Religious groups appeal for disaster relief

By DANIEL GUY
SEVERAL Australian religious organisations have embarked on a large-scale charity appeal to help the victims of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

The groups have urged the public to donate funds after the natural disasters on March 12, which have left thousands dead or missing and hundreds of thousands homeless.

Christian organisation World Vision is taking donations for disaster relief, having already raised $472, 830. World Vision representative Manuela offered an insight into the scale of the effort (18 March).

“Our support office commenced work yesterday, delivering care packages to Tome that include 9000 blankets, 130,000 nappies and 48,000 bottles of water,” she said.

“What we are looking for are as many donations as possible to help the community with their needs.”

The Catholic Church of Australia has rushed to raise funds for affected communities, asking the public for donations to help with the relief effort. The Church has several groups in Australia that are working closely with Japan to help stricken areas, raising money for care packages and offering spiritual support.

“The money toward the tsunami relief is going through Caritas Australia which is the Catholic Church’s aid agency,” Beth Doherty, media liaison for the Catholic Church of Canberra, said (17 March).

“There are also a number of independent Catholic agencies such as Jesuit Mission which are also sending money towards the Japanese tsunami relief.”

Caritas Australia mobilised aid within days of the disaster, working closely with Caritas Japan to monitor the damage to the affected communities. Jack de Groot, CEO of Caritas Australia, remains vigilant in his support of the disaster victims.

“We have already witnessed the destructive power of the tsunami on our television screens, but we are yet to understand the full extent of the destruction and the human cost of this disaster,” he said in a press release (March 16).
“We will work closely with our Caritas partners to ensure those communities marginalised by this tsunami have an opportunity to recover and rebuild.

“As we continue to monitor the situation in Japan, Indonesia and across the Pacific, we ask Australians to join us in prayer for the lives lost, and those that may be saved.”

Any Canberrans who wish to donate through World Vision can through the website, www.worldvision.com.au

St Christopher’s Cathedral in Manuka is collecting money from Canberrans who wish to donate through the church. People wishing to donate through Caritas can do so through the website, www.caritas.org.au