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Heal
th Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang yesterday returned home
with two survivors of the Tsunami after attending the donor summit
in Indonesia.
Tshabalala-Msimang led the delegation of the Inter-Ministerial
Committee on Disaster Management to the donor summit on the tsunami
in Indonesia, which was held on Thursday.
The Minister returned with the couple, Jeanette and Alan Gordon who
were in Indonesia when the devastating tsunami hit the South East
Asian region, killing over 150 000 people.
They belong to a five-member family, which includes Alistair and
Jackie McCreadie who arrived in South Africa on December 28, last
year.
However, there are still about 740 South Africans who were in the
region when the tsunami hit, who are still unaccounted for.
"It is indeed heartening to return to the country accompanied by
South Africans who have survived the disaster. It is even more
heartening to note that they are bringing a message of hope to all
the people of South Africa that despite the disaster, the people of
Thailand and indeed Asia are standing up, picking up the pieces and
trying to rebuild their lives," said the Tshabalala-Msimang.
The Minister urged all South Africans to continue lending a hand to
people in the affected countries such as Thailand, Sri Lanka,
Maldives, and Somalia and Kenya.
"As we sat in the Inter-Ministerial Committee the greatest
challenge facing us as South Africans who want to make a
contribution both financially and materially is to coordinate all
our efforts so that we can make maximum impact," said the
Minister.
Survivor Jeanette also implored South Africans to help people in
the region to rebuild their lives and countries.
"The experience of the tsunami disaster was indeed quite traumatic
and heartbreaking. What we saw in Thailand is the devastation that
left families dead, children orphaned and infrastructure destroyed.
Despite the tragic disaster, the people of Thailand are trying to
rebuild their lives and all South Africans should help them", she
said.
Tshabalala-Msimang, who was accompanied by the Minister of Water
Affairs and Forestry, Buyelwa Sonjica, and a team of senior
government officials are expected to give a report to the
Inter-Ministerial Committee on Monday and thereafter brief the
media and all stakeholders. - BuaNews.
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