I am the Canadian nurse mentioned in this story. For 11months, the Tsunami Tender Sprout Home Initiative (TTSHI) has raised funds for children at the Senthalir orphanage in Sri Lanka. Out of 132 children, 94 were killed during the tsunami of December 2004. Many children orphaned by the tsunami have since been taken into the facility, yet more children remain on the waiting list.

Through the sale of calendars depicting the orphans' drawings, we have raised $75,000 to date which has been used to purchase beds, build bathrooms and hire caregivers. From the wording in your story, readers might be errantly led to believe our fundraising effort is in some way connected to the Tamil Tigers. This could not be further from the truth.

Funds raised through TTSHI are donated directly to the Centre for Women's Development and Rehabilitation (CWDR), an independent organization that runs the orphanage. The Norwegian government and NGOs such as Oxfam and UNICEF have assessed CWDR and the government of Sri Lanka gave the organization registered NGO status at the national level.

The Sri Lankan political situation is extremely complex and TTSHI, like many relief efforts, was established as a neutral organization determined to see aid delivered despite political dynamics. We believe that politics should have no bearing on aid provision and are working hard to relieve the suffering of the orphaned children living in northern Sri Lanka. Andrea Warnick, RN, Founder and Director, Tsunami Tender Sprout Home Initiative, Toronto.

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