Photo: Paul Jeffrey, ACT
Dear boys and girls,
I’ll bet you remember hearing about the tsunami that hit parts of Asia two years ago. And I’ll also bet you already know that a tsunami is a series of huge waves that sometimes develops after an undersea disturbance, such as an earthquake or volcano.
The tsunami in Asia washed away many, many people — along with their homes, offices, cars and everything else they owned.
It was such a big disturbance that it actually hit many different countries. First it hit Indonesia, then Sri Lanka and India, and finally Africa, thousands of miles away from where it started. If you look at a map of the Indian Ocean, you can see all the surrounding countries affected by the tsunami.
After the tsunami, many people wanted to help the people who lost homes and loved ones. Maybe you even gave some money, like many other children across the United States and around the world. Or maybe you helped some people at your church who were making special packages of toys and clothes and school supplies for the children who survived the waves. I know you remembered to say prayers for them and their families.
With the money sent in by people like you, the people in the wave-battered areas did a lot of good things. They quickly put up big tents where kids whose schools had washed away could go to classes. They also gave the children new clothes and helped them get books, pencils, paper and all the other things they needed to start back to school.
One fun thing they did was to organize after-school play times for the children, who sang their favorite songs, had meals and snacks and got to wear clothes that were special to them. While doing those things, the children began to feel better after all the sad things that had happened to them during the tsunami.
Thank you for remembering to help those children. I know they would want to say “Thank You” if they could. Because of your help, they are much happier now and are well on their way to rebuilding the lives they led before the tsunami changed everything for them.
God loves you — and it makes God very happy when you try to help other people He loves.
God bless you,
Miss Becca
Becca Young is the tsunami-recovery liaison for the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance program.
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