Elephant Care International

                                           Tsunami Information

...

Jan 25 news from Yudha!

We have finally received a direct contact from Yudha,
the wonderful veterinarian we hired to guide our project in Sumatra:

Susan,

Thank you very much for your thought, concern and donation. They are the biggest help for us to survive.

You may have known that I and my family are save and we are still living in a relatives house (about 5 km from our house). Our house is still OK, but fences and our personal belongings are destroyed. The house is covered with black and smelly mud. We are at the state of cleaning it now. It is hard as there is no water or electricity.

All books including SVO books are destroyed. All vet supplies labels on the bottles are also destroyed so it is very difficult to recognize them. In addition to that also 2 SVO stabilizers (big and small) and scanner and all document about Sumatran elephant.

I am worried about the book of Indonesian chapter about Sumatran Elephant. My computer is completely submersed in salty and corrosive mud. I am afraid I can not do it.

Today is the first day I can send email to everybody. I tried to send to you 2 week ago but the connection is very bad so I failed to send one to you.

Say hi to Hank
regards,

Yudha

The Tsunami From a
Personal Human Perspective

We are concentrating our relief efforts in Indonesia. Elephant and personal funds are being temporarily diverted to help the people. Yudha Fahrimal is a university instructor and the Indonesian veterinarian who managed our elephant care activities in Indonesia. Yudha lives in Banda Aceh, the most devastated major city in Indonesia. More than 30,000 of its 300,000 inhabitants perished. The university where Yudha works has been heavily damaged.

Wahdi Azmi works with FFI and is an Indonesian veterinarian that we have worked with in the past. He sent us the following:

"Hi Susan,

> I am safe. I went to Banda Aceh on the second day

> and just back to Medan last night  We evacuated staff

> and their families to Medan. We lost two of our staff 
> and so many friends. I can't find Yudha and his family.

> His house is in the damaged area. I will find out

> more info and let you know soon.

> We plan to go back soon with more help. We are

> collecting money for assistance. If you can help to 
> collect some funds please let me know,

> I will check email as often as possible.

> many thanks

> Wahdi"

We have since learned via a single text message sent by cell phone that Yudha and his family did survive, but we have heard nothing since.

The Tsunami From the
Animal Perspective

From Sri Lanka, Thailand, and India, the following three links will bring you to interesting stories of animal instincts; elephants warning humans; and humans caring for animals and the people that depend on them.

Surviving the Tsunami -
What Sri Lanka's animals knew that humans didn't.
By Christine Kenneally

Elephants saved tourists from tsunami
02 Jan 2005 09:22:14 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Mark Bendeich

Tsunami Relief Work - India
Teams helping the people save the animals the people depend upon.

The Tsunami - Pleas for Assistance

If you are concerned that your donation to major organizations lacks a personal touch, you might consider the following. We thank you for donating to the tsunami effort, regardless of where you offer (or have offered) your support.

If you would like to provide funds to specifically help Yudha Fahrimal rebuild his life and to help the families of deceased FFI staff in Indonesia, please contact us and we will advice of the best routes after an assessment of need has been made.

Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society Tsunami Relief Program for the Department of Wildlife Conservation Humanitarian Relief Efforts

Sri Lanka Biodiversity And Elephant Conservation Trust

Tsunami Relief Work - India