Fw: Relief for victims of Hurricane Katrina

[Guest guest]

Sai Ram Brothers and Sisters,

 

Please read the following messages regarding relief for the victims of

hurricane Katrina.

 

May Sai's Grace and our efforts help those affected by this catastophic

event.

 

Sai Ram,

 

April

----------------------------Original

Message--------

--- "Jack Feely, Ph.D." <jfeely wrote:

"Jack Feely, Ph.D." <jfeely

<jfeely

Relief for victims of Hurricane Katrina

Thu, 1 Sep 2005 13:44:18 -0500

 

Sai Ram Region 4 Devotees,

Below is a letter from David Gris (Chairman of International Zone 1 of the

Sai Organization) concerning what devotees can do to help those affected by

Hurricane Katrina. Our region includes Mississippi, and I spoke with James

Allan, president of the Sai Center of Jackson, yesterday. He reported that

Jackson was affected by Katrina, but nothing similar to those closer to the

coast. In Jackson, some homes were damaged by falling trees, and much of the

city is without electricity - perhaps for another week. James and the

devotees in the center in Jackson are doing well. Center officers, please

make the information from David Gris' letter

available to devotees in your centers. Let us join together in prayer to our

Lord Sai to ease the suffering of all our brothers and sisters who are

affected by this disaster.

Sai Ram, Jack

 

 

-----------------------------

Sai Ram,

 

Hurricane Katrina has caused widespread destruction and has upset the lives

of thousands in Mississippi and Louisiana. We are

examining what the Sai Organization and devotees in the United States,

Canada, and West Indies can do to help.

 

For the moment, it is best to leave the relief work to the professionals.

The problems of transportation, shelter, food, and

health are too great to be taken on by amateurs. Further, we have very few

Sai Centers in the affected areas, and they are very small, so there is no

local Sai Center to provide on-the-scene coordination for devotees who want

to go there and

help.

 

Sai Centers can, of course, collect and then donate the kind of goods

requested by a national organization that is taking

part in the relief effort (like the Red Cross). And, of course, any

individual may donate money, on their own, to such an organization. FEMA,

the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency, has a website that

provides

information on how to help:

 

http://www.fema.gov/press/2005/resources_katrina.shtm

 

Also, we have heard that there has been a call for volunteer doctors (and

probably nurses) to travel to the affected area and

help.

 

It will take years for the affected areas to recover from this disaster.

While this emergency-relief period is underway -and from the looks of it

this will be weeks at best- we will be discussing ways for devotees to

participate at a later date. A month after the Tsunami, the U.S. and

Canadian Sai Organizations sent two sets of relief workers to Sri Lanka. We

hope that we will be able to help the people beset by hurricane Katrina as

well, perhaps with longer term relief to some families or communities.

 

In the service of Sai,

 

David Gries

Chair, Zone 1