Jasmine Jacob, REACH International president, and the relief team arrived in Sri Lanka at 2:50 a.m. on Sunday morning, January 2. On Monday, they met with the Sri Lankan minister of health, who made arrangements for the doctors to travel to Amparai, an area on the east coast ravaged by the tsunami.

Jasmine received news that many people in the south were without food. Jasmine, Kimberly Wilson, and Barry Mills bought fifty bags of rice and dried goods. On Tuesday, January 4, the small group set out to bring food to the people. Jasmine says, “This was the first time we went out into the field. About up to half a mile from the seashore, everything is crushed; houses are broken, furniture is all over the place.” Bulldozers are trying to clear the land, and relatives are still looking for family members they can’t find.

In addition to nature’s devastation and the threat of widespread disease, another threat looms—increasing violence against children. The United Nations is worried about criminal gangs kidnapping orphaned children and selling them into slavery.

While many people have donated toward the efforts in Sri Lanka, we at REACH pray for the victims in the other effected countries, especially the children who have lost all they have. Let us not forget that children are suffering everywhere.

REACH International Office Staff