Disaster's one-month anniversary remembered with fund raising and candlelight vigil
A coalition of student organizations at UC Irvine is helping increase awareness and raise funds for the tsunami relief effort with a series of events Jan. 24-27. Tsunami Relief Week will include donation collection, ethnic dances, musical performances, speakers and a candlelight vigil to commemorate the disaster's one-month anniversary.
"Asia's tsunami has united people around the world, and we're seeing the same thing here on campus," said Edgar Dormitorio, UCI Volunteer Center director. "The effects of the disaster will be felt for years, and this one-month anniversary is a time for students to reach out to each other and the community with a reminder that the need is still great in those areas devastated by the tsunami."
The UCI Coalition for Tsunami Relief aims to raise $25,000 for aid in countries affected by the Dec. 26 tsunami in the Indian Ocean, which is estimated to have killed more than 200,000 people, and left millions more to rebuild their lives in devastated areas.
Tsunami Relief Week is organized through the Volunteer Center. For more information, visit www.volunteer.uci.edu/tsunamirelief, or call (949) 824-3500.
Monday-Thursday, Jan. 24-27
11 a.m-2 p.m., Anteater Plaza – Tsunami Relief Coalition’s Club Fair
Booths provide information about the tsunami, donation collection, food and bracelets for sale, with proceeds going to fund tsunami relief. Cultural music and dance performances will be held at noon each day. Funds raised at the fair will go to the American Red Cross, Islamic Relief, Oxfam and UNICEF.
Wednesday, Jan. 26
5-7 p.m., Humanities Instructional Building 100 – American Red Cross Panel
Panelists will examine the tsunami's political, social and economic repercussions, and answer audience questions. Speakers include Rajagopalan Radhakrishnan, chair of Asian American studies, who was in India at the time of the tsunami; Kamal Sadiq, assistant professor of political science, who specializes in India and Southeast Asia; and Francois Primeau, an assistant professor of Earth systems science who studies physical oceanography and will discuss how tsunamis work.
7 p.m., Administration flagpole -- Candlelight Vigil
In addition to a moment of silence, performances and short speeches about the relief effort will commemorate the one-month anniversary of the disaster in South East Asia.
In addition to collecting cash donations, the coalition has arranged an option for students with meal plans to donate the value of up to three of their meals for tsunami relief. Interested students can sign up with their resident adviser throughout Tsunami Relief Week.
UCI's Tsunami Relief Coalition includes UNICEF, CALPIRG, Muslim Student Union, Hindu Students Council, Amnesty International, Friends Club International and the UCI International Center, Community Building Programmers -- Middle Earth Housing, Students for Peace and Justice, Circle K International, Social Science Ambassadors Council, American Red Cross at UCI, Office of the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, and the UCI Volunteer Center.
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