Student World Assembly
Tsunami Action Alert | December 27th, 2004

Action Alert!

Learn How to Help the Victims of the Tsunami Disaster.

The Sumatra-Andaman Earthquake in the Indian Ocean, with a seismic magnitude recorded at 9.15, caused giant tsunamis to devastate the shores of Sri Lanka, South India, Indonesia, Thailand, and other countries, inflicting death as far as Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Due to the vastness of the affected areas, an exact death toll has been difficult to ascertain, though estimates approximate that between 210 and 300 thousand people lost their lives in this catastrophic natural disaster. The Student World Assembly urges you to contribute to relief efforts by contributing to the organizations that are on the ground trying to prevent a greater humanitarian crisis. While the actions of those helping on the ground are nothing less than admirable, only you can provide the raw materials and funds on which the relief depends.

At this stage we encourage our members to donate to the relief organizations that are on the ground helping with the relief effort. You can either donate to local charity organizations that are working on this matter or checkout the following organizations which have setup online donation funds:

	www.unicef.org
	www.savethechildren.com
	www.redcross.org
	www.icrc.org
SWA chapters are encouraged to set-up tables on their campus and community to raise funds for the relief effort and also hold events in order to raise awareness of this pressing issue. It is in the dark hours of starvation that we must rush to the help of our fellow human beings. Together we can surely make a difference! By clicking on the links below you will be able to find background information on the tsunami and its effects: NPR GRAMEEN FOUNDATION USA WIKIPEDIA SEA-EAT

Our Mission
The Student World Assembly is a
non-governmental, nonpartisan organization created to represent students globally. It provides a deliberative assembly where students around the world can exchange views, vote on global issues through online discussion forums and in annual international conventions, and translate these views into meaningful actions.

Our Democratic Philosophy
The Student World Assembly believes that true global democracy affirms fundamental human rights, which include the dignity and worth of all human beings, the equal rights of men and women, social, economic and cultural justice for every person, and the freedom to promote these causes. SWA’s representative democracy offers a powerful instrument for addressing the vital social and political conditions that threaten our global future. The informed wishes of the people, conveyed through the collective of a democratic assembly, need to be heard in the decision-making processes. By giving students from the most remote to the more accessible institutions an equal voice, we are enabling all students to educate, participate and take action, and to begin thinking of themselves as global citizens.