From raffles to full disaster relief: housing workers rally to Asian crisis

Groups and individuals are doing everything from local fundraising to signing up to help in the reconstruction effort.

Homelessness charity Emmaus International has launched an appeal to rebuild its projects in the Tamil Nadu region of southern India.

The charity plans to begin by rehabilitating 3000 families by funding temporary sheds, clothing, utensils, sleeping mats, tools, fishing nets and boat repairs. It needs to raise about £40 for each family.

Meanwhile, Homeless International is considering starting a fundraising campaign.

It would pass money onto its partner charities in India and Thailand to help rebuild communities.

Aid agencies are also beginning to draw on the housing sector’s expertise. Recruitment agencies specialising in disaster relief are calling top housing experts to enlist them into the reconstruction effort.

The Voluntary Service Overseas may start to look for housing volunteers once local needs have been fully assessed in three to six months’ time.

Recruitment agents are calling top housing experts to enlist them into the reconstruction

But a spokeswoman said donations to charities working in the region are the best way to help in the short term.

Oxfam will also assess long-term rebuilding needs once the immediate emergency is under control. It has not yet decided whether to get involved in housing reconstruction in the longer term.

In the past it has provided building materials for communities devastated by natural disasters, which they then used to rebuild their own homes.

Anu Vedi, chief executive of Genesis Housing Group, has written to ask the other member of the G15 – the group representing London’s largest housing associations – for ideas. Genesis is one of many associations where staff will pay to wear casual clothes to work to raise funds. Other initiatives include a raffle to raise money for Oxfam at Southern Housing Group and even a competition to guess the number of jelly beans in a jar organised by Servite Houses.

Several housing associations have raised money from their staff, including the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Housing Trust. It has already matched donations from staff to raise £2000.