Through an open mailbox established last December in the days following the catastrophic tsunami, JDC raised more than $18 million. The three board members traveling to South Asia are responsible for lay oversight of the projects JDC implements with its partners. The group includes Andrea Dubroff of Martha's Vinyard, Mass., Alan Rothenberg of San Francisco, Calif., and Nora Lee Barron of Detroit, Mich., who will be traveling with her husband, Guy.

"Our board members take a hands-on approach in ensuring that the designated money JDC raises is used in accordance with the donor's designated purpose," said JDC executive vice president, Steven Schwager. "We have raised a tremendous amount of money for tsunami relief in a very short period of time. These visits by our board are instrumental in our effort to leave a lasting impact in the region on behalf of the North American Jewish community and the people of Israel."

Thus far, JDC has designated more than $7 million for short-term relief and intermediate-term rebuilding projects in Sri Lanka, Thailand, India and Indonesia. Efforts in Thailand and Sri Lanka include:

Thailand

In Thailand, JDC, PDA, and community leaders are rehabilitating the village of Bang Pat in the Phang Nga Province, where fishing had been the main source of income. The tsunamis damaged homes and washed away fishing equipment and boats. School scholarships, meals, clothes, and supplies were distributed and income-generating activities are being restored.

JDC and PDA are also restoring the water system in Ban Taling Chan Village and they are expanding water project activities to two additional villages. MASHAV, the international development arm of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, conducted a water survey in Patong, Kamala Beach and Baan Bangben, with JDC support.

In the Muang District of Krabi Province, JDC has helped establish a computer center. The center, used by students during school hours, offers computer training to adults in the evenings, providing opportunities for income generation.

Finally JDC, PDA, and the Israeli Embassy are conducting 10 one-week "healing camps" for 500 Thai youth from the south who will take part in activities such as hiking and swimming, and attend classes on topics such as the dangers of drug use. Israeli and local mental health professionals conduct camp activities. When the "campers" return home, follow-up activities allow them to take on leadership roles and work with other youth to revitalize their communities. Forty-five Muslim youth from the Krabi and Phang Nga Provinces participated in the first camp session. In May, the second session was held for 50 children ages 6-14.

Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, more than 518,000 were displaced, and many of the affected families lost their sources of income. JDC is working primarily with the renowned local organization, Sarvodaya, in the most severely affected districts of Ampara, Kalmunai and Batticaloa on the east coast, and in Galle, on Sri Lanka’s southern tip.

JDC and Sarvodaya are addressing the psychosocial and economic needs of tsunami survivors in 20 villages. Utilizing over 140 volunteer "leaders," empowerment activities are providing psychological support and skills training in areas such as sewing, handicraft production and gardening. Self-help support groups are ongoing. This program has been extended through March 2006 to allow it to expand to new villages in the Galle and Matara districts. More than 47,000 individuals will benefit from these activities.

JDC and Sarvodaya have provided school kits – uniforms, shoes, socks, school bags, exercise books, pencils and hygiene items -- to 2,000 children from 20 villages. The uniforms were sewn by locals through a cash-for-work program. JDC has also committed to constructing three preschools in Galle.

JDC and Sarvodaya are partnering with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to construct as many as 80 children’s playgrounds, several of which will be located in villages where JDC is already active. A $1 million matching grant has been secured from the Bush/Clinton Tsunami Fund.

In partnership with Rotary/Sri Lanka, JDC is rebuilding and equipping a primary school (grades 1-5) in Galle that was completely destroyed. The 800 students currently receive their lessons in makeshift huts on the grounds of a Buddhist temple, which has donated land for the new school.

Through the "Rehabilitating Homes in Galle, Sri Lanka" project, JDC and Sarvodaya are assisting 100 lower-middle class families by providing furniture, bedding, kitchen utensils, cutlery and linens so that they can return to their homes. By assisting this group – police officers, soldiers, teachers, postmen – who provide the services that allow communities to function, JDC and Sarvodaya are helping entire villages return to a more normal life. Unemployed women are being hired to sew the bedding for these families.

Planning has begun with Sarvodaya for the construction of five multi-purpose community centers (MPCCs) along the tsunami-ravaged southern coast. Each will house programs such as preschools, community banks, community arts and cultural centers, day centers for the elderly, libraries, welfare society offices, and vocational training sites. A total of 5,000-7,000 tsunami-affected residents will utilize these centers.

JDC is also providing a mobile "rapid reaction" medical unit to be operated by Sarvodaya that will serve as a health facility, providing laboratory services and disease management in the IDP camps and communities.