The tsunami disaster is a tragedy of global and colossal proportions, and though it struck in the span of hours, its effects will be felt for years to come. There has been an unprecedented outpouring of humanitarian assistance for the victims from diverse parts of the world.

Aid commitments from several governments, voluntary organizations, international agencies and private citizens are certainly very heartening. The major focus of the world is currently on addressing the immediate needs of the victims who are now slowly beginning to rebuild their shattered lives and communities. But now comes the hard part.

The greatest obstacle ahead for these affected areas lies in the exacting demands of reconstruction, both human and economic. Relief and rehabilitation efforts are evolutionary and can roughly be categorized into three phases. In the first phase, the affected people need to be provided with emergency necessities like food, water, sanitation, medicine, etc. The second phase would involve building huts and houses for shelter, conducting massive immunization campaigns and providing counseling to alleviate the psychosocial damage caused to the victims. The third and the most crucial phase would be to give back the affected people their livelihood, which could involve buying boats for fishermen or forming cooperatives for them to compete better in the market place.

In most of the areas, relief initiatives have just progressed from the first phase to the second. At this juncture, it is imperative to consider the long-term strategic needs of the region and provide economic assistance for infrastructure development and not just stop with providing immediate relief.

One of the common concerns among donors is whether their contribution truly reaches the needy and if it ever creates a significant impact. Adequate care needs to be taken to ensure not to flood places and accounts with supplies where they may not be required yet. If you are wondering how you could reach out to the right people and at the right time, help is not far away.

Sankalp, a student organization recognized by GSB, has been involved with developmental and charitable activities with special focus on literacy and livelihood generation in rural parts of India for the past 10 years. It has a good network with the grassroots level organizations and has set up a directed fund to support long term relief activities in India. Sankalp has also identified non-governmental organizations that are willing to adopt specific villages and aid in their resuscitation. Your contributions will be directed to organizations that are identified to be the most deserving. If you would like to make a tax-exempt donation toward our sustained rehabilitation efforts, you could write a check in the name of “Sankalp” and have it addressed to Sankalp, West Student Office Space, Memorial Union, ISU, Ames, IA, 50011.

As the headlines fade and the cameras move on, it remains to be seen if the international community will continue to engage its attention and support for these distressed areas. Society must work together — not just now, but also in the long run, to help those affected rebuild their lives.

Srivatsan Balasubramanian

Treasurer

Sankalp