JEDDAH, 6 October 2005 — As thoughts turn to charity and conscience at the beginning of Ramadan, Arab News has received a cheering update on the charitable efforts of the citizens of Jeddah who helped some of the victims of last December’s tsunami in Asia. The charity “Turn the Tide,” founded by Jon Harrison and vigorously supported by Jeddah residents of many nationalities, has proof that the money and goods donated got through to the people who needed it most.
“As we promised,” Harrison told Arab News, “the cash went straight to the people who needed it most. No intermediaries were involved and nothing was spent on administration. Much of it went to getting children into schools so that they could complete their education and bring new skills back to the devastated communities they came from.”
Harrison supplied a list of 40 students of varying ages and photos aplenty of them back in full time education. “It is proof that working together, even as a small group like us, has and still can make a huge difference to people’s lives,” he said.
The “Turn the Tide” Appeal was launched very soon after a tsunami, generated by a sub-sea seismic event, destroyed swathes of the Indonesian, Thai and Indian coastlines on Dec. 26 last year. A spontaneous outpouring of generosity by the citizens of Jeddah and some swift logistical work by the Islamic Relief Organization took much needed supplies to the victims. Cash raised at the time and over the intervening months that was sent direct to trusted individuals in Thailand was invested in projects that would have a direct bearing on the community’s recovery.
Among the many contributors to the charity was the British International School in Jeddah which held a fund-raising event organized by pupils. The money raised from the event went directly, as a gesture from children to children, to assist schoolchildren in the wrecked area around Phuket.
Harrison said that the flood of cash arrived just as the money to fund local schoolchildren ran out. “It was perfect timing and pure chance,” he said. He explained that each pupil has a fund set up to fund their education and it can only be accessed by two signatures — the child’s and the fund administrator’s. “That way the money can only be used for the child’s education and perhaps, more importantly, allows the children to have some sense of control over their lives after losing everything, including their families.”
During Eid, Harrison plans to travel to Phuket and go to the places he visited soon after the tsunami struck. “Money is still trickling in,” he said, “and hopefully I will be able to make another contribution to local funds.”
