Virginia Baptists India
Tsunami Response
Greatest Needs
Listed below are the critical needs that were identified during the visit with the India Baptist Convention. Please feel free to contact Dean Miller with the Virginia Baptist Mission Board or Kristin Fogg with the Woman’s Missionary Union of Virginia/VBMB through e-mail or by calling 800-255-2428.
- Raise funds for the immediate placement of at least 100 children affected by the tsunami. These children will be placed at existing Children’s Homes in various affected areas. The cost for one child is $400 per year. Our ultimate desire is for individuals and churches to consider becoming long-term sponsors for these children.
- Raise funds to replace fishing boats and nets lost in the tsunami in the town of Kulachal, which is located on the southern tip of India in the state of Tamil Nadu. The India Baptist Convention is currently determining the number of families affected and is in conversation with Virginia Baptists concerning the distribution process. A fishing boat and set of nets for each family can be purchased for $1,000. Hundreds of families were affected in this particular town and thousands along the entire coast.
- Raise funds to replace children’s school items that were lost in the tsunami allowing them to return to school for the next school year beginning June 1. Each child is required to have 2 uniforms, textbooks, notebooks, pens and pencils in order to register for classes. $25 per student will make this possible.
- Raise funds and send construction teams to assist with the establishment of at least 1 new children’s home near a tsunami-affected area. The India Baptist Convention is making their assessment on the location of this new ministry opportunity.
- Send construction teams to make immediate repairs to existing homes still habitable by families but damaged from the tsunamis. If you are interested in serving on a team please contact Jim George at 800-255-2428 or jgeorge@vbmb.org. Details of costs and other logistical matters will be available next week. Much of this work needs to be accomplished before the monsoon season begins in June.
- Consider raising funds or becoming a long-term volunteer to work with the India Baptist Convention and the Virginia Baptist Response through a new program under development by the Virginia Baptist Mission Board entitled ‘Venturers’; there is the potential for an individual or married couple to be placed in this environment but details are yet to be determined.
- Provide living expenses for ‘church-planters’ that will work in the field in support of the above ministries and will become a constant presence for the India Baptist Convention and potential new congregations. It has been estimated that $100 per month will provide sufficient ‘room and board’ for a single individual.
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