Christianity Today: In the wake of the world's deadliest known tsunami, generous donations flowed to Christian relief organizations worldwide. Throughout South Asia, relief teams began delivering aid even as they grieved alongside those they employed and supported.
World Vision broke a fundraising record, said Dean Owen, World Vision vice president for communications. Unsolicited donations (most of them made online) amounted to $1 million in the first 48 hours following the Sunday, December 26, catastrophe. He described the disaster has having "biblical proportions" and said that it may well require "the largest and most costly relief effort in known history." As of Wednesday afternoon, the regional death toll estimate exceeded 80,000.
Owen added that, in contrast to what United Nations humanitarian aid chief Jan Egeland insinuated in a comment earlier this week about rich countries' "stingy" giving, "World Vision has known Americans to be very generous."
