Laura Kane of Georgia is a member of the First Group of Volunteers to Leave for Sri Lanka to Assist with Post-Tsunami Rebuilding Efforts
First Group of Volunteers Leave for Sri Lanka to Assist with Post-Tsunami Rebuilding Efforts
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 22, 2005 – For the first time ever, the Peace Corps will send a team of Crisis Corps volunteers to Sri Lanka, when the first of 30 Crisis Corps volunteers begin leaving today to help the people of Sri Lanka recover from last year's devastating tsunami.
The first group of volunteers will arrive in country on June 24, followed by a second group on June 30, and subsequent groups to follow in mid-July. These Crisis Corps volunteers will join forces with international charity organizations active in disaster relief efforts. Due to their prior Peace Corps and professional experiences, the volunteers have the skill sets to provide invaluable resources to the recovery efforts.
"The idea behind Crisis Corps is to help those across the globe who most need assistance. The government of Sri Lanka and the organizations involved have provided us with their full cooperation to make this happen exactly when the people need our help the most," said Peace Corps Director Gaddi H. Vasquez.
The arrival of the volunteers will be the first since the Peace Corps program in Sri Lanka closed in 1998. The Peace Corps carefully evaluated the conditions in Sri Lanka and decided that it would be appropriate to send the Crisis Corps volunteers to serve.
Eight of the volunteers will work with the Christian Children's Fund and World Vision, assisting the organizations as they work to rebuild communities. In their efforts, the volunteers will help to build permanent shelters and work to ensure that water supplies are sanitary. The remaining three volunteers are all civil engineers who will work with the Christian Children’s Fund to design new reconstruction projects and improve existing projects.
The government of Sri Lanka estimates that more than 30,000 citizens died in the tsunamis that killed more than 176,000 people in 11 countries. Some 500,000 Sri Lankans lost their homes.
Crisis Corps volunteers will put their lives in America on hold to aid the victims of last December's devastating tsunami in South East Asia. Here are a few members of the Crisis Corps volunteers heading to Sri Lanka.
Laura Kane – Georgia
Laura Kane, an Atlanta resident, has the skills and cultural knowledge to make an immediate impact in Sri Lanka because she previously served there from 1984-86 as a Peace Corps volunteer. Like many in the first group, she will work with the charity organization World Vision to ensure that tsunami relief projects are implemented successfully. During her previous experience in Sri Lanka, Kane taught English to local students and teachers. She has also worked in Calcutta, India, where she volunteered at a hospice center for terminally ill patients and with Rotary International's polio vaccination program. Before joining the Crisis Corps, Kane, 49, worked with the Fulton County, Ga. school system as a special education instructor. Kane received her teaching credentials and a master's degree in education from Georgia State University
Nearly 600 returned Peace Corps volunteers have taken the opportunity to use their invaluable skills and experience to address ongoing community needs in over 30 different countries since Crisis Corps' inception in 1996. Crisis Corps volunteers work on short term projects, utilizing the skills they learned as Peace Corps volunteers and in post service careers. To find out more about the Peace Corps' Crisis Corps program, please visit the Crisis Corps section.
