On 12/26/04, an earthquake in the Indian Ocean caused a tsunami that left more than 122,000 dead and about 114,000 missing in Banda Aceh.
On 3/14/05, Clay Aiken visited Banda Aceh, Indonesia. He was there as a Goodwill UNICEF ambassador to help bring awareness to the tsunami ravaged area.
While Clay was in Indonesia, he participated in UNICEF programs that helped children in many ways. Some of these important programs included helping children to reconnect with their families, caring for orphans, preventing the spread of disease and assisting children in returning to school. It was reported that Clay sat and chatted with some of the children and tried to get them to laugh.
According to an Indonesian news source, Clay spent an afternoon with about 100 children from Lampuuk Beach. The children were housed at a refuge camp and they greeted him with songs.
While Clay was in Indonesia, UNICEF distributed 4100 school-in-a-box tools and 1700 packages of games. They planned on sending 200 teachers to Aceh a soon as possible.
UNICEF has many celebrity Ambassadors who donate time and money to many causes throughout the world. They were lucky to have Clay Aiken on their team.
The following video of Clay’s trip to Indonesia is wonderful. It shows the many places that Clay visited and uses Clays voice to tell the story of the trip.
As always, CANN will post news about Clay Aiken when it is available…
Hopefully, we will hear from Clay……soon!!!
How proud I am to be a supporter of Clay, he represents what an American Idol is! Thank you
CANN for the article, pictures and video of OMC
I feel the same way
Me too!!! Thank you much for revisiting this; and for finding that great Raleigh TV interview! I hadn’t seen that one, and Clay’s explanation of the ship’s journey really clarified how and why tsunamis wreak such devastation.