With the death toll in Africa and Asia well over 140,000 following December's tsunami, the Johns Hopkins University and many of its student organizations have been doing what they can to contribute to humanitarian efforts in the region. Many students and university affiliates returned after Intersession firmly resolved to work to improve the lives of the victims of the tsunami.
Assistance has swarmed in from every corner of the Hopkins community, ranging from the Student Council to the Bloomberg School of Public Health. Divisions of the university and even individual students have contributed to aid efforts as well.
"There are many groups on campus who have become involved in helping tsunami victims," said junior Prasra Gomutputra, a member of the Thai Society.
"We have been working with and have had meetings with Student Council, the Red Cross, and several fraternities in order to make Johns Hopkins realize that one dollar, just one American dollar, can buy two meals or a textbook," she added.
The Student Council, JHPIEGO (an international health organization sponsored by Johns Hopkins), faculty members from both SAIS and the Whiting School of Engineering, as well as The Thai Society have each taken part.
Several students, faculty, and alumni are working to appropriate funds and resources, and combining forces in order to improve the lives of the tsunami victims. The Pakistani Students Association plans to host tsunami relief forums, and StuCo will be running a wrist band campaign to raise money.
Gomutputra recalled what she considered deeply troubling images she had seen in the media, in which mothers in Thailand were forced to choose between children, as their arms could only hold the weight of two small bodies when waves crashed against them.
The Thai Society met and decided to help educate children of South Thailand who had lost parents and relatives. When they heard that the King of Thailand was willing to adopt these orphaned children, they coordinated a raffle and donated the proceeds to the King's Foundation, a government scholarship program dedicated to giving orphaned students a better education.
The Society also plans to take a trip in the near future and visit some high schools in southern Thailand to better assess the needs of Thailand's educational system. Gomutputra and the Thai Society hope to assist these schools by purchasing tables, desks, and computers.
In order to make these initiatives a reality, the Society has been hosting, and will continue to host, a raffle to help raise awareness and charitable donations. The prizes for these raffles consist of various gift certificates to local restaurants in and around the Great Baltimore area.
Johns Medical School professors of Sri Lankan descent and the Bloomberg School of Public Health have also joined the cause.
Through its Center for International Emergency, BSPH is working on relief efforts in Indonesia and has deploying a team of emergency fund-physicians and nurses to work with the International Rescues Committee.
According to the Hopkins Gazette, "Fundraising efforts have been begun by both the Southeast Asia Studies program, which will support relief efforts in Thailand and Indonesia, and the South Asia Studies program, which will direct funds to the fishermen community in Sri Lanka."
The result of the work of these two groups is a five-thousand dollar charitable contribution to those affected by the recent natural disaster.
Gomutputra commented that Hopkins students need to understand that the devastation caused by the tsunami in Southern Thailand "is an uphill battle -- a long-term battle that is not simply solved by one donation, but from several installments of active involvement and social campaigning."
Freshman Thai Society member Vareeya Thangnirundr echoed Gomutputra's sentiment. "The problem is actually a long-term struggle; we need students and organizations that are willing to assess the situation and look to the future in order to make a difference in people's lives."
Freshman Sabrina Must brought nearly 200 t-shirts containing the words "Tsunami Relief" to campus and has been selling them at Terrace and Wolman for ten dollars each to students who are willing to buy a t-shirt for the good cause of feeding or sheltering a starving or homeless family.
The proceeds for Must's efforts will be donated to a charity called Global Quest. Must predicts that her efforts will produce approximately 1,000 dollars of charitable aid. "By selling something, I hope to bring some sensitivity to this tragedy," Must said.
One of her older sisters is currently overseas in India and is experiencing each and every day what we as Johns Hopkins have only read about in newspapers and seen on the television screen.
In wake of all of these social projects, the Johns Hopkins University Center for Social Concern is worried that student organizations will compete for charitable donations and favors. But most of those involved feel that students are collaborating with one another in order to reach as many people through charity as possible.
Gomutputra continued, "Our priority is to raise the money and donations for these victims, not to promote our own organization. We all feel affected by this tragedy and we feel that this university, as a whole, can make an impact on the lives of hundreds of individuals overseas."
