Habitat For Humanity International Receives US$1 Million from Korean Christians For Hurricane Katrina Reconstruction Efforts

Donation channeled through Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund

SEOUL , 8th March, 2006: South Korea’s Christian community has donated US1 million to the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund to help the victims of the Hurricane Katrina in the USA.

Helping hands: (From left) Dong-seok Min, consul general of South Korea, Reverend Sung-kyu Choi, chairman of the Christian Council of Korea, former president George Bush, Seung-sook Rho, president of The Kookmin Daily, a Christian newspaper.

The 29th August hurricane in 2005 killed 1,300 people along the coast and in New Orleans and another 2,000 are still listed as missing. As many as 300,000 homes were damaged or destroyed.

The donation was presented to former US President George Bush by the Korean delegation recently in Houston, Texas. The money has since been channeled to Habitat for Humanity International.

The Korean delegation also conveyed the wish of Korean volunteers to help in reconstruction efforts in the affected areas in New Orleans. They will be discussing with Habitat for Humanity International about volunteering under its “Operation Home Delivery” which involves “pre-build” house-building efforts.

The Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund was set up in the aftermath of Katrina to provide grants, contributed by individuals and corporations, to assist the survivors in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi to rebuild and recover their lives.

Former US presidents Mr Bush senior and Bill Clinton teamed up for the second time to establish the fund after their successful efforts in raising more than US1 billion for tsunami victims.