Message to the Clark Community

Dear Clark Community,

As many of you return to campus these next few days, I want to welcome you back and wish you a very happy, successful 2005.

As you know, on December 26, the tsunamis that hit South Asia caused devastation on an unprecedented scale. Fortunately, some Clark students and faculty with ties to these areas have been in contact with us since the disaster. At this point, as far as we know, none of them have been personally harmed. Some who were visiting the area rushed to the aid of the tsunami victims to help with relief efforts. Among them are:

Jude Fernando, Ph.D., who joined Clark as assistant professor in the IDCE Department last fall. A native of Sri Lanka, Professor Fernando has been in the East, in the rebel-controlled areas with church groups, running relief operations and leading university and medical teams. He is currently conducting a needs assessment to identify the short-term resettlement needs. Professor Fernando told the people at IDCE that he lost about 60 friends in the tsunami; most of them from the same families. He will return to campus for the Spring semester to teach Management of Non-governmental Organizations.

David Dauer ID/MA'04 and Sehin Teferra '04 (who works for a nongovernmental organization in Thailand) traveled to Sri Lanka for the holidays. They didn't hear about the disaster until after they arrived in Colombo. Dauer, who as a Clark student interned with the Sewalanka Foundation, one of the largest local NGOs in Sri Lanka, reconnected with this group upon his arrival and he and Teferra quickly became involved with relief efforts.

Harsha Raghavan, an MBA candidate from Chennai, arrived in India three days after the tsunami hit. Harsha has a house on the beach, but it remained unaffected. He toured a part of the coast beyond his house and has been working to mobilize dollars for victims ever since. He is currently working on a fundraising web site.

Hapsari Brotoisworo, one of Clark's Global Scholars who spent time in Indonesia over the break is eager to return to campus to organize fundraisers to help the victims of the tsunami. The Student Council Executive Board has also been having similar discussions, and representatives of student volunteer organizations have been in contact with Amy Daly, Cynthia Jennings and Adriane van Gils to discuss possible fundraisers after classes resume.

Some members of the Clark Community have already donated to relief efforts. Matt Olsen and the student government may be planning a coordinated Clark effort, but for those of you who would like to pledge your support, the web page at http://www.google.com/tsunami_relief.html provides a list of non-profit organizations that are providing aid to devastated areas, with links for making immediate contributions online. You can investigate the validity of any non-profit organization at http://www.charitynavigator.org/.

International students, including those from countries that have been seriously affected by the earthquake and tsunami, have enriched the Clark University campus and made it a unique place to live and learn. I encourage all members of our community to support these people in their time of need. Thank you.

John Bassett
President