BAY AREA EFFORTS BRINGING RELIEF TO SRI LANKA

 Local Temples provide way to donate through Disaster Relief Fund

 Milpitas - As massive relief operations begin overseas in the wake of the tsunami that lashed coastal areas of Sri Lanka and some nine other countries killing at least 23,000 people, two Bay Area Sri Lankan Buddhist temples are using their local ties to aid rescue and clean-up operations in Sri Lanka. Dharmapala Institute in Milpitas and Berkeley Buddhist Vihara have set up the Disaster Relief Fund to collect funds on behalf of the thousands of people missing and millions homeless, and to stave off the outbreaks of disease now threatening the disaster zone.

 Bay Area community members have already begun to donate to the Fund aimed at addressing immediate needs for food, medicine, clothes and water. The temples will send their initial contribution to Sri Lanka on January 2, but know their work is just beginning.

 "Rebuilding will take years because the affected areas have numerous small villages hard to reach from the main roads - roads that may no longer exist once the water recedes," said Usha Welaratna, former president of Dharmapala Institute. "In the meantime, rotting corpses, the destruction of transportation and communication systems, water contamination and lack of medicines and other essential resources will result in infectious diseases and even more deaths."

Once the reconstruction phase begins, the two temples plan to sponsor a house construction project for the victims and to help with medical assistance and the educational needs of children in the affected areas, working with other temples in Sri Lanka. "It is important to us that any contributions we provide are used to fulfill the needs of the victims of this tragedy," said Kumudini Dharmawardana, Secretary of Dharmapala Institute. "That's why we're coordinating our efforts with Mallikaramaya Temple of Ratmalana, who has a registered charitable organization already engaged in providing wide-spread assistance to war-ravaged villages around the country, and who we have worked with before." 

 While some areas of the city of Ratmalana where the Mallikaramaya temple is located were affected by the disaster, the temple was spared, and within hours became a refuge for hundreds of refugees.  Tax-deductible donations can be sent to Dharmapala Institute and Berkeley Buddhist Vihara, at the addresses below.  Please mark your checks, ‘For the Disaster Relief Fund’. For more information, please contact Dharmapala Institute at (408) 934-3985 or Berkeley Buddhist Vihara at (510) 526-0230.