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Tsunami Disaster Relief
SGI organizations worldwide responded to the need for assistance after the catastrophic tsunami that devastated large parts of Asia on December 26, 2004.
Details of support provided in Asia are as follows:
On January 5, the Soka Gakkai Headquarters in Japan donated US$100,000 to the government of Indonesia and US$30,000 to Sri Lanka. The Soka Gakkai also made donations of 5 million yen (approximately US$48,000) for relief operations to the Tokyo embassies of India and Thailand.
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SGI members involved in tsunami disaster relief, Singapore. |
In Singapore, the Singapore Soka Association (SSA) coordinated relief activities with local NGO Mercy Relief. SSA raised S$249,000 (approximately US$151,000) in donations during the days after the disaster struck, and collected 54 tons of relief items, including canned food, clothing and medicine, which were shipped to Sri Lanka. Scores of volunteers streamed into Soka Relief Collection Centers to assist SSA members in sorting and packing items. On January 3, SSA General Director Ong Bon Chai led a Mercy Relief Mission to Colombo, Sri Lanka. Subsequently, a further 25 tons of relief items were sent to Aceh in Indonesia.
SSA and Mercy Relief coordinated closely with the Soka Gakkai Lanka Buddhist Association (SGLBA) and the Prime Minister's Office to ensure that the goods reached the victims. Many of the supplies were transported to the Galle area, one of the worst affected areas with some 120,000 displaced persons. SGLBA also donated funds through the Prime Minister's Office, and local members helped distribute food, clothing, medical supplies and other goods.
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SGI members involved in tsunami disaster relief, Sri Lanka. |
Later, SSA collaborated with SGLBA and local NGO, Lanka Jothika Sarordaya Shramadana, to distribute 4,000 units of school kits and family packs to the affected areas.
Bharat Soka Gakkai (SGI-India) made an initial donation of 500,000 rupees (approximately US$11,500) to the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund and collected an additional 3,200,000 rupees for rehabilitation efforts such as rebuilding schools. SGI-Thailand donated seven truckloads of emergency goods in support of relief efforts in addition to sending supplies directly to affected areas such as Panga and Ranong.
Taiwan Soka Association donated 1 million TWD (approximately US$31,000) to the Interior Ministry to support relief efforts. Vice Minister Lin Join-sane commented that many countries rushed to offer aid to Taiwan after the 1999 earthquake, and that it was now time for Taiwan to offer assistance to afflicted countries in South East Asia. SGI-Korea donated US$47,000 to the South East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Relief fund launched by MBC Broadcasting. SGI-Hong Kong set up donation boxes to collect funds and raised US$141,000 to support UNICEF's relief activities. The Hong Kong Soka Kindergarten also raised US$8,400.
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SGI members involved in tsunami disaster relief, Malaysia. |
Soka Gakkai Malaysia (SGM) members in Kuala Lumpur and other regions set up three centers for the collection of relief items and cash donations, with about 300 volunteers from SGM participating in the campaign. SGM donated approximately US$80,000 in cash, 70,000 bottles of drinking water, 10 tons of food and 17,000 blankets to tsunami relief centers. At SGM centers throughout the country, more than 15,000 SGI members also prayed for the repose of those who lost their lives, the speedy recovery of the injured, and the early return to normalcy of the affected areas.
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