The local tsunami relief efforts have raised almost $10,000 to support the survivors in South Asia.
Most of the money is from the Hoosier Heartland Chapter of the American Red Cross, which has received more than $9,000 to help the tsunami victims.
The donated money is wired to a location close to the victims and used to purchase relief items, such as food and water, Brian Fern, director of Community Support at the Hoosier Heartland Chapter, said.
Spending the relief money in the affected country helps the disaster areas' local economy rebuild while the Red Cross saves on shipping costs, he said.
Ball State's Office of International Education is also collecting money to help the victims.
Nihal Perera, director of Asian Studies, sent an e-mail to Ball State faculty and staff asking for donations for his native country Sri Lanka, where the tsunami hit the worst.
Perera and the Office of International Education have raised $675 so far that they will donate to the Lions Club of Sri Lanka.
"I'm grateful that the U.S. and other countries are giving support," Rama Munajat, an international student from Indonesia, said.
Hearing that victims are getting foreign support makes international students less depressed, he said.
Munajat called his family in Java Island to make sure they were safe after he heard the news, he said. The island is southeast of Sumatra, where the earthquake and the tidal waves left damages.
Munajat's cousins live in Sumatra, but everyone was fine, he said.
Mandeep Singh Atwal, an international student from India, arrived in Muncie to attend Ball State soon after the tsunami hit his country.
Although he and his family live in the northern city of Gwalior and did not feel the earthquake or have any tsunami damage, he is sad and surprised that the number of deaths is increasing three weeks after the incident, Atwal said.
Rithesh Makkena, an international student from Hyderabad, India, said the donated money will be needed for his country's recovery. It will take at least five to 10 years for the country to rebuild, he said.
While it was shocking to see the dead bodies on TV, Munajat tries to focus on his life and study here, he said.
When he lost electricity during Muncie's ice storm, he and his wife and children stayed positive because they knew things were worse back home.
"Losing power isn't so bad, compared to the people in Sumatra," Munajat said.
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