We've made great progress over the last three years in the tsunami-affected region.  View the most recent update.

Westport, CT (December 1, 2005) –

Nearly one year after responding to one of the world’s worst natural disasters, Save the Children reported today that its tsunami relief and recovery program is helping hundreds of thousands of children and their families rebuild their lives after surviving the earthquake and sea surge that devastated South Asia on December 26.

“We now have entered the second phase of our response to bring lasting change to children impacted by the tsunami,” said Charles MacCormack, President and CEO of Save the Children USA, who recently visited Indonesia to get a first-hand view of progress made over the past 11 months. He called Save the Children’s response highly successful.

“Our initial efforts saved thousands of children’s lives,” said MacCormack. “Our decades of experience in South Asia and our rapid response to this emergency helped avert a second wave of death from disease and malnutrition that many health experts anticipated would follow the disaster. During our initial response we provided food, clean water, shelter and health care to more than 625,000 survivors including 250,000 children, while also helping protect separated children from abuse and exploitation,” he said.

In a report released today – and available online at www.savethechildren.org – Save the Children reported that its five-year, $261 million tsunami relief and recovery program represents the largest emergency response in its 85-year history. Efforts have concentrated on three countries hardest hit by the tsunami – Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India. The agency also has provided assistance to Thailand, Somalia and the Maldives.

In its first year, Save the Children registered over 7,000 children separated from their parents and helped reunite many of these children with family members, the report said. In addition, Save the Children assisted in helping thousands of children return to school and played a leading role in helping protect children from potential exploitation and abuse by creating scores of safe places in which children can play and engage in supervised activities.

Save the Children also is helping thousands of children recover from the psychological effects of the tsunami through school-based programs that enable children to work through their fears in a positive and well-structured series of activities.

Worldwide, Save the Children has raised $261 million in contributions and pledges for its tsunami response efforts, and by the end of December it will have spent approximately $90 million on these efforts.

The report said remaining funds will be spent over the next four years to provide assistance to surviving children and their families in key areas including education, child protection, health care, the creation of new jobs and livelihoods, and the construction of new homes, health clinics, schools and child centers.

“While the emergency response phase is over, many challenges remain,” said MacCormack. “Coordinating our work with local partners who can sustain our efforts over the long term is a major focus. Some areas, such as Sri Lanka, are still affected by an uncertain political situation. In Indonesia, which took the largest blow from the disaster, earthquakes continue even now. And in remote islands of eastern India, travel and communications are still difficult.”

MacCormack added: “We take great pride in the strides we are making toward our five-year goal to help children and families rebuild their lives. Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of our supporters around the world, we have been able to respond with the assurance that we have adequate support. We are releasing this report to make sure our many thousands of contributors know that their dollars are being spent effectively and efficiently.”

MacCormack noted that the tsunami of December 26 was the first of a series of natural disasters over the last 12 months that have tested Save the Children’s capacity to respond to emergencies.

Since the tsunami, Save the Children has responded to a deadly earthquake that struck northern Pakistan in October, ongoing food crises in western and southern Africa and major storms in the Gulf of Mexico, including Hurricanes Katrina and Rita that forced thousands of children from their homes along the Gulf Coast of the United States.

“This has been an unprecedented year for major disasters, causing hardship to millions of children,” said MacCormack. “What makes the tsunami response so unusual,” he added, “is that we have received enough funding to achieve our goal of bringing lasting change to many children who survived the tsunami.

Unfortunately, this is not the case for children impacted by other disasters to which we still need much more support.”

You can help Save the Children respond to emergencies that put at great risk the survival, protection, and well-being of significant numbers of children. By contributing to the Children’s Emergency Fund, you enable us to respond immediately to children and families who urgently need our help when disasters strike.

Donate to the Children's Emergency Fund.