The Chicago Jewish community raised $660,000 for victims of the tsunamis that hit South Asia last December through a special mailbox opened by the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Chicago.
A total of 2,838 people donated through the special JUF mailbox. The money has since funded mobile medical units in the Chennai and Nagapatinnam regions of southern India, treating tens of thousands of sick and injured people in refugee camps, temporary camps and fishing villages hit by the tsunamis. The units, which were staffed by volunteer Israeli doctors, provided free emergency care, physical exams, inoculations and medicine to the devastated survivors.
"One of the greatest imperatives of Judaism is to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless and heal the sick and injured, whoever and wherever they may be," said Dr. Steven B. Nasatir, Federation president, about the generous response.
Federation funneled 100 percent of the contributions through the American Joint Jewish Distribution Committee (JDC) to local relief agencies. No administration costs were deducted from the money sent to JDC. Future projects will likely include the rebuilding of an elementary school, in Phuket, Thailand, which was completely destroyed by the tidal wave, and community centers.
Dr. Eran Elinav and Dr. David Planer, two Israeli volunteers who staffed the mobile units, said they encountered all aspects of human misery — people who lost their entire families in the disaster, people who were left homeless and people whose livelihoods were destroyed, leaving them reliant on handouts and charity.
The series of tsunamis devastated South Asia on Dec. 26, killing an estimated 230,000 and leaving five million people homeless. Within 48 hours of the disaster, Federation began sending humanitarian aid to the area, part of a national effort coordinated by the United Jewish Communities. |
