Student Efforts To Aid Earthquake Victims Successful but Far from Over

A massive student fundraising campaign to provide relief for Indian earthquake victims continued to gain momentum yesterday, raking in about $1,500 from donations gathered at tables across campus.

The drive, sponsored by the International Relations Council (IRC), Bhumi, the South Asian Association and the Woodbridge Society of International Students, has raised an estimated $2,500 since it began Sunday, according to IRC President Sarah E.M. Wood '01.

Fundraising began in dining halls on Sunday, with tables added in Loker Commons and outside the Science Center Monday.

The initiative for the campaign came from Ambika Patni '02, whose parents and aunts live in India and felt the effects of the quake. Patni said the reports of devastation that she read in the newspapers and the first-hand accounts of her relatives gave her a feeling of helplessness that inspired her to seek a meaningful way in which she and the Harvard community could contribute to the relief work.

Patni said she contacted the leaders of the four organizations to see how willing they would be to sponsor such a drive and said that the response was overwhelmingly positive.

"This cause just fits naturally with the [kind of[work we do," said Mekhala Krishnamurthy '02, president of the Woodbridge Society.

All donations raised this week will be sent to Kutch Navnirman Abhiyan, a consortium of 14 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that was founded in May 1998 in response to a devastating cyclone that hit Kutch, Gujarat.

"We were thinking of giving it to large, international relief groups such as the Red Cross or Direct Relief International, but ultimately decided to donate to a domestic NGO that had been present in Kutch since the earthquake happened and that would be better in touch with what was most needed in the area," Patni said.

According to Patni, Abhiyan fit the bill.

"All of the 14 member NGOs are working together and leading the effort, advising the public and the government as well," she said.

Patni and the leaders of the other involved organizations expressed confidence in Abhiyan's ability to continue to be at the forefront of the distribution of relief to earthquake victims and their families.

And student groups, including Dharma and the Harvard Christian Fellowship (HCF), have offered their support in publicizing the drive, she said.

HCF, whose members have been preparing baked goods to be given away for donations, has begun tabling with them and has decided to send any further proceeds it makes from the sale of the baked goods to Abhiyan as well, according to representatives of the group.

"We also plan to place pre-addressed donation envelopes in University Hall and in the graduate schools and have enlisted the help of professors in making announcements in their classes," Patni said.

Campaign members say the publicity drive has met with a tremendous response.

"People are just being so generous with their time, and volunteering, and their money," Wood said. "Students, professors, community members--all are getting involved. People are whipping out their checkbooks and writing checks--it's wonderful."

Wood credits much of the campaign's success thus far to the efforts of the four sponsor organizations.

"It's been great to work with the other groups. This is something none of us could have done by ourselves," she said.

And, Wood added, the campaign is aimed not only at raising money, but also at raising awareness.

"We wanted to tell people more about the event itself and let them know where the money would be going," she said.

The organizations have made flyers available at all tables that give further details about the situation in India and information about Abhiyan for those who want to learn more.

The campaign was music to the ears of Priyanka Malhotra '03, whose best friend was involved in the quake and who has been involved with the drive from the start.

"I feel that people don't realize the extent of damage done," she said. "My best friend said to me the other day, 'Though nothing happened to me, I am shaken up because I saw human lives destroyed and buildings turned to dust.'"

Malhotra said that money is really what the Indian people need most at this time.

"Most people think it's a disaster, so supplies like medical aid and clothing should be sent," she said. "But my friend told me that there are piles of clothes in the streets that no one can use. They need money more than supplies."

Tabling for the fundraising drive will continue through Sunday, when the funds will be collected to be sent to Abhiyan. If responses are still strong at the end of the week, however, organization leaders have not ruled out the possibility of another week of tabling.

Meanwhile, India waits. Death toll rates range from 20,000 to 100,000, while countless others remain injured or homeless in the wake of the massive natural disaster. Infrastructure has been destroyed. And disease is spreading rapidly.

"Life has to be reconstructed," Malhotra said.

And fundraising efforts such as the Harvard student initiatives, campaign members say, are one way to slowly turn the situation around.

"This is a worthy and accessible cause," Wood said, "and it only takes a dollar."

--Staff Writer Kate L. Rakoczy can be reached at rakoczy@fas.harvard.edu.