One Month Later: Reflections From Charles F. MacCormack (Save The Children)

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From Save The Children:

January 26, 2005 – Can it really be one month since one of the worst natural disasters in our lifetime occurred?

In every way, the past month has been notable. In Indonesia alone, it is feared that more children have actually died than the 40 percent of the dead originally reported. Yet many surviving children now have food, clean water, medical care, shelter and protection from further harm. Today is a special sign of hope for the future: Working with the Government of Indonesia and UNICEF, Save the Children is supporting the phased-in restart of school. This is a significant step toward restoring normalcy for the surviving children. But the children’s and their communities’ long-term rehabilitation and recovery will take time – up to five years in the worst-affected countries of Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India. Save the Children has operated there for decades and has significant capacity to provide short- and long-term humanitarian assistance. For more on our commitment to provide real and lasting change for the children who survived the tsunami, read on.

This unprecedented disaster for children has prompted an unprecedented outpouring from the public. Save the Children takes our stewardship of your extraordinary support very seriously. You can expect us to monitor closely the results from your generosity toward children, report to you on our efforts and maintain the same efficiency and effectiveness that drive 90 percent of our expenditures to program services (on average, based on fiscal year 2004 actual budget). For this and other standards of excellence, Save the Children has received the highest 4-star rating for the third consecutive year from Charity Navigator, a leading independent charity rating agency.

Your generosity shows powerfully that people do care about the rest of the world. Save the Children works in the United Sates and in over 40 countries around the world, including situations of war, disaster and entrenched poverty where children have been eclipsed by the current circumstances in Asia. Please consider reaching out to them with the same generosity and compassion you have shown the surviving tsunami children in Asia.


At about the same time you read this message, I should be arriving at the airport in Banda Aceh. When I talk to the girls and boys in Save the Children’s programs, I will think of you. The truth is, the children and I will think of you for a long time to come. They can count on us because we can count on you.

Thank you.

Charles F. MacCormack
President and CEO