JENNA SCHUETTE | arts & culture editor

On Monday the Office of World Missions announced at chapel their new effort to lend relief to victims of the cyclone that devestated Bangladesh last November. It’s been estimated that over 5,000 people died within the first hours of the cyclone. Nine million homes have been destroyed and over ten million people were affected in this tiny country engulfed by India.

“APU needs to rise up and do something,” Office of World Missions Director Chiraphone Khampavoung said to the student body.

She shared OWM’s vision to raise $50,000 to build home for 75 families. Over the course of the semester, many different offices and student groups on campus will host efforts to fundraise for this relief effort.

“This kind of effort is teaching us how to become better redistributors of what we have to those in need,” Khampavoung said. “$50,000 really is nothing.”

Tropical Cyclone Sidr, the deadliest storm to affect the country in a decade, hit the coast of Bangladesh on Nov. 15. After conducting a survey, OWM found that most of the APU student body was unaware of this natural tragedy.

“When you look back in history, third world countries don’t get publicized until you reach some extreme,” senior biology major and Bangladesh student Russel Anwar said. “The cyclone was only in the news for a day or two. I didn’t even know about it until one of my friends told me. I had to call my parents to make sure.”

Anwar grew up in Bangaldesh and his parents are currently involved with the relief efforts. Anwar brought the needs of the Bangladesh people to the attention of OWM.

“I had heard about the global relief program because I am leading a missions team through OWM to India and Bangladesh. The office asked me about the relief efforts going on and after talking to my parents, I told them about the need for more help,” Anwar said.

Anwar’s team will spend part of their time working with the relief efforts and a small team from OWM will also visit to check up on the efforts.

“Russel’s parents are involved in relief efforts and asked us for funds instead of hands,” OWM Graduate Assistant Erin Lind said. “Because the construction process is unique to the region, they will be building homes with bamboo, it makes more sense to send money so the community can rebuild.”

The disaster relief initiative has been a sub-program within OWM. Khampavoung, a former Peace Corps volunteer, whose heart is in global relief and development started this program when she assumed her role as director in 2004.

The efforts started with a joint effort with the Red Cross in 2005 to train and send out relief workers to Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina hit the region. However, this is the first global relief project OWM has taken on under this new program.

“I hope this would be a learning process and a model for future efforts,” Khampavoung said. “I want to see APU come together in unity to learn and act on the needs of our global neighbors. These kind of natural disasters happen all the time, we just don’t know about it.”

This project will be the first of many that the office hopes to adopt over the years. They are planning on picking a particular theme for each semester and focusing on an appropriate disaster to provide relief for.

“One time isn’t enough. We’re going to make this a learning experience,” Lind said. “We are big on knowledge, we don’t want people to just give to give but to be well aware of what they’re doing.”

The money raised will be sent as it comes in, but the fundraising efforts will continue all semester. OWM hopes to partner with many campus departments, student organizations, D-groups and individuals.

“I believe in APU a lot. I’ve been impressed with the student body during my last three and a half years here,” Anwar said. “APU has committed and stepped up. It will take a lot of awareness and a lot of prayer. But if campus departments and students work together, this is possible.”