Dublin Diocese Tsunami Collection: Update
Last January we held a special collection in all the Churches in Dublin for the victims of the Tsunami in South East Asia. The collection amounted to a staggering €4,095,331.25. The money was given to Trocaire, the Catholic Development Aid Organisation, asking that it be specifically targeted at projects involving children and education.
At that time I promised that I would report back to parishes on how that money was being used. So far €1.9 million of the Dublin Diocesan collection has been spent on eight projects in various countries, benefiting an estimated 400,000 men, women and children. A further €2 million has been earmarked for four projects in the coming year with nearly €200,000 yet to be allocated.
Details of how your money has been spent are available below.
Once again, I sincerely thank all of you who made this wonderful work possible.
Diarmuid Martin
Archbishop of Dublin
DUBLIN DIOCESE TSUNAMI FUND summary
Amount Raised € 4,095,331 Money spent to date € 1,903,417 Total allocated for future projects € 2,000,000 Money waiting to be allocated € 191,914 INDONESIA Three projects operating with money from Dublin Diocese Collection € 1.03m spent: 138,000 people supported SRI LANKA Three projects operating with money from Dublin collection: € 472,648 spent: 71,828 people supported INDIA 1 project operating with money from Dublin collection:€ 300,000 spent. 222,500 people supported. THAILAND 1 project operating with money from Dublin collection:
€100,000 spent. 2,400 families supported. INDONESIA The Province of Aceh in Indonesia was one of the worst hit regions in the Tsunami, where close to three quarter of a million people lost their livelihoodsReconstruction and Re-establishment of schools.
On Simule Island 10 km west of the mainland Aceh province €480,769 raised in the Dublin Diocese is helping to fund the reconstruction of schools. 20,000 children between the ages of 6 and 18 will benefit. The project includes
q The reconstruction of 100 schools
q Provision of water and sanitation for schools on the island.
q Re-equipping of damaged and destroyed schools with equipment.
q Community training and disaster preparedness programmes.
In this project in the Senuddon Sub District, involving six villages, €500,000 from the Dublin collection has been spent helping 4,780 families and 4,000 students. This includes:
q Helping restore livelihoods (sewing, vegetable growing, farming etc)
q Construction and repair of houses
q Restoring village infrastructure
q Assisting children returning to school
Psychological Support
Since January Trocaire has been providing psychological support services and trauma care for the most vulnerable people affected by the disaster — children, the elderly and the disabled. €50,000 of Dublin Diocese money was spent on this service which is helping around 110,000 men, women and children.
SRI LANKA
In Sri Lanka, 31,000 people lost their lives, 4,000 are missing and half a million were displaced. In many affected areas in Sri Lanka there is a high number of displaced children and young people.
Vocational Training for displaced youths
Trocaire has already used €94,450 of Diocesan funds towards training facilities, employing instructors, identifying course participants and working to impart skills to labourers who support families and local communities. 1860 young people will benefit from these projects.
Equipment for schools
Thousands of schools were destroyed around the Bay of Bengal. Trocaire is working to construct and repair 17 schools and provide material for others. €94,450 of the money raised in Dublin has been spent on this project helping 9,162 children from 5,000 families and 1306 teachers.
Emergency Assistance
A sizeable portion of the contribution from the people of the Diocese was spent on emergency relief services in the weeks immediately after the disaster. This included the provision of food and non -food items, medicines, fishing nets, emergency shelter, tool kits and creating access to schools. €300,000 of the monies collected in Dublin has already been spent helping 50,000 people, including 4,500 children. Another €300,000 has been earmarked for the next phase of the project which will focus on long-term rehabilitation.
INDIA
In the coastal region of southern India, particularly in the Tamil Nadu state, over 12,000 people died and over 5,000 are missing. Here, with Caritas India, Trocaire provided emergency relief, housing construction and boat building support for 44,500 families involving 222,500 people. €300,000 of the funds raised in Dublin went to help people in this area, and included the provision of school kits for 20,000 children.
THAILAND
In Thailand, over 5,000 people are dead in the wake of the Tsunami and almost 3,000 are missing. An estimated 50,000 children were affected with almost 1,500 children losing one or more parents. Phang Na, Phuket and Satun were among three of the worst affected areas. Here, Trocaire has spent €100,000 of the Dublin Diocesan donation helping 2,400 families rebuild their lives. The money has been spent, providing materials for rebuilding and repairing homes, providing schools, wells, boats and fishing equipment and tuition assistance for children to enable them return to school.
