Kristi Anderson Tsunami Women and Children’s Fund

This memorial Fund was created in memory of Kristi Anderson, a woman from California who perished in the tsunami while vacationing in Sri Lanka.

Kristi was an advocate for children and her family created this fund to help children who were injured or orphaned by the tsunami. Since the establishment of this Fund, many tsunami-affected children have been able to recover and rebuild their lives. In the first grant to Bharatiya Jain Sanghatana (BJS), a local NGO in India, 42 children have been able to continue their studies at a newly reconstructed Prafulla Nagar primary school in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Rebuilding the school enables the children to regain access to education and therefore, allows the children to focus on their education, and share their experiences, overcoming their trauma through positive reinforcement through interactions with their teachers and peers. The children have already recovered, physically and psychologically, and are back to fun and games at school.

As Kristi was also concerned about the plight of poor women in India, the Fund has provided a grant to Cross Trust, another local NGO, to establish the Kristi Anderson Memorial Paramedical Institute (“Institute”) in Kanyakumari, India. Thanks to the Fund’s support, 150 girls from tsunami-affected families are pursuing further education and a career in healthcare and are expected to graduate in May 2008. The girls, traditionally deprived of access to education, have been excelling in their courses and hands-on training, and are now evidently more confident in their abilities, and passionate about their studies and brighter future. Furthermore, the girls will be assisted with job placements upon their graduation.

In September 2007, due to the achievements of the Institute, the Fund provided another grant to Cross Trust to establish a revolving fund at the Institute, which will be used to provide micro-loans to the girls at low interest rates. It is expected that this will help ensure the financial sustainability of the Institute and program as well as encourage the girls to take charge of their lives. The Kristi Anderson Fund will continue to provide grants for programs that support the people of the Tsunami hit region and India, with a focus on children and women. Through micro-loan programs and grants, the Fund will carry on in Kristi’s honor.