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Jack Slattery, President
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It is now four months since the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 26, 2004 struck
down more than 150,000 people. Much needed immediate relief (e.g., food, water,
medical and health assistance, temporary shelter) arrived to stave off further
loss of life from injuries and disease outbreaks. Hard work is still needed to
help people overcome their personal and economic losses and re-establish or find
new livelihoods.
Nearly $11,000 has been contributed to the FOI-India 33 effort to assist
fishing villages in Tamil Nadu. The PC Crisis Corps continues to field
volunteers in tsunami-stricken areas, but not India, as there have been no requests.
Recruitment of volunteers for Sri Lanka is now ongoing, including
positions for housing construction, economic development/economic stimulus,
grief and post-traumatic stress counseling, and water and sanitation. Please
see India-33 Tsunami Relief Appeal
and Crisis Corps Call for India RPCVs...
for updates on these two efforts and those of
other organizations.
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The FOI 20th Reunion is planned for the weekend of October 14-16, 2005 beginning
Friday evening and finishing Sunday afternoon. It will be held in Wilmington NC
which offers beautiful Wrightsville Beach, a picturesque historic area on the
Cape Fear River and a multitude of fine restaurants ranging from ethnic
(including Indian) to southern low-country. Like Wilmington, the reunion
will be informal and centered around renewing friendships. PLEASE LET ME
KNOW AS SOON AS POSSIBLE IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND. Contact me at
JackSlattery@FOIndia.org and I will
send you information on travel, hotels, etc.
Since January 2005 the FOI website has had over 2700 visitors. We continue to
update and expand the website and will be including PayPal, a secure online
payment service, by the end of May 2005. We then can pay annual membership fees
and make donations online. If you prefer mailing a check, print the FOI form from
the website or use the form in a newsletter.
We do need YOUR ideas of what you want, or better yet material you would
like to share with others on
www.FOIndia.org.
Please send these to me at
JackSlattery@FOIndia.org.
Many thanks and Namascaram,
Jack Slattery
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