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IIT and SEWA volunteers help Katrina victims

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IIT and SEWA volunteers help Katrina victims INDOlink News Bureau

Atlanta; Sept. 15, 2005 -- Volunteers from SEWA International-USA, and alumni of

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) have come together to assist families who

have been relocated to Atlanta following Hurricane Katrina. Thousands of

families who have been evacuated from Louisiana and Mississippi and are

currently living in hotels, American Red Cross shelters, or churches or staying

with friends and families flocked to the Georgia Convention Center on September

11, 2005. SEWA Atlanta chapter with the help of IIT Alumni Association set up

an information table, and assisted more than 60 families. "It was an

enlightening experience for all, meeting the affected individuals face-to-face

and hearing details of the difficult circumstances of our fellow citizens",

said Gaurav Verma, coordinator of Atlanta chapter of SEWA.

As a result of their research, volunteers were able to put many of those

families in touch with the Dalton Red Cross shelter, which had been

underutilized although it offered both housing and job search assistance. Ramji

Ramchandran of IIT Alumni coordinated phone calls with Dalton Red Cross and the

effected families.

Volunteers also assisted Dan, sales manager of a gaming company in New Orleans,

who after being required to evacuate, had an auto accident and needed to

complete his trip to Atlanta by Greyhound bus. Dan was extremely appreciative

of the volunteers who helped him with meals, local transportation and hotel

reservations until he could be picked up two days later by a sister from

Tennessee.

The IIT alumni group has offered tutoring services for the hurricane victims.

Volunteers also pooled their frequent flier miles to provide transportation

from Houston for the daughter of a lady whose evacuated daughter they had

helped locate.

The key contribution of these volunteers has been in bringing together available

resources to the needy in a timely, compassionate way. There are many from

Indian community who offered help including Shiv Agrawal, businessman and

philanthropist, who has offered three months free accommodation for 25

students. Volunteers were able to send some of the student victims to this

housing. Jay Kumar Patel, community leader and a leading hotelier, has offered

20 rooms for families displaced by Katrina, in addition to help in getting jobs

in Gainsville, Georgia. Another businessman, Manoj, has offered 10-15 jobs in

his restaurants.

Shree Shakti Mandir, a Hindu temple in south Atlanta, is providing free hot

vegetarian meals during lunch and dinner for any evacuee. Mr. M.A. Patel of the

temple said, 'it is our duty to offer this help to people in need'.

Satya Sai group of Atlanta, a spiritual group, has prepared 100 packets of

personal items and provided 25 blankets. SEWA volunteers have been working

closely with these organizations to coordinate the collection of food items and

other articles, and distribute them in shelters.

For more details....

Sourced:

http://www.indolink.com/displayArticleS.php?id=091505104856

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