Charity raises £50,000 for tsunami appeal (From Harrow Times)

Charity raises £50,000 for tsunami appeal

5:14pm Thursday 20th January 2005 in News By Alex Melvin

A HARROW-BASED charity, set up 18 years ago to give Sri Lankan orphans a better education, has raised almost £50,000 for survivors of the Boxing Day tsunami.

The Batticaloa Under-Privildged Development Society, or BUDS, is run by volunteers in Harrow and Wembley.

Members normally donate between £5,000-£6,000 a year to poverty stricken or handicapped children in the eastern regions of Sri Lanka. However, after the Indian Ocean earthquake ripped through their homeland, the group have redoubled their efforts.

President Nadarajah Jeyabelen said: "We have raised more than £49,000 and collected container loads of clothing and medical supplies. But we want to hit our target of £100,000.

"This will enable us to build 70 or 80 houses in an area that has been devastated by this tragedy."

Bad blood between the ruling Sinhalese and Tamil-speaking Sri Lankans, in the north and east of the country, has led to concerns over the distribution of aid.

Mr Jeyabelen, whose charity works in Batticaloa, a Tamil area, spoke with Harrow West MP Gareth Thomas about this.

He said: "I met MrThomas on Friday and requested his help to ensure that funds should be divided equally."

A doctor and the vice-chairman of BUDS have spent the past week in Sri Lanka, helping the relief effort.

Mr Jeyabelen said: "They have been travelling all over the country. The aim of our charity is to improve education facilities in the east. However, if there is a tragedy like this we will provide financial assistance to anybody in need."

Since the tsunami, the group have been coordinating operations from the Community Centre in Northolt Road, South Harrow. However, they had to move out on January 21 and are looking for another office.

Mr Jeyabelen said: "The Deputy Leader of Harrow Council, Councillor Sanjay Dighe helped us find a temporary office in South Harrow. He has been very helpful. He also arranged for us to use a warehouse in Harrow Weald to store clothes. From there, we managed to send out many shipments to areas affected by the earthquake."

l Donations will be accepted at the BUDS bank account: Batticaloa Underprivileged Development Society, HSBC, 26-28 St.Ann's Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 1AL. Sort code: 40 -23 -13 Account Number: 81513087 For information on cash or clothes donations, call 020 8902 9808 or visit www.the-buds.org