Bush-Clinton Houston Tsunami Fund

Houston, Texas, May 5, 2005: During an event held at Houston's Westside Tennis Club, former U.S. Presidents George Bush and William Jefferson Clinton announce tsunami reconstruction projects in Indonesia, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Thailand that will receive financial support from the Bush-Clinton Houston Tsunami Fund.  More than 4,000 contributors attended the event, including 2,000 young students from area schools.

Contributions made to the Bush-Clinton Fund will be distributed to projects such as the following:

In Indonesia, funds will be used in the town of Lampuuk to help rebuild a school, health clinic, women’s center, market, and water system. In addition, a contribution will be made through the Fulbright Commission to provide scholarships for up to 75 students to attend American universities. The students will major in subjects critical to reconstruction such as engineering, city planning and agriculture. Providing these scholarships will help seed the long-term rebuilding efforts, as it will take up to 20 years to rebuild the infrastructure of some of the affected nations.

In the Maldives, funding will enable the United Nations Foundation to adopt an island on behalf of the Bush-Clinton Fund. The support will be used for the island’s water and sanitation needs and to reconstruct the island’s harbor and its government offices.

In Sri Lanka, Bush-Clinton funds will build 100 children’s playgrounds in 13 districts on the coast, in all tsunami-affected areas.

In Thailand, nearly 200 fishing boats, equipment, and necessary training will be provided to fisherman who lost everything in the tsunami. The contribution will create jobs and income in the local building and fishing industries. 
Photo Credit Mark Burns.