Churches respond to killer tsunami
A country-by-country analysis of damages and relief efforts
INDIA
The tsunami struck the southeastern coast of the mainland, and the state of Tamil Nadu sustained the greatest amount of damage. At least 140,000 Indians, mostly from fishing families, are in relief centers.
IMPACT ON CHURCHES OF CHRIST
A minister in Kamarole reports about 280 members lost in the waves. At least 40 church members were killed in the Chennai (Madras) area, and more than 105 church families lost their homes. Church members were reported to be in the destroyed east coast area of Nellore. Many churches lost their meeting facilities. At least 25 church members in the region lost their fishing boats and nets, their primary means of financial support.
RELIEF EFFORTS
• Members of the Banner Elk, N.C., church are working in the Kanniyakamari and Chettipalayam areas of Tamil Nadu state.
• Missionary Ken Grimm is visiting affected regions.
• Medical team from the Philippines planning trip to area.
• Healing Hands International, Nashville, Tenn., and Whites Ferry Road Relief Ministries, West Monroe, La., are responding to requests for aid from churches in India, including congregations in Andra Pradesh and Peri Palem.
• Lifeline of Hope, a ministry based in Kalispell, Mont., that assists orphanages in several countries, has established a Tsunami Orphan Relief Fund to assist four orphanages in the affected area and provide for future “tsunami orphans.”
• Marion, Ark., minister Michael R. Hughes visiting affected areas. Morenci, Ariz., minister Mickey Harrison also in area.
• Churches throughout Europe are sending aid.
SRI LANKA
The southern and eastern coasts of the island were ravaged by the tsunami. Only Indonesia suffered more deaths.
IMPACT ON CHURCHES OF CHRIST
No casualties have been reported among churches of Christ. Church facilities survived, and will be used to store and distribute aid, said D.R. Gnanasundaram, minister in the capital, Columbo.
RELIEF EFFORTS
A team from Freed-Hardeman University, Henderson, Tenn., traveled to Sri Lanka in early January. The team includes clinical psychologists who specialize in assisting trauma victims. Judsonia, Ark., minister John Kachelman Jr. is coordinating aid.
THAILAND
Thailand's west coast was severely hit, including nearby islands and tourist resorts such as Phuket. About half of the bodies identified thus far are foreigners, from as many as 36 countries.
IMPACT ON CHURCHES OF CHRIST
Two church members from central Thailand, on business in the south, died in the tsunami. Others lost homes and businesses.
RELIEF EFFORTS
Sid Allen, Board President of Rapha International, is working with survivors. Rapha, a Fort Worth, Texas-based relief ministry, seeks medical equipment and orthopedic supplies on behalf of the Khow Lak Provincial Hospital.
INDONESIA
The west coast of the island of Sumatra, closest to the epicenter of the earthquake, was devastated by the tsunami. More than 70 percent of the inhabitants of some coastal villages are reported to have died. Rain after the tsunami in Banda Aceh, on the western tip of Sumatra, has increased the risk of diseases.
IMPACT ON CHURCHES OF CHRIST
The majority of losses were in predominantly Islamic Banda Aceh. Church members in Medan felt tremors from the earthquake that triggered the tsunami, but reported minimal damage. Communications were knocked out on the island of Nias, home to many church members, and teams are traveling to the island to assess damages and needs.
RELIEF EFFORTS
• Bill McDonough of Little Rock, Ark.-based Partners in Progress is working with affected congregations in Indonesia. Dennis Cady, of the Faith Village church, Wichita Falls, Texas, has traveled to Medan, Indonesia, and is accompanying a team of church members to the island of Nias.
• Steve Cate, longtime missionary in Indonesia, is returning to the region to assess needs on the island of Nias and other affected areas.
• James Karl, of the Lake Jackson, Texas, church, is coordinating a medical mission team for Indonesia scheduled to depart in late February. Karl and fellow church member Bill Amason oversee Belize Medical Missions, Centralia, Ill., and coordinate regular medical mission trips to the Central American country of Belize. Amason said that the team hopes to work on the island of Nias and other areas in need of medical services.
INDIA
The tsunami struck the southeastern coast of the mainland, and the state of Tamil Nadu sustained the greatest amount of damage. At least 140,000 Indians, mostly from fishing families, are in relief centers.
IMPACT ON CHURCHES OF CHRIST
A minister in Kamarole reports about 280 members lost in the waves. At least 40 church members were killed in the Chennai (Madras) area, and more than 105 church families lost their homes. Church members were reported to be in the destroyed east coast area of Nellore. Many churches lost their meeting facilities. At least 25 church members in the region lost their fishing boats and nets, their primary means of financial support.
RELIEF EFFORTS
• Members of the Banner Elk, N.C., church are working in the Kanniyakamari and Chettipalayam areas of Tamil Nadu state.
• Missionary Ken Grimm is visiting affected regions.
• Medical team from the Philippines planning trip to area.
• Healing Hands International, Nashville, Tenn., and Whites Ferry Road Relief Ministries, West Monroe, La., are responding to requests for aid from churches in India, including congregations in Andra Pradesh and Peri Palem.
• Lifeline of Hope, a ministry based in Kalispell, Mont., that assists orphanages in several countries, has established a Tsunami Orphan Relief Fund to assist four orphanages in the affected area and provide for future “tsunami orphans.”
• Marion, Ark., minister Michael R. Hughes visiting affected areas. Morenci, Ariz., minister Mickey Harrison also in area.
• Churches throughout Europe are sending aid.
SRI LANKA
The southern and eastern coasts of the island were ravaged by the tsunami. Only Indonesia suffered more deaths.
IMPACT ON CHURCHES OF CHRIST
No casualties have been reported among churches of Christ. Church facilities survived, and will be used to store and distribute aid, said D.R. Gnanasundaram, minister in the capital, Columbo.
RELIEF EFFORTS
A team from Freed-Hardeman University, Henderson, Tenn., traveled to Sri Lanka in early January. The team includes clinical psychologists who specialize in assisting trauma victims. Judsonia, Ark., minister John Kachelman Jr. is coordinating aid.
THAILAND
Thailand's west coast was severely hit, including nearby islands and tourist resorts such as Phuket. About half of the bodies identified thus far are foreigners, from as many as 36 countries.
IMPACT ON CHURCHES OF CHRIST
Two church members from central Thailand, on business in the south, died in the tsunami. Others lost homes and businesses.
RELIEF EFFORTS
Sid Allen, Board President of Rapha International, is working with survivors. Rapha, a Fort Worth, Texas-based relief ministry, seeks medical equipment and orthopedic supplies on behalf of the Khow Lak Provincial Hospital.
INDONESIA
The west coast of the island of Sumatra, closest to the epicenter of the earthquake, was devastated by the tsunami. More than 70 percent of the inhabitants of some coastal villages are reported to have died. Rain after the tsunami in Banda Aceh, on the western tip of Sumatra, has increased the risk of diseases.
IMPACT ON CHURCHES OF CHRIST
The majority of losses were in predominantly Islamic Banda Aceh. Church members in Medan felt tremors from the earthquake that triggered the tsunami, but reported minimal damage. Communications were knocked out on the island of Nias, home to many church members, and teams are traveling to the island to assess damages and needs.
RELIEF EFFORTS
• Bill McDonough of Little Rock, Ark.-based Partners in Progress is working with affected congregations in Indonesia. Dennis Cady, of the Faith Village church, Wichita Falls, Texas, has traveled to Medan, Indonesia, and is accompanying a team of church members to the island of Nias.
• Steve Cate, longtime missionary in Indonesia, is returning to the region to assess needs on the island of Nias and other affected areas.
• James Karl, of the Lake Jackson, Texas, church, is coordinating a medical mission team for Indonesia scheduled to depart in late February. Karl and fellow church member Bill Amason oversee Belize Medical Missions, Centralia, Ill., and coordinate regular medical mission trips to the Central American country of Belize. Amason said that the team hopes to work on the island of Nias and other areas in need of medical services.
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