desperate people.

Hunger Plus, Inc.

P.O. Box 337

Plainview, TX 79072 USA

806-293-4413 phone

806-293-7444 fax

Your Amigo in Mexico City,

Frank Devlyn

Trustee, The Rotary Foundation 2002-2006

Past Rotary International President 2000-2001

BS, stop accepting any more clothing or cargo as of today - full

I will finalise the lot of list and sent it to you once the packing is done. That much I can do .

bye edmund      

So alot of time is soaked up in running and communication. It takes up alot of energies and i just lose 2 lbs within the last couple of days.

You can ask me why i wrote this email, because alot of happening is been done. So much money is collected into the Red cross and UN and other charity organisations. Private organisations need to be surviving also. If only those funds can be channel to good use, otherwise it would not be fun. Why? Simple, everybody wait for everybody and somebody will wait for somebody and by then, the nobody will end up with nobody because, everybody was waiting for that somebody to act.

Visit this link for Astrans Warehouse pictures

http://www.rotaryeclub3310.org/astranswarehouse

Dear Rotarians and supporters (In this mail, I have included additional persons who are non-Rotarians but who have concerns on the casualties at Aceh)

I have just received news from the Rotary Club of Langkat that the 1640kg of medical supplies they received from R.C. of Kuching Central are being sent out to Meulaboh and some to Malahayati Hospital which is full of refugees.

The urgent needs now are as follows:

- Blood donation containers and associated equipment (At the minor centres there is possibly no refrigeration so blood donations probably have to be given on the spot)

- Equipment for minor surgery (50 sets)

- Valium (oral or injectable) for anti kejang & penenang

- Pavulon (organon)

- Strong antibiotic such as Gol Cephalosporin (oral & injectable)

- Cream antibiotic

- Metronidasol/Flagyl

- Antiseptic

- Oralite

- Anti diahrroea

- 1 unit ambulance for transport

- 1 unit 4-wd station wagon for transport

- 2 units motor trail for transport to remote areas

With regards to the vehicles request, we will need to look for used vehicles and then determined how to transport them.  Ideally, these vehicles should either come from Penang or Singpore because of proximity to Medan and to minimise the cost of shipping.

Hope the above info is of some use to you all.

Dear fellow Rotarians

I like to share this story... Imagine what could have happened on that eventful day for those who did not come back to share their tales... BS

Hi Ban Seng,

The Tsunami disaster that struck over the past week sent shivers down my spine.

For it was more than 20 years ago that I had a near-death xperience with waves at a beach in Penang, Malaysia. I was 14 then.

I was just sitting there right at the edge of the beach watching the waves come in. There was one wave that wasn't particularly big, that went over my head and covered my body entirely.

I wasn't in the least afraid because I fully expected the wave of water to fall over me and then recede, leaving me at or near my original spot.

You can already tell that I was not a very experienced beach goer.

But then disaster almost struck.

The wave that engulfed me (it was barely a few feet high) took me along with it on its way back to the sea. It so strong that it caused me to somersault over and over within even as I was struggling to touch the ground.

I was immediately disorientated. I could only see sand floating in the water in front of me, my eyes hurt due to the salt content so I couldn't open them for long, and I didn't know which way was up or down since the water made me weightless.

In the panic, I swallowed lots of water as I struggled for air and
something to hold on to (of course, there was nothing, just water). 

My entire body was trashing about which was a natural reaction to the shock I was experiencing. The more I struggled and tried to gain some balance, the more water I took into my lungs. My heart was beating so fast that I feared I would experience a heart attack at any time.

After what seemed like eternity with no positive results, I thought to
myself that this was the end.

However, just as I was about to pass out, the water suddenly left me and my body was touching the sandy beach again. The wave had rejoined the sea.

But only for a moment.

I immediately gathered all the strength I still had to crawl up to the
higher parts of the beach just in case another wave were to hit me. I was coughing up water from my lungs in the process but I knew that if it were to happen once more, that would really be it.

I managed to reach higher ground, near where my elder brother and his then girlfriend were sitting, who were both laughing at me as they honestly thought I was just fooling around...

Looking back, the experience probably lasted only 20-30 seconds and the wave was nothing out of the ordinary but those few seconds were enough to almost end my life as panic and confusion took over completely.

Why am I telling you my story?

I was dealing with waves of only a few feet high for only few seconds. What I experienced on that fateful day was not a Tsunami, nor was there any disaster of any scale. It was simply a small wave that I was not prepared for. It could have happened at any beach.

In contrast, tens of thousands of Tsunami victims were engulfed in waves of up to 2 STOREYS high for a much longer period. Buildings were flattened, trees were uprooted and cars were washed away to destinations many miles away.

Entire villages in some countries were wiped out in an instant in a horrific display of force and destruction.

According to Reuters, over 150,000 people have died in the disaster as of the time of writing. Over 400,000 people in Indonesia and 850,000 in Sri Lanka have been made homeless. A huge number lost everything they had. And all numbers are still climbing.

It is one of the biggest natural disasters in memory.

You may wish to contribute a donation to the relief effort with your time, effort or money, or you may not. This letter is not about that.

It's about sparing a thought or two to your fellow citizens of the earth and what they went through.

It's about being thankful for whatever state you're in because tens of thousands of others have lost everything they had in just a few minutes.

It's about taking some time off from your busy schedules to reflect on and indulge in other equally, if not more important, aspects of your life.

Ok, that's it for this letter. We'll talk again soon.

Warm Regards,
Sen Ze
Co-Founder, SOLOBIS.com
January 5th 2005

Dear All,

Rotary District 3220 has appointed 10 area coordinators for the following areas as these areas are represented by Rotary Clubs:
                                                   
1.      Beruwela        &nbs p;         &nbs p;   
2.      Galle         & nbsp;         & nbsp;        
3.      Trincomalee        & nbsp;         
4.      Batticaloa        &n bsp;         &n bsp;     
5.      Moratuwa / Kalutara      
6.      Matara                           
7.      Negombo          ;           ;  
8.      Kalmunai & Ampara      
9.      Jaffna & Killinochchi      
10.     Hambantota    ;           ;     


Regular meetings are held during which the area coordinators report the current status. According to these reports food and medicines have reached all affected areas and therefore Rotary District 3220 have decided not to pursue these requirements any more than what is already committed. There are a number of NGO's supplying food and medicines from which such supplies will continue.

The immediate requirements are:

1.      Shelter Boxes ( UK RIBI are assisting in this)
2.      2" engine driven water pumps
3.      4" engine driven sludge pumps
4.      3 to 5 KVA generators, preferably diesel engine driven

Rotary does not have clearance for import of relief aid without subject to custom clearance as it is not registered as a charitable organization. But because of these special circumstances, only the Rotary Club of Colombo has been given the clearance to receive relief aid from overseas. However, henceforth, all unaccompanied medicines will be taken over by the Government Health Officials immediately on clearing the cargo. In view of this, please re-direct all medical supplies to Acheh through PP Haji Razali who is the coordinator for the disaster in Indonesia.

Those Clubs or well-wishes who still wish to send food items in packed boxes of manageable quantities, there is a collection center in Petaling Jaya. Those who are planning to send by container loads, you will have to first send a packing list of the items to the President, Rotary Club of Colombo. You can fax it to DGE Nihal at 0094 11 2449615 and he will pass it on to RC Colombo. But please keep in mind there is a certain amount of clearance and handling charges at the port on arrival.

There are private groups of doctors and others in the medical field who are organizing volunteer teams to Sri Lanka. By their own connections, they are going to places where there is no Rotary network thus their services are greatly appreciated. However, should anyone need any assistance in Sri Lanka, the Rotarians of RC Colombo West are willing to assist in any way possible. Please contact President Raju at 0094 777224674. They have already assisted a number of people/groups who have left from here, some of whom are not connected to Rotary including reporters from STAR and NST who are covering the disaster from ground zero.

Accommodation is still a problem in Colombo and most 5* hotels have guests sleeping on the corridors and the entire ballroom is filled with mattresses.

Sri Lanka is slowly progressing from Emergency Relief to mid-term relief. And this is to make all the million over displaced people self sustaining before more concrete solutions are provided. This mid-term relief is to provide essential cooking items and water purification equipment to enabled all the displaced to look after themselves as delivering cooked food is posing a major problem.

The District 3220 Disaster Relief Committee formed by District Governor Lucky Peiris has appointed PDG Krish Rajendran and PDG Ravindran (who has attended many Rotary functions in Malaysia and know to many Rotarians in our District) as advisors and they are formulating a long-term plan whereby Rotary could play a very significant role in rehabilitation and rebuilding the lives of many. They are now seeking a meeting with H.E. The President to present their proposal and get approval. Once this is formally approved, they will announce the plan and seek the assistance of all Rotarians worldwide.

Their forward thinking is really admirable and it will be a great step forward.

Millions in Great Britain and Europe held a 3 minute silence for the 150,000 over departed and the millions grieved.

This disaster has not spared a single soul on earth and whatever we do is never going to be enough.

Yours in Rotary Service,
IPP Bindi Rajasegaran
Coordinator for Sri Lanka
R.I. District 3300 Tsunami Disaster Relief Committee