Tsunami Relief
The Day that Shook the Earth
On Sunday morning, December 26, 2004, an earthquake exceeding 9.0 on the Richter scale hit near the Island of Sumatra. The tremor was felt more than 1,000 miles away, and thirty-foot waves generated by the earthquake struck Somalia, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Maldives, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand. Early estimates of the death toll were placed at 25,000, but the world soon learned how wrong those estimates had been.
Phase One: Relief Efforts Begin
ABWE immediately began drawing up response plans, as reflected in the following excerpts from website updates:*
December 27, 2004—ABWE Website Update
News reports now estimate more than 80,000 deaths from the tsunami. According to Red Cross projections, the death toll from this “disaster of unprecedented proportions” could surpass the 100,000 mark. The United Nations reports that international organizations and many nations are responding to the tragedy with “the biggest relief effort the world has ever seen.”
December 29, 2004—ABWE Broadcast Email
Many hours passed before ABWE determined that all our personnel in tsunami-affected areas were safe. However, not all national workers were spared. Heartrending accounts from Pastor Daniel,** a Christian leader in India, begin to arrive via email:
“At 5:45 there was a tremor. It was like someone taking the cot and shaking it up. Before I could react to get my family out, the tremor stopped....More than five thousand have been reported lost. The death toll is on the rise. So far, three of our churches have been affected. The devastation is appalling, especially in Sri Lanka and Andaman and the Nicobar Islands. Hundreds of thousands have lost their homes. Most fishermen on the coast have lost all their belongings and many have lost loved ones.”
In the face of such desperate need, Pastor Daniel worked quickly to draw up an initial relief plan for India that called for five 2-man teams to distribute emergency care packages. The packages included a sleeping mat, portable one-burner stove, cooking vessel, plates, steel tumblers, plastic pot, toiletries (soap, towel, toothpaste, etc.), clothing, mirror and comb, and medicine packet.
*Only brief excerpts from the ABWE website updates can be presented here. Read more here.
**Last names are changed or omitted for security reasons.
Monday, January 3, 2005—Website Update
In Thailand, relief operations were being conducted in cooperation with the Philippine Association of Baptists for World Evangelism (PABWE) and Thai churches. ABWE’s primary contact was a church in Panga, where eight of the members were killed, the church building was damaged, and many lost homes. Christians in Bangkok took offerings to assist with this relief effort.
Wednesday, January 12, 2005—Website Update
The six-member ABWE Relief Team, with specialized skills in medicine, counseling, and building, arrived in India. In addition to their responsibilities in these areas, each team member was also involved in food and care package distribution to thousands of Indians each day.
Five daily medical clinics were held at five different villages, reaching three to four hundred people each day. Patients were assessed, diagnosed, given vitamins, medicine, and a tract, and were prayed with individually. (See "An Amazing Answer to Prayer" below.)
Two members of the Relief Team worked together to design and build a simple, movable shelter that would provide protection for homeless families at minimal cost. Plans were drawn up for future teams to use in building many more shelters.
By the time the Relief Team left India, nearly 24,000 tsunami survivors had benefited from its work. Over 3,200 families received the basic care package; over 2,300 families received food and other supplies; more than 1,700 individuals were served by our medical clinics; and six families received the sample shelters designed and built by members of the relief team.
Monday, January 17, 2005—Website Update
In Bangkok, classes were suspended at Romprakhun Baptist Bible Institute from January 17-21 so that Thai students could travel to Panga for a week of ministry among the tsunami survivors. The students proclaimed the gospel, distributed relief supplies, and helped construct temporary housing.
Moving Forward to Phase Two
By the end of January, emergency food distribution and medical care were drawing to a close. Help was now refocused on preparing survivors to move ahead with their lives. To that end, ABWE has implemented two ongoing relief projects:
The Shelter Project
Hundreds of shelters are needed for those left homeless in India. Shelters are 9' x 9', with a simple angle iron frame and sheet metal roof. The people who receive the shelters finish the walls with plastic, bricks, woven palm leaves, or other materials of their choice. Shelters cost $300 each.
The Counseling Project
Many tsunami survivors have been traumatized by what they have experienced since December 26, and there is an acute need for counseling. Counselors from the US will travel to Thailand to train Thai pastors and PABWE missionaries in trauma counseling. These newly trained workers will then form counseling teams that travel routinely to affected areas to counsel, evangelize, and disciple. Funding is needed to cover training and travel expenses for those involved over the next two or three years (estimated at $10,000; $1,000 per team per visit per location). A similar program will soon be organized for India.
An Amazing Answer to Prayer
Prior to the ABWE medical clinics, the village leaders in the five predominantly Hindu villages served would not even talk to the local pastor, although he had been trying for several years to gain access. After the village leaders observed how the ABWE team cared for people in the clinics, three of these villages asked ABWE contacts to establish community centers as points of contact for future ministry.
Why Only India and Thailand?
ABWE ministries in the tsunami-devastated area are limited, for the most part, to previously unreached regions in these two countries. Although our personnel distributed some emergency relief in Malaysia in the earliest days following the tsunami, efforts are confined primarily to countries where either ABWE missionaries or trusted ministry partners are already in place. In this way, relief funds can be distributed with the confidence that they will be used in the wisest possible way.
Local Churches Respond to Tsunami Needs
Don Davis, ABWE’s Director of Donor Relations, says, “God has blessed us with more gifts to this relief project than we’ve seen for any other project in recent years. By the end of this month it looks like this will be the largest project we’ve ever done.” To date, $630,000 has been raised for ABWE’s relief efforts.
Davis says half the funds came from individuals and half from churches, which he says is unusual, but gratifying. “In our past history for this kind of project, we would normally see two-thirds to three-fourths of the gifts coming from individuals.”
If you’d like to support the Counseling Project or the Shelter Project, you can contact:
Association of Baptists for World Evangelism
PO Box 8585
Harrisburg, PA 17105
(717) 774-7000
or visit the Donate Now page for Tsunami Relief.
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