From Wall Street to Pudupattinam

If you ever come across a boat named "Bergen Count, N.J", on the Tamil Nadu shore, think Andrew J. Krieger. The Hedge Fund manager from New Jersey says his Life Packages kit has brought cheers and happiness to Pudupattinam, where no relief had reached. New York Times profiles Andrew Krieger's efforts to "repay" India through his charity work.

NY Times:
Mr. Krieger, 48, a former high-profile Wall Street currency trader, came up with the idea for a packet of supplies called Life Packages. A package costs $5,500 and includes a thatched roof hut, a boat, engine, fishing net, cooking utensils, stove, two months of food, furniture, bedding, children's books, school uniforms and clothes.

"They want a livelihood, they don't want charity," he said of the residents of Pudupattinam in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, where he spent more than two weeks last month. "It seems so unbelievably practical."

His efforts had roots in one of his current business ventures, NorthBridge Capital Management, a hedge fund specializing in foreign currency. Two days after Christmas, Mr. Krieger, his wife, Valerie, their two young daughters and his four children from a previous marriage were at their second home in Livingston Manor, N.Y. Mr. and Mrs. Krieger were celebrating the fund's growth, wondering if it would pass 16.78 percent growth to reach 17 for the year.

Then they read about the devastation.