| Dear Friends of Tibetan Healing Fund: Tibetan Healing Fund needs your support to help us meet the most critical needs of children and families affected by the earthquake in Tso-Ngon (Ch: Qinghai) Province. A rapid series of strong earthquakes hit a mountainous and impoverished area of Tso-Ngon (Ch: Qinghai) Province early Wednesday April 14th, with the death toll rising sharply killing 1,706 people, at least 12,088 others were injured including 1,394 seriously and 312 people are missing (at latest count on Sunday). Many victims, including school children, were buried under debris. 15,000 homes and buildings collapsed and 100,000 people have nowhere to live. The epicenter of the 7.1 magnitude earthquake was about 30 miles away from Jiegu Township, which has a population of 250,000 in and around the town.  T ibetan Healing Fund has been working in the regions of Tso-Ngon (Ch: Qinghai) Province since 2001. THF’s founder, Dr. Kunchok Gyaltsen was born and raised in Tso-Ngon (Ch: Qinghai) Province and most of our in-country staff, friends and family members of Tibetan Trustees, board members and friends live in and around this area affected by the earthquake. “Initial reports indicate extensive damage in Yushu county, with continuing aftershocks,” says Alex Mahoney, regional manager for the American Red Cross programs in Asia. “When earthquakes happen, we expect to see immediate needs for food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support, as well as for warm clothing and quilts due to the location of this quake.” More than 85 percent of houses in Gyegu have collapsed, a prefecture official told Xinhua. "Many are buried in the collapsed houses, and there are still lots of others who are injured and being treated at local hospitals," he said. The Hong Kong Red Cross said 90 percent of houses throughout Yushu had collapsed.  Your donation will help us provide immediate relief and urgently needed medical attention and other necessities and long-term support through health care and education, technical assistance and other support to help those in need. We also need to look beyond immediate relief, to the Tibetan people’s longer-term needs as they recover from this enormous tragedy and begin to rebuild their communities. Aside from the human toll—which continues to climb—this earthquake has robbed thousands of people of their homes and livelihoods, in an area that is already one the poorest regions. Please help us by making donations that will be used to help our friends in Tibetan regions re-build their lives and receive the care they need.
THF assures you that all funds donated through the Tibetan Healing Fund Earthquake Relief will go directly to assisting the people of the devastated communities. Please donate on line via pay-pal at www.tibetanhealingfund.org or send a check to the Seattle office. Thank you for your support. Best, Tibetan Healing Fund Trustees Photos from Yushu can be seen at these websites. Some are distressing.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment