Friends, this is to familiarize you with a small organization that I personally know of that is working directly with tsunami survivors in Tamil Nadu, India. Families for Children (FFC) is a small "kitchen-table-top" organization run by Sandra Simpson in Toronto, my Mom, and many volunteers - it is extremely effective with almost no overhead - salary and overhead are spent almost entirely in India, locally.

http://www.familiesforchildren.ca/

FFC is in Tamil Nadu, India, and their staff now have direct contact with groups helping the tsunami victims and have started moving assistance to some affected areas already, specifically to Cuddalor, Tamil Nadu in SE India. It is a port city on the Bay of Bengal. It appears that some survivors may make it to the FFC project in Podanur, tamil Nadu as well.

If you are interested in pitching in to help the survivors in southern India, helping FFC would be about as direct a method as one could get. (FFC donations are tax deductable in the US and Canada.)

Thanks Ted Albers

Address:

"Families for Children" c/o Natalie Albers,
168 Canton Avenue, Milton Mass. 02186

Donations are USA and Canada tax-deductable
Please make checks to "Families for Children" and note "Earthquake Relief" in the memo line

(Years ago, I worked for Families for Children at its children's homes in India, Bangladesh & Somalia. My Mom, Natalie, is the FFC USA fundraising coordinator. My last visit was back in 2001. http://ted-albers.net/photo/India/FamiliesforChildrenPictures.htm)

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Sent: Thursday, December 30, 2004 6:28 AM, FFC Podanur, Tamil Nadu, India
Subject: Fw: update
The FFC team left for Cuddalore about 30 minutes ago. It is 6 am est and they expected to be on the road for 9 - 10 hours. They did get the warning of aftershocks and feel they will be Ok no matter what as they are staying about 2 kms. inland. The two Velluswamny and Marimuthu are general workers and they assist is any deaths on our project so it is great they are willing to go.

Abbey, another volunteer from British Columbia is now working with the people on the project clearing space in any building for kids that may have to come on a temporary basis. I personally hope this is avoided as that only adds to the trauma already suffered by the children so if we can find a way to help them there, all the better but we are prepared .

With this group were Sarah , nurse from Vancouver, Sheila, nurse from Vancouver and Chris , a cardiologist from Vancouver, Sunbeam acting as head of FFC and rep. of Child Line and Veluswamy and Marimuthu. Two vehicles are going. More will be sent as required and more supplies will be purchases when we get the word from the group of what is needed.