Prior to December 26, few of us outside the professional worlds of geology, weather forecasting, and other scientific fields had ever heard of a tsunami. I’m retired from teaching geography and other social sciences to high school students in Detroit for over 30 years, and I don’t recall using the term. It’s not mentioned in the high school geography textbook we used—and not given much print in some college texts either. Now it’s a household word that almost everyone knows.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell called it the worst natural disaster that he has ever seen. Coming from someone with such a distinguished record of public service, that’s a very significant statement. The pictures on television, stories in our newspapers and news magazines, and information available on radio and the internet have brought the tragedy to virtually everyone’s attention. Many of the organizations in this directory are very involved in tsunami relief. As you click on to their websites (especially in the sections in this directory about medical organizations helping overseas and sources of medical supplies), you will find inspiring accounts about what they are doing. Certainly they are to be warmly congratulated and supported as much as possible. Anything that you can do to connect with them and provide help is wonderful, but also note that many organizations say that they need financial support much more than some of the most common goods in American culture (such as American-style clothing or some food outside their cultural experiences in the tsunami-hit region).

Yesterday I heard from a medical school student looking for an organization doing medical relief in the tsunami-devastated area that might need his help. Then I contacted a professor friend at a leading medical school and learned that they have received so many offers from other medical school students to personally go overseas and help with tsunami-related medical care that they can’t begin to handle all of them—at least not in the immediate future. He recommended that the student look to some other places that are in continuing need of help. I was able to suggest several possibilities, and hopefully one will be appropriate for the week between classes when he’s available.

I also got a phone call from an ophthalmologist today about finding some donated eyeglasses to take to Nicaragua in two weeks. It was a pleasure to be able to offer him some suggestions from this directory and also mention another possibility that I haven’t listed yet (but hope to in the near future). Probably the people in the mountain villages where he is going won’t ever make international headlines, but that won’t keep them from appreciating better vision.

Without question, the needs in the tsunami-affected areas are overwhelming and certainly justify the tremendous outpouring of support. Yet in the next year, we can expect the number of AIDS deaths in Africa and Asia, the number of deaths because of contaminated water in over half of the world’s countries, and the deaths due to malnutrition will far exceed those of the tsunami disaster. Whether in Haiti, Ethiopia, or any of scores of other countries, the critical needs go on daily – regardless of international headlines. My hope and prayer for this directory is that it will help you to see ways whereby you can help in whatever corner of the world you sense God is calling you.

Please let me know if you have any suggestions. Much of what is in this directory has come about through informal contacts. I depend on your constant input to make it more effective.

Bruce Carr
January 13, 2005