UTMB doctor part of tsunami relief effort

GALVESTON — Dr. Gayani Silva left her home in Sri Lanka 14 years ago, but she and other natives of the island nation devastated by tidal waves two weeks ago believe their knowledge is vital for the relief effort.

Silva, a pediatrician at the University of Texas Medical Branch, is a member of the International Foundation for Revitalization Empowerment, Education and Development. The nonprofit organization is made up of expatriate Sri Lankans who previously had raised money to build temples and schools there.

The group last week airlifted 900 pounds of medicine — staples such as pain relievers, antibiotics and wound dressings. This week, they dispatched another pallet load that included medication for heart disease, diabetes and depression.

The organization also is having medications purchased at discount in India shipped to the ravaged country.

The medicines go to mobile clinics, which is exactly where Silva said they are needed.

International aid is pouring into Sri Lanka. But the government is disorganized, and the clinics and smaller hospitals are unable to communicate with the larger, regional health care centers, she said.

“Things are bad and getting worse,” she said. “Yes, aid has come to Sri Lanka, but a good part of it is sitting at the port in warehouses.”

Silva said she was not criticizing the larger relief effort, but more focused assistance was needed. While the foundation secured free freight for the previous shipments, its efforts to get carriers to help with subsequent shipments have been difficult, Silva said. Several pharmaceutical companies also declined to donate medicines to the foundation because they were donating to the Red Cross.

“It’s not a lot compared to what all the relief people are doing,” she said. “I think the difference is whatever we have got gets to the right place.”

The foundation’s other goal is to build five orphanages in Sri Lanka for at least 1,000 of the estimated 20,000 children whose parents were killed.

The foundation’s immediate program, called Give Me a Hand, aims to provide food, sanitation and shelter to homeless children.

It stems from a Buddhist priest’s efforts to help 200 children he gathered in the aftermath of the tsunami, Silva said. The priest was on vacation in Sri Lanka when the tsunami hit.

The foundation also has long-term plans to assist the rebuilding of houses, schools, hospitals and infrastructure.

+++

Information: www.i-freed.org