A HUDDERSFIELD housing group is launching a national drive to rebuild communities in tsunami-hit areas of India and Sri Lanka.
A £1m target has been set for the Villages of Hope appeal headed by the Sadeh Lok Housing Group.
Staff at the organisation, based in Halifax Road, Edgerton, are leading a partnership with other housing associations across the UK to help people rebuild houses flattened by the devastating tidal wave.
Sadeh Lok chief executive Ken Elliott and chairman Balbir Singh Uppal said that as soon as the full devastation of the tsunami became apparent they knew something had to be done.
So they worked through Christmas and the new year to launch the Village of Hope campaign.
"We were watching the news reports and I spoke to Balbir. We knew straight away we had to act," said Mr Elliott.
"Charities are already out there helping people with injuries and getting people medical attention. But we can help them in the long term with rebuilding villages and giving people somewhere to live."
The company was already involved with a charity, Friends of Mettupalayam, a village in India, who have been working for the last 17 years to rebuild areas and provide proper sanitation. Now, people who live in the village have housing and education where before they had nothing.
Sadeh Lok, which means "our people" in Punjabi, is planning to use the contacts it has and the expertise of the charity to help rebuild other villages.
Mr Uppal said: "We have plumbers, builders and joiners on the ground right now who are willing and able to help if they have the money to do so.
"It makes sense to use their expertise to help immediately. Luckily, Mettupalayam was untouched, but villages very close by are gone. Those will be the ones we will be looking to rebuild first."
The first £100,000 raised will go directly to the Friends of Mettupalayam to help them get work started. The rest will then go to Homeless International, who will continue the work, not only in Tamil Nadu but across all the countries where people need help.
Mr Elliott now wants the people of Huddersfield to dig deep and get the campaign off to a roaring start.
"People can do anything they want to raise cash and then donate it directly to us," he said. "We can get the cash moving quickly to make sure it is not swallowed up by administration costs and get it working on the ground where it is needed.
"We want to help these people and make their future so much better than their past.
"But it is not just down to us but the public to get behind Village of Hope.
Sadeh Lok has had thousands of pounds given after advertising in trade magazines.
Anyone who wants to make a donation should make cheques payable to Villages of Hope and send it to Sadeh Lok, Trafford House, 11 Halifax Road, Huddersfield.
Anyone planning a fundraising event should contact Sadeh Lok on 01484 435715 so they can fill out a tax form, which means 28p in every pound can be claimed back from the taxman.
THE region Sadeh Lok will be raising money for, Tamil Nadu, has suffered 7,793 dead already and the figures are expected to grow.
In one village alone 5,905 people were swept away - 1,710 were children.
The Friends of Mettupalayam estimate that £100,000 would be enough to rebuild these villages so people can once again live safely.
But supporters Ken Elliott and Balbir Singh Uppal want to make more and help countless other people who have been left homeless and bereaved.
