SECOLI Tsunami Relief Update: Click here to see a report on money raised to date through SECOLI and where to send money.

A Report on the Relief Mission by De La Salle Brothers of India

A Study of the Affected Areas by the Pilot Teams: Brothers and the Lasallian partners made a thorough survey of the tsunami hit areas. There were four groups involved in making the survey. Two groups were sent to Kanniyakumari and Tuticorin headed by Br. Thomas and Br. Fredy. Another group, headed by Br. Lawrence, was sent to the Nagapatinam area and another to Andhra Pradesh.

Immediate Relief Work done by the Brothers, Formees and Lasallian Youth:

Nagapattinam: Br. Lawrence took 25 young boys from Boys Town, Madurai, to Nagapattinam and Velankanni, the area the worst affected areas by tsunami.

Melamanakudi: Br. Vinnoly had a chance to be with a La Salle Tsunami Relief Team at Melamanakkudi, Nagarkoil (Dt) after the first two weeks. The work of his team was to clean up the village and help the families resettle in their houses.

Keelamanakudi: Br. Fredy was involved in the District of Kanya Kumari in Tamil Nadu. He was with more than 100 students, Lasallian Candidates, Aspirants, Postulants and Lasallian youth who assisted in the relief work.

Pillaithopu: Br. Felix, with 20 Aspirants and 8 Postulants, was involved in relief work at Pillaithoppu which is also another badly affected area in the south.

Colachel: Br. Robert and Br. Thomas with 10 Aspirants and 20 Lasallian Youth from La Salle School Tuticorin worked in the rehabilitation camp at Colachel where about 500 people died.

Periyavilai: Mr. Peter, with other staff and students from Lasalle School and Aspirants from Madurai, worked in Periyavilai. The team was involved in cleaning the houses, listening to the sad stories of the people and organizing games for the children.

Young-Brothers-Forum’s involvement in Counselling: A group of young Brothers headed by Br. Amalan was sent to Pillaithoppu at the request of Fr. Parish Priest to help people restart their lives.

Youth Empowerment Workshop, Kuthankzi: Brothers joined the Servite Sisters in sponsoring a one-day participatory appraisal workshop on youth empowerment on February 26. The workshop was for the benefit of the youth in the tsunami-affected zone in the Thoothukudi Diocese, especially the fisher folk. Participating in the workshop were 120 youngsters from various villages, 30 Servite Sisters, l0 De La Salle Brothers and 10 collaborators.

Long Term tsunami Relief Mission, Distributing Study Materials to the Children of St. Thomas School, Nagai: The Brothers have decided to continue their mission in the tsunami affected areas for a longer term. They have identified six schools, all coastal villages, and have committed themselves to rebuilding the damaged classrooms, providing furniture and helping in the educational expenses of all the students providing clothing, etc. As an initial step the Brothers started distributing all the necessary study materials to the students of St. Thomas School in Nagapattinam.

See http://www.delasalleindia.org/YearPlan/tsunami.htm for a complete report.
^{(Br. John Fernando, FSC)}

Brother Vincent Malham Receives Honorary Doctorate: On Wednesday, 16 February 2005, Brother Vincent Malham, President-Vice Chancellor of Bethlehem University, was awarded the degree of Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership, Honoris Causa, from St. Mary’s College of California, USA.

The Ceremony was attended by the community of students, staff, faculty, alumni and Brothers in Saint Mary’s College of California, in addition to many local community dignitaries.

Brother Vincent was awarded this Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership, Honoris Causa , in recognition of his outstanding record of educational accomplishments as a De La Salle Christian Brother and his unflagging leadership in the face of many daunting challenges experienced by the Bethlehem University community. On 30 June 2005, Brother Vincent will complete his term as President-Vice Chancellor of Bethlehem University in the Holy Land. He has served the University community for eight and a half year in this leadership position. Prior to this, he was on the faculty of Bethlehem University; twenty-one years at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tennessee, six as Dean of the School of Arts; and two terms as Provincial of the St. Louis Province. In addition to his academic and administrative leadership skills, Brother Vincent is an accomplished pianist who has performed concerts throughout the world. See: http://www.bethlehem.edu/archives/2005/2005_014.shtml
^{(Br. Jack Curran)}

Bethlehem University hosts 6th General Assembly of the PEACE (Palestinian-European-American Cooperation in Education): Bethlehem University hosted the 6th General Assembly of the PEACE Program (Palestinian-European-American Cooperation in Education) on 26-27 Feb 2005. More than 135 university presidents, faculty, UN agencies, diplomatic missions and NGOs from Europe and Palestine focused their work on helping to develop the capacities of Palestinian universities and to promote civic society initiatives. President of the Steering Committee of the Peace Program, and Executive Vice President of Bethlehem University, Prof. Manuel Hassassian, and President of Bethlehem University, Brother Vincent Malham, were among those who addressed the Assembly. The PEACE Program began in 1991 when Palestinian universities were closed by military order. Today, as the Israeli military occupation of Palestine continues, much of the human infrastructure of education in Palestine is suffering critically with the continuing travel restrictions and human rights violations occuring. See: http://www.bethlehem.edu/archives/2005/2005_018.shtml
^{(Br. Jack Curran)}

Articles on Association Posted on the Web: The articles taken from a CD procuced by the USA/Toronto Region, Christian Brothers Conference, (Landover, MD) have been posted in our Publications section. You can find these by following the link: association.
^{(Br. Donald Johanson)}

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