COLOMBO, 17 January 2005 — The Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank has embarked on a comprehensive program to feed, educate and rehabilitate Muslim victims of the recent tsunami disaster that struck the coastal areas of Sri Lanka.
IDB has allocated $500 million for relief activities in tsunami-hit countries. A special team headed by Kuala Lumpur-based IDB’s Business Analyst Azlan ibn Haji Uzir kicked off its relief operations from the Islamic Center in Colombo. Former Parliament Speaker and senior legislator and founder of the Islamic Center, Mohammed Haniffa Mohamed, and Ali Hussein Siraj from the IDB were present on the occasion.
The SR1.4 million project in Sri Lanka will be implemented in three phases through the Islamic Center in Muslim settlements affected by tidal waves. “The first phase of the project will be emergency relief operations which would concentrate on supplying dry rations for those victims who are really in need of consumer items,” Mohamed said, adding that medicines and cooked food are being supplied in abundance by government and non-government organizations.
Mohamed, who is also the founder member of the Constituent Council of the Makkah-based Muslim World League, visited all areas where Muslims were affected.
As a second step, Mohamed said that IDB will adopt widows and orphans among the survivors for a period of six months. “They will be provided with food, clothing and shelter during this period and they will also be treated for post-trauma syndrome in centers set up by the Islamic Center,” Mohamed said. During the third phase of the project, vocational training schools will be built for the widows and orphans to help them find jobs. he added. Some 500 Muslim women have been widowed and an equal number of children orphaned after the disaster.
Mohamed pointed out that there were some 400 beneficiaries of IDB’s scholarship program who have now become professionals in the fields of medicine, engineering, agriculture and accountancy. “These graduates will form the volunteer force to implement the projects in the tsunami-affected areas,” he said.
With the help of some of them, the Islamic Center has set up medical camps in areas such as Hambantota, Matara, Kinniya, Kirinde, Kalmunai and Muttur to attend to the health needs of the survivors.
Haji Uzir said “IDB member countries such as Indonesia and Maldives will get special consideration by virtue of their membership, while relief projects in non-Muslim countries will be channeled through recognized organizations in the respective countries.” IDB plans to build schools, hospitals and vocational training centers in Maldives, he added.
