UC Berkeley Web Feature
Campus pitching in to aid South Asia tsunami victims
BERKELEY – The tsunami that devastated several Indian Ocean nations in late December is also causing ripple effects at UC Berkeley, where the south and southeast Asian community has deep roots.
The tidal wave and earthquakes that struck off the Sumatran coast on Dec. 26, killing more than 150,000 people and leaving millions homeless, have generated an outpouring of concern and efforts to assist the victims. Although the Berkeley campus was closed for winter break from Dec. 23 until today, the university's Center for South Asia Studies distributed a list of relief agencies seeking donations within days of the tragedy.
While campus plans for responding to the tragedy are being formulated, immediate aid is needed in the region, and a host of international relief agencies are already delivering humanitarian assistance to victims of the earthquake and tsunami. The following are among the organizations collecting online donations for Asian relief efforts:
- Action Against Hunger
- American Friends Service Committee
- American Red Cross
- Catholic Relief Services
- International Association for Human Values
- Lutheran World Relief
- Mercy Corps
- Operation USA
- Oxfam America
- Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement, a Sri Lankan grassroots organization
- Save the Children
- Seva Foundation
- UNICEF