Chinese civil society yesterday joined the rest of the world in mourning the devastating human loss caused by the tsunami a year ago and reaffirmed its commitment to helping reconstruction efforts in hard-hit countries.

Help ranges from the resettlement of the homeless to the rebuilding of harbors, schools and hospitals in almost all 13 affected countries, said the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC), the country's leading charity organization.

"We collected donations of 443 million yuan (US$ 54.7 million) for the tsunami, and about 260 million yuan (US$ 32.1 million) has been used for relief and reconstruction work," Jiang Yiman, RCSC vice-president, said yesterday.

Figures from the Ministry of Civil Affairs show that about 665 million yuan (US$82.1 million) has been collected for the tsunami-stricken countries.

"It's the biggest donation by Chinese civil society for other countries," Jiang said. "Strict auditing systems will make sure every penny is used properly."

In Sri Lanka, where over 35,000 people lost their lives and up to 800,000 became destitute, construction of the China-Sri Lanka Friendship Village has been progressing smoothly in the worst-affected Galle area with RCSC funding.

Permanent shelters for 470 homeless families in the village are being built, and 70 of them have moved to new homes recently. Construction of a school, a medical centre and a Buddhist temple will be completed by the end of next year.

In Indonesia, land has been allocated for the China-Indonesia Friendship Village, which is to provide permanent shelters to 350 families in Aceh, the most-seriously-affected region. Construction is expected to start early next spring, according to the RCSC.

A friendship village with 86 homes is planned in Maldives; disaster-preparedness centers will be built in Myanmar; and construction of a hospital in Thailand is scheduled to start next February with the support of the RCSC.

Jiang said availability of land remains the major obstacle for rehabilitation work.

"It's very difficult to acquire land to build permanent shelters in the affected countries as most of the land is private," she said, adding that some international charity groups had given up their plans to build permanent homes.

K. Dissanayake, minister and deputy chief of the Sri Lanka Embassy in China, said his government is trying its best to solve the problem, but acquiring land is a complex procedure.

"We truly appreciate help from China," he said. "The Chinese Government also took the lead in granting debt relief and provided grants, loans and other forms of assistance such as training."

Dissanayake said Sri Lanka received at least 100 million yuan (US$12.3 million) in cash and material assistance from the Chinese Government.

Source: China Daily