NEW YORK – Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA) has launched an emergency appeal to aid victims of last Sunday’s devastating tsunami in the southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Proceeds from the appeal will support the emergency efforts already underway by the local church, which include the distribution of rice, water, clothes and medicines.
CNEWA provides about $4 million to India annually, supporting a vast number of humanitarian and pastoral projects of the Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara Catholic churches.
Founded by Pope Pius XI in 1926, CNEWA is a special agency of the Vatican, providing support to the churches and peoples of the Middle East, Northeast Africa, India and Eastern Europe.