ERD commemorates Indian Ocean tsunami’s third anniversary

After the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) developed collaborative relationships with several South Asia partners to implement relief and recovery programming.

ERD supported initial disaster relief work in India (including the Andaman and Nicobar Islands), Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia. Through Church partners and NGOs, ERD executed long-term tsunami recovery programs in Sri Lanka and India, allocating more than $10 million.

ERD’s tsunami recovery program has impacted countless lives and livelihoods throughout the South Asia region. Accomplishments have been achieved in the areas of education, sheltering, vocational training and trauma counseling. For example, five schools have been built in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands benefiting 2,600 children a year and more than 3,000 people in the region have had their homes rebuilt.

ERD continues its life-saving work related to tsunami recovery into 2008 and beyond. The agency has recently partnered with the Centre for Environmental Justice, a community-based organization in Sri Lanka, to promote ecologically sound community sustainability activities that enhance coastal protection by rebuilding the coastal mangrove green belt.

In 2008, ERD will launch a partnership with the Ecumenical Church Loan Fund of Sri Lanka to support micro-credit initiatives and support local micro-enterprise development. “We will be concluding our major rehabilitation activities and focusing on developing new partnerships to ensure secure livelihoods as part of our ongoing program work,” says Kirsten Laursen, ERD’s senior program director for Asia and New Initiatives.