January 24, 2005.

PICTURED: NYSUT President Tom Hobart (left) and Fred van Leeuwen, EI General Secretary, survey the ruins of a secondary school in Aceh. None of the students and teachers survived the tsunami.

To read Hobart's blog from his mission to Southeast Asia, go to www.nysut.org/tsunamirelief.

"NYSUT is committed to a long-term 'Tsunami Relief Program' that gets children and teachers back to school and helps them pick up their lives following this terrible natural disaster," Hobart said.

Hobart, representing the American Federation of Teachers, NYSUT's national affiliate, was part of a contingent sponsored by Education International that traveled to some of the hardest hit regions in Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

"The widespread devastation we witnessed was heart-wrenching," said Hobart. "Naturally, we were particularly concerned about the effect the tsunami has had on children and their teachers."

That concern was born out in Hobart's visit to the Indonesian city of Banda Aceh, where he learned an estimated 1,700 educators are dead or missing. In Colombo, Sri Lanka, 80,000 students and teachers have been displaced.

"Thousands and thousands of educators are lost throughout the region," Hobart said. "And, for many of the survivors, there are no schools to return to."

Hobart said NYSUT, working with the AFT, was exploring ways the unions could assist children and their teachers and families "find their way back to a safe, healthy existence and a hopeful future." Hobart said the union was considering rebuilding some of the school buildings leveled by the tsunami. NYSUT has built schools in the past, including projects in Afghanistan and Mexico.

Hobart said NYSUT has already collected more than $40,000 for the relief effort. NYSUT members and others who want to help can send checks to "Tsunami Relief" at NYSUT, 800 Troy-Schenectady Road, Latham, NY 12110-2455.

"Every penny we collect will go to getting those kids back to school," Hobart said.

To read Hobart's blog from his mission to Southeast Asia, go to www.nysut.org/tsunamirelief.

NYSUT, the largest union in New York State, represents more than 500,000 classroom teachers and other schools employees; academic and professional faculty at the state's community colleges, State University of New York and City University of New York; and other education and health professionals. NYSUT is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO.

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CONTACT: NYSUT Media Relations and Communications. (518) 213-6000, Ext. 6313. E-Mail: mediarel@nysutmail.org.

NYSUT.ORG. Copyright New York State United Teachers. 800 Troy-Schenectady Road, Latham, New York, 12110-2455. 518.213.6000.