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Tsunami Funds to Assist Covenanter's Family
CHICAGO, IL (May 27, 2005) - Ever since the tsunami hit Southeast Asia, Siva
Retnavel has been driving his taxi in Chicago seven days a week to
support his mother, siblings and their families, whose lost their homes
in Sri Lanka.
During a worship service Sunday at Immanuel Covenant Church in Chicago,
Curt Peterson, the executive minister of the Department of World
Mission, presented Retnavel, whose first name is pronounced "Sheeva,"
with a promise of $3,400 to help his family rebuild their homes.
Retnavel, his wife, Veena, and four-year-old son, Levine, have attended
Immanuel for two years. He serves on the church board, but his constant
work schedule has kept him from attending.
Peterson told the Retnavels that the funds came from the $980,000
donated to Covenant World Relief in response to the tsunami.
The donation to the family is in addition to $700 raised by the small
congregation-Immanuel is a multiethnic church with an attendance of 60
people and where 14 languages are spoken.
"I am so happy," says Retnavel. "I want to thank the Covenant."
Pastor Linnea Carnes, who describes the couple as "quiet, hard working
people," says the church had been unaware of the plight of Retnavel's
family until recently, because he had not told anyone.
"I had to call him and ask if the reason he wasn't in church was because
he was having to work to help his family," Carnes says.
Retnavel's extended family lives just north of the western coastal city
of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Back in December, they fled their home prior to
the wave hitting. His mother's home was buried under 10 feet of water
and all her belongings were washed away. His sister and brother-in-law
had been in the process of building a house; it was 75 percent completed
when it was destroyed.
Retnavel immigrated to the United States in 1993 so that he could
support his extended family. "I come from a hard way (of living)," he
says. His wife remained in Sri Lanka until 2003. In the meantime,
Retnavel had gained American citizenship.
Not only will the donation help his family in Sri Lanka, but in the
United States as well. "I will be able to spend more time with my
family," he says.
So far, Covenant World Relief has distributed $645,400 to help with the
disaster relief and ongoing rebuilding work, says Jim Sundholm, the CWR
director.
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