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The devastating tsunami in December 2004, like Hurricane Katrina and the earthquakes in Pakistan and Indonesia, was one of those natural catastrophes to which Deutsche Bank and its foundations responded with urgency and without bureaucracy by providing immediate restoration aid.
The goal: to help victims return to an autonomous lifestyle as swiftly as possible. By the end of 2007, Deutsche Bank and Deutsche Bank Foundation provided approximately € 15 million in aid. Of this, 32 percent went to relief organizations in the catastrophe aid program, incl. the German Red Cross, Diakonisches Werk der Evangelischen Kirche, Caritas International, Deutsche Welthungerhilfe, UNICEF, and “Ein Herz für Kinder.” Another 17 percent flowed to the Deutsche Bank Microcredit Development Fund for supporting business start-ups.
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We invested the remaining 51 percent directly or through Matched Givings in local projects. Today, the Foundation continues to invest in restoration, infrastructure, and education projects.
It is particularly interested in initiatives that combine job creation with ecological or technological progress. Altogether, Deutsche Bank Foundation has initiated more than 60 aid programs. Between 2005 and 2007, with the help of Deutsche Bank Asia Foundation the organization built 16 new preschools in Hambantota, where today hundreds of children are being taught. In the Chalong district in Thailand’s Phuket Province, Deutsche Bank Foundation has presented keys to 30 newly built homes. Deutsche Bank volunteers, incl. our own Tsunami Officer appointed in 2005 /2006, helped with the restoration activities.
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