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Shortly before the Tsunami, the President
of the Grand Charity approved an emergency
grant of £15,000 to the British Red Cross in
response to an emergency appeal for funds to
help those affected by landslides and flooding
in the Philippines following a number of
powerful tropical storms and typhoons.
Official figures estimated that 1,000
people were killed and hundreds of
thousands made homeless. The Red Cross,
led by the International Federation of Red
Cross and Red Crescent Societies, had
launched an appeal for £900,000 to help
250,000 people over the next three months.
Money from that appeal will provide
food, blankets and shelter materials.
Although not itself affected by the
tsunami, the District Grand Lodge of Hong
Kong and the Far East immediately reacted
to the tragedy. A donation of HK$250,000
was made to the Hong Kong Red Cross
South East Asia Relief Fund.
It was followed by donations of
HK$10,000 to each of the District Grand
Lodges of the Eastern Archipelago, Madras
and Sri Lanka, which cover the areas worst
affected by the tragedy, to enable them
to give immediate relief to those who had
lost everything.
The District Grand Lodge of Madras,
which covers the whole of southern India,
gave immediate grants to its Lodges in the
worst affected areas to provide local relief in
the form of drinking water and temporary
shelter to the homeless. Rather than a one-off
donation to a major relief fund, Madras
decided to give support to specific projects,
fully realising that this would lead to a longterm
commitment in terms of financial and
practical support. Because children are the
future and the most vulnerable group in
society, the District is working with SOS
Villages and Chatnath Homes on a project to
provide safe villages, where orphaned
children can be protected and educated until
they are old enough to support themselves.
An initial five million rupees has been
provided to start the project and plans are
being laid to provide continuing support
for the future. The additional grant from the
Grand Charity to the District (see previous
page) will go towards this project.
The District Grand Lodge of Sri Lanka is
working with local aid agencies to support
those who lost everything in the south coast
towns and fishing villages, many of which
disappeared when the Tsunami wave struck.
Apart from the basic necessities of life, they
require the necessary tools and equipment to
enable them to rebuild the local agricultural
and fishing industries.
Although less affected by the tsunami,
the Districts in north India are playing their
part in the relief efforts. The District of
Bengal made a significant donation to the
Indian Government’s appeal, which was
matched by personal donations from the
District Grand Master and his officers.
Donations from individuals and Lodges
will be targeted to specific projects. The
District of Bombay and Northern India
has given money to the central appeal but,
like Madras, is looking at the long-term
and directing the generosity of its brethren
and Lodges to specific projects.
The District of the Eastern Archipelago,
covering Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand,
made an initial donation to the international
relief appeal and is now looking to local
relief projects.
Despite the great loss of life caused by
the tsunami, almost miraculously there
have been no reports of loss of life amongst
Freemasons or their dependents in the
affected areas.
The devastation and loss have been
unimaginable, but the Districts in
the surrounding areas have reacted
magnificently. In true Masonic spirit,
they are providing not only immediate
help, but are looking at the long-term
effects of what has been the worst natural
disaster for generations.
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© DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP/Getty Images
A bulldozer lifts a fishing boat in Therukapattu village, near Madras
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