Red Cross plans for tsunami victims

THE Cyprus Red Cross plans to use the donations made by Cypriots for the tsunami victims in south-eastern Asia, to build an institution for children in one of the countries hit by the giant tidal wave.

The Chairwoman of the Cyprus Red Cross, First Lady Fotini Papadopoulou, said yesterday that the amount collected in Cyprus so far for the tsunami victims had reached £920,000.

She added that the Cyprus Red Cross had donated £160,000 for the immediate relief of the victims and that the remaining amount would be used to create an institution for the children “who have experienced and still experience very bad moments, who became orphans after the anger of nature and who are now homeless, sick and alone.”

Papadopoulou said such a big project needed time, and added that in five months the Cyprus Red Cross would be in position to announce more details about the project and where it would be erected.

Meanwhile the Cyprus Welfare Council yesterday handed over to the Red Cross a cheque for £414,131, which was raised during the day-long street collection on January 14 for the relief of the tsunami victims. This amount is included already in the total amount raised so far for the victims.

“I would like to say how proud I am for the quality of the Cyprus society and for every Cypriot who has donated to the several fund raisings, giving the victims a hand full of love”, Papadopoulou said.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.