Update from Sri Lanka

My friends sent in an eyewitness accounts and photos to the local paper -- Tom is a professional photographer, so he always has a camera with him. You can read his story and see his photos here. Their family is all okay -- the son & daughter-in-law who live in Indonesia were visiting in Sri Lanka for the holidays, so they are all together and all okay. Tom also provides information on how you can help with a monetary donation, if possible.

Another Update

I got a personal note from my friend who tells me that it's just heartbreaking to speak to the survivors. They are doing what they can, though. The shelters for their feeding program were underwater on Sunday and Monday but are not housing some 40 people, albeit without beds, extra clothing, etc. Their orphanage is okay -- must have been a different one that somebody told me about. She said that of the 5,000 families they help, every single one of them lost thier homes and all their belongings. And she said it was a horrible, horrible thing to speak to grieving parents who were only able to save one or two of their children while the rest were swept into the sea. Pray for them all!

The Red Cross locally says to send money not goods, as it is too hard to ship to the area. I've asked my friend about it. Certainly money is needed now, but we have done clothing and school-supply drives for her projects before, and I imagine there will be a need for such things in the next few months. I'll keep you posted.

--Sparki