From August 1 to 15, Tenri University sent a group of 18 students and staff members to engage in relief activities in western India. This area was stricken by a major earthquake in January this year, resulting in the loss of more than 20,000 lives and causing severe damage to as many as 9,000 villages.
The university group engaged in relief activities in two villages near Jamnagar in the state of Gujarat. In Ankit, they constructed a house made of about 1,200 earthbags. This low-cost house can be constructed relatively easily but it is nonetheless strong. The group hopes it will serve as a model for future house construction by local people. Meanwhile, in Balachadi, the university group participated in a dam construction carried out by a local N.G.O. named Jamnagar Jilla Samaj Kalyan Sangh.