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Red Cross Marks Tsunami Anniversary With Interactive Challenge

Five years ago this Boxing Day the Asian tsunami unleashed a wave of destruction stretching thousands of miles, creating a devastating trail of human suffering.

In minutes, millions of people’s lives were changed forever, and the world faced the huge challenge of responding to a disaster the like of which no-one had ever seen.

To mark the fifth anniversary of the disaster, the British Red Cross has taken an innovative look back at the tragedy, the long road to recovery and the foundations which have been laid for a brighter, safer future.

Through a new interactive challenge, ‘Decisions for Recovery’, the British Red Cross is asking people in the UK and around the world to put themselves in the shoes of those who led recovery from the disaster.

Drawing from the real-life dilemmas Red Cross staff faced, ‘Decisions for Recovery’, puts you in the hot seat.

When so many are suffering, who do you help first? What kind of help do you offer and how do you decide between quick fixes which meet immediate needs and frustratingly slow but sustainable long-term projects?

As a disaster recovery manager for the British Red Cross, it’s up to you to direct and co-ordinate the Tsunami response, help rebuild lives and recover a future for people who have lost everything.

“The challenges were enormous, the decisions – as people visiting the website will see - were incredibly difficult, but today I feel very proud of what the Red Cross achieved to help rebuild people’s lives and, more than that, build them back stronger,” said Alastair Burnett, British Red Cross disaster recovery manager.

“We were faced with the most difficult decisions of our lives, decisions that affected hundreds of thousands of people whose lives were destroyed by the tsunami.

“The support we received from the public was phenomenal and enabled us to mount our largest recovery effort since the Second World War. Now we want to tell the story of how the money people gave was spent and the difference it has made to people’s lives.”

With a strong role-play element to encourage those taking part to really consider the difficult choices made in recovering from a major disaster, ‘Decisions for Recovery’ launches at www.recoveringafuture.org.uk/challenge on Wednesday 9th December.

ENDS

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