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Eye witness account 1
Eye witness account 2
SARAID in Sri Lanka
How to help
Fundraising events UPDATED!
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The
massive sea surge in Asia has been described by relief experts as
one of the worst natural disasters in recent history.
With
a magnitude of 9.0, the undersea quake has killed over 100,000 people,
from Malaysia in the east to the African coast in the west.
Millions
are now at risk from hunger and disease as the relief operation
gathers momentum. Here in Gloucestershire, aid agencies and organisations
are helping the survivors of this natural disaster.
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The
areas affected by the earthquake
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See
also: Eye witness accounts
See also:
See also: SARAID in Sri Lanka
See also: How to help the relief effort
See also: Your messages
Eye
witness accounts
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| Andy
Dunn and Victoria Temple return from Sri Lanka - picture courtesy
of The Citizen, Gloucester |
Victoria
Temple (pictured right), from Stroud in Gloucestershire, was on
holiday in Sri Lanka with her partner Andy Dunn when the Tsunami
struck the island. They were staying in tiny fishing village called
Mirissa, in a guest house that was just 50 metres from the seafront.
Here's her eye witness report of what happened:
I was lying in bed when it happened and, really, that was what saved
us because, if we'd got up earlier, we'd have gone down to the beach.
The fact that we were staying in bed meant that we were back from
the beach when the actual wave hit - our guest house was not on
the sea front.
 The
first thing we saw was that the hotel directly in front of us
had gone.
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| Victoria
Temple |
The
first thing we saw was that the hotel directly in front of us had
gone. I looked down the beach and what had once been a row of lovely
little restaurants and hotels was just a mess of rubble and glass
and mud. There were people standing around dazed.
We
just thought we'd stay put until people came to help then we listened
to the radio and realised that wasn't going to happen and we realised
we had to leave, which we managed to do.
I feel
very lucky and I do feel quite guilty that we left but I also think,
in a way, that that was the best thing to do. The last thing the
people there, the local people, need to do is be looking after tourists.
They've got a hard enough time now. 
See
also:
Another
local witness
Another
local witness to the disaster was Stuart Gardner from Linden in
Gloucester. The 25-year-old returned home on Tuesday (4th January)
after experiencing at first hand the terrifying force of the Tsunami
while he was in Phuket in Thailand.
In
this exclusive interview Stuart doubts he'd have made it out alive
were it not for one of his friends who he was travelling with.
Relief
operation
Buddhists
in Gloucestershire are spearheading a drive to get medical supplies
to Sri Lanka. Items such as masks, rubber gloves, syringes and bandages,
are being sought by the International Buddhist Relief Organisation.
Their
UN spokesperson, Padmini Nissanga, who lives in Cinderford (Gloucestershire)
is co-ordinating the British effort. She will be taking aid to Galle
in Sri Lanka where she's in touch with doctors, some from her own
family, who are already working round the clock with survivors.
She said:
I've got two Doctors in my family [in Galle]. Though they are helping,
they are also telling me that it's like something you have never
ever seen. They are trying to come to terms with it while helping
in every way they can.
See
also:
SARAID
gears up for action
Gloucestershire
based search and rescue group SARAID are in Sri Lanka to provide
support and assistance to the survivors of the tsunami disaster.
See also:
See also:
Local
man's orphanage plans
A
Sri Lankan man who's spent the last 17 years living in Gloucester
is appealing for help to set up an orphanage in his home country.
Fred Ramsey is hoping to provide a home for 25 children who lost
their parents in the tsunami. He flies out to Sri Lanka on January
24.
For the next few months he'll concentrate on building the orphanage,
after which he's hoping that people from Gloucestershire will be
able to go out and assist.
You
can contact him on (00 94) 112 930536 or (00 94) 112 930521 after
24th January.
How
to help
There
are a number of ways you can help the survivors of the Asia quake
disaster:
There
are several ways to donate to the official Tsunami Disaster Fund.
Either
call 0870 606 0900, or visit and their website, where you can donate
online. Visit
for more information.
By
text. Text the word "DONATE" to 83321
and £1.50 will be donated to the Appeal. All money donated
to DEC with no charges or VAT applied.
Or
you can send donations by post to:
DEC Tsunami Earthquake Appeal
P O Box 999
London EC3A 3AA
Cash
or cheques (made payable to Post Office Ltd) can also be donated
over the counter at Post Office branches.
Other
bodies raising money include Muslim groups Muslim Aid (020 7377
4200) and Islamic Relief (0121 622 0622).
Sri
Lankan organisations including Asia Quake Relief Appeal UK (asia-quakerelief@europe.com)
are also raising money.
Ways to donate locally
Tewkesbury
Abbey has opened its doors to the people of Tewkesbury who want
to make a donation. Volunteers at the Abbey will be on duty from
10am to 4pm each day to receive donations which will be passed on
to the Tsunami Disaster Fund. For more details call the Abbey on
01684 850959.
Local
Gloucester newspaper The Citizen has joined forces with international
children's charity Unicef and are appealing to readers to
dig deep. Details of how to donate are available from .
The
Lions Club of Cheltenham is in direct contact with the Lions
Club of Sri Lanka. You can send them a cheque and all money raised
will be spent on aid in Sri Lanka. Contact Des Cresswell on 01242
513987 for more information on how to send cheques to the Lions
club.
The
Huntley branch of the Rotary Club are sending out medical
aid, clean water and long term tents to all effected areas. They
would welcome cheques of any amount and guarantee that all money
raised will be spent on supplies. Cheques can be sent to the CSV
Action Desk at ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio Gloucestershire, London Road, Gloucester,
GL1 1SW. Cheques should be made out to Rotary District 11 Charity
Account. Please mark envelopes Rotary Appeal.
Cheltenham
Borough Council is also raising funds to aid the victims of
the earthquake. There is a collecting tin at the main reception
of the Municipal Offices on the Promenade and is labelled DEC for
the Disasters Emergency Committee.
All
Oxfam shops in the county are accepting donations, here are
the details for each one:
- Stroud
- 01453 750 471
- Gloucester
- 01452 417870
- Cheltenham
- 01242 526849
- Tewkesbury
- 01684 296751
- Dursley
- 01453 548219
- Cirencester
- 01285 658726
The
Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service will also be out
all over the county collecting funds on behalf of the Unicef Children
of Asia Appeal.
Horizon
Telecom in Cirencester (01285 649606) is accepting donations
of the following:
Tents,
Tin Food, Tin Baby Food, Baby Powdered Milk, Baby Clothes, Blankets,
Duvets, Sleeping Bags, First Aid Kits, Bandages, Baby Bottles, Sterilisation
Tablets, Water Purification Tablets, Hand Tools.
Details
of the collection are available on their .
They
are also in desperate need of flat pack boxes as they are using
about 1000 a day. Their address is:
Horizon
Telecom
Longwood Court
Love Lane
Cirencester
Glos
GL7 1YG
Also,
if you would like to Volunteer to help pack boxes at Wroughton Airfield
please can you ring Justin on 07862 222349.
Cheltenham
Borough Council is collecting funds to aid the victims of the
earthquake. There is a collecting tin at the main reception of the
Municipal Offices and is be labelled DEC - Disasters Emergency Committee.
Archway
School, Stroud is being used as a depot for the next two weeks (from
7th January). Baby food, tins, bottled water, clothing and tents
are being boxed up and will be delivered to Wroughton air base in
Wiltshire.
If
you are thinking of donating money to help the survivors of the
tsunami disaster, make sure you check that the person you're giving
money to is a legitimate collector for the appeal.
Let
us know if you are organising an event to raise funds for the
Tsunami Disaster Fund. Here are a few that we know about all ready:
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Dursley
Male Voice Choir, with soloist Kevin Robbins, will be performing
a concert in Lister Hall, Dursley, on Saturday 5th February
to help raise money. The concert begins at 7.30 p.m. Ticket
are £10, and all proceeds from the concert will go to
the fund. More info from
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| A
group of cheltenham musicians are staging a local LIVE AID for
Tsunami relief at Cheltenham Town Hall on Tuesday 8th February.
Performars include Elvis, Vintage Strings Gypsy Jazz, Fewd,
Eds n Marco (the best human beat boxes you've ever seen) The
Love Thieves (acoustic duo), Anon (The Smiths style original
music), Two female acoustic acts Heli and Kini, both with beautiful
voices and amazing choices of songs. Plus Full Frontal a comedy
musical duo and various other acoustic performers. (£10/£7
concessions) available at the Town Hall box office. |
| Charity
Event in aid of the Oxfam Tsunami Fund. Sunday 13th February,
1pm 'til closing time, at The Cotswold Inn Cheltenham. Confirmed
Music Acts: The Toxic Twins Sons of the Delta, Mike McQuillan,
Steve Kent, The Scooby Doos, Colin Hartley, Ben Lee, Trever
Yeo, Gordon Wood, The Dust Bunnies. During the afternoon session
RUSTY LATRINE will be entertaining the crowds between bands
with her lively musical act. During the evening session poet
Peter Wyton will be reading selected poetry. Food and Refreshments
will be available all day. Sadly no children after 6pm.
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Your
messages
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Your comments:
Newest messages appear at the top of this thread...
amelia
i love this web site
rosemary
need a collection point for Asian earthquake goods etc. [The Disasters Emergency Committee is asking for money, not gifts. See www.dec.org.uk for more details - The Webmasters]
Gemma
I was at the charity gig at the Cotswold Inn on Sunday, 13th February. One of the acts (Trevor Yeo) is actually my partner.
All the acts were wonderful, but obviously the highlight for me was watching Trevor in action... also when he was invited to play with The Toxic Twins - an honour indeed!
Paul Wood MBII
Shire Way Community centre & Midway Social Club, Yate, Bristol has arranged a free rock & roll evening in aid of the tsunami appeal (donations on the door) Starring last chance and guest artists. Fri 4th feb 8pm start. this is the culmination of severel fund raising events from raffles to Imported japanese car show.
rachel
i think its sad but my school made £250 to send off
Rev C Edmonds
Coffee Morning
Westbury on Severn
Vicarage
To raise funds for
Tsunami victims in India.
Saturday 22nd Jan 05
10am-12noon
lou parkinson
we had a coffee morning and cake sale yesterday. I couldn't believe the generosity of people (it was a £1 entry fee but people were putting in notes!) we raised coming up to £500 in total!
Michael Gray
The depo at Horizon Telecom has now become a very buzy collection point for the Tsunami Appeal. Because we recieve many telephone calls asking the same questions we have now put all the information on our web site which will be updated daily. (www.horizontelecom.co.uk)
emma vaughan
I would just like to say that i am so proud of how everybody has been generous. My auntie was in Sri Lanka at the time and i am so glad she is o.k.I know lots of pople have suffered and i am willing to help in any way because if i had lost my auntie i don't know what i would have done so i want to help those who have lost family members to try and help even if it's just in a small way. And as for the man who e-mailed families using the sky news website i hope you are ashamed of yourself what these families are going through is enough to deal with without people like you making it 10x worse just think what it would have been like for you in this situation!!
ATIF REHMAN BABARY
WE ARE GIVING AID
Chris brine
Where ever we go we see collection boxes, if we were all to just place our small change into the collection boxes after every purchase the money that will be raised will be incredible and we would hardly notice it. but over a period of time each and every one of us would have helped to save lives, So please every time you buy your shopping ,petrol newspapers throw in your change and make a difference
Theresa Thomson
Where can we donate things like those mentioned on the local news tonight? Eg saucepans, shovels, kitchen utensils, baby clothes, etc etc? Is there a collection point? (For current details of the most effective ways to help, please refer to 'How to help' on this page - Ed.)
WvN
In this time of need for millions of people we need to bring them the message of hope from our light Jesus Christ. I pray that we find wisdom in this time of need to know who to help and how to help. We need to find peace in our hearts.
NDM
TAKE A LOOK - at the clothes you're wearing, at the clothes in your cupboard, at all your christmas presents you received this year whilst this disaster was taking place.
IMAGINE - your whole family, your best mates, your home, all the food in your home, your neighbourhood and all the people in your neighbourhood.
now imagine that gone.
FP
There was an article on local news re shirts and blankets needed. I can find no reference to this anywhere but would be happy to arrange a collection point if there are points of contact for delivery to airports etc.
Barbara McGaugie
So many people need our help. Think twice about how much money you could donate to help the living in those devastated countries. Yes we will be ringing in the New Year tonight but take a minutes silence to think and pray about the living and the dead
JF
Watching the horrific pictures on television of the death and the carnage in Asia, caused by this quake, has really brought it home to me about how lucky we are in Britain. We should do everything in our power to help the victims of this terrible disaster.
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Following the disaster, fund-raisers in Gloucestershire are hard at
work. Plus eye witness accounts and your messages...
