Frequent Asked Questions

The Tidal Waves Asia Fund (TWAF) is the designated fund that the Singapore Red Cross has established to help provide humanitarian relief and rehabilitation to the victims of the 2004 Tsunami Disaster. As the custodian of the fund for the People of Singapore, the Singapore Red Cross is responsible to ensure that the funds are effectively utilized for the tsunami disaster.

TRFC stands for Tsunami Reconstruction Facilitation Committee. The committee participation was established on January 2005 by the Singapore Red Cross with the of various Non-government Organisations (NGOs), Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWOs) and the Ministry of Community, Youth and Sports (MCYS) to manage the Tidal Waves Asia Fund (TWAF). Besides helping to coordinate the people sector's involvement in the reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in the affected countries, the TRFC also evaluates and approve the projects by Singapore based NGOs and VWOs requesting for funds.

The members are:

Before the projects are approved for funding, the Committee will review the project proposals to ascertain that they effectively and efficiently considered the need, impact and sustainability of their projects for the victims of the tsunami disaster. Once the projects have been approved, the TRFC secretariat will manage and oversee the progress until completion. Upon completion, the NGOs or VWOs will be required to submit an audited statement of accounts and project closeout report.

S$ 88 million dollars was generously donated by the people of Singapore, of which, S$ 1 million was donated from the Singapore Government.

The Singapore Red Cross utilised SGD 4.23 million during the emergency phase to provide relief assistance and to send medical teams to Aceh and Sri Lanka.  The remaining funds are currently still being managed by the TRFC.  To date,  69 projects have been completed by Singapore based NGOs and VWOs towards the reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in the affected countries, focusing on community and housing, health, education and economic livelihood and recovery.  Examples of some of the projects include the Meulaboh pier, construction of 1,700 houses in Indonesia by Habitat for Humanity Singapore, construction of houses and a community centre by Singapore Sinhala Association, construction of schools in partnership with the Singaporean government and agriventure centre by Evangelical Fellowship of Singapore.  Whilst some projects have been completed, there are still a few at final stages of completion, which may take up to another year to complete.

Donors can view the list of approved project list on our website.

1. Download and complete application form (link below)
2. Send the completed application form to Red Cross (address below)
3. Portfolio Support Team (a working committee) will screen the applications and make a recommendation to TRFC.
4. Successful applicants will be invited to present their proposal to the TRFC.

The NGOs or VWOs are required to submit a set of documents describing their project plan, project risks and management of the risks, a complete and concise budget plan before they sign an agreement with Singapore Red Cross. Once the project begins, they are then required to submit monthly progress and financial reports. Upon completion, they are required to produce a project closeout report (project post-mortem) and an audited statement of accounts.

Our partners are established organizations such as:

Mercy Relief, Singapore Sinhala Association, Habitat for Humanity, Buddhist Research Society, Darussalam Mosque Youth Wing, NTU, ITE East, TRAC Methodist Church in Singapore, Catholic Medical Guild, Buddhist Federation, Marsiling YEC.

Our criteria for selection require our partners to contribute to the project not just with the effort but also financially. We have an 80:20 funding principle (80% from TWAF and 20% from the partner). This is to ensure that they take ownership and will see the project through till its completion.

The funds collected for the tsunami disaster are used exclusively for the victims of the affected countries and cannot, as practice, be redirected to another cause.

Tidal Waves Asia Funds are used solely for TRFC approved projects. All interest earned are ploughed back into the Tidal Waves Asia Funds. The Singapore Red Cross does its own fund raising (e.g. Red Cross Bazaar, Flag Day and Charity Draw) to support its operations.

No, such donations are not tax deductible. The funds were raised from the public through an appeal under a separate permit issued by the Commissioner of Charities (i.e. Permit to hold fund-raising appeal for foreign charitable purposes). A separate audited account for the TWAF is required. No tax exempt receipts are issued for donations towards appeals of this nature as the funds raised are for humanitarian purposes overseas. An official receipt (non tax exempt) would have been issued to donors as an acknowledgement of their contribution.