Cash saves lives.

As the death toll rises in South East Asia the Chronicle is asking readers to dig deep to give what they can to help aid workers in the tsunami-hit region.

Readers are reminded that every penny helps with just 35p enough to save a child's life.

The Chronicle has joined up with United Nation's children's charity Unicef to raise cash to help keep survivors of the tidal wave alive.

Countries devastated by the wall of water on Boxing Day are now trying to rebuild their lives but are hampered by disease in the aftermath.

For the tens of thousands of surviving men, women and children in affected countries, these early days are critical.

They face stagnant ponds of water contaminated with human and animal remains, coupled with unsanitary conditions, which create a breeding ground for diseases.

Without safe drinking water people are highly vulnerable to water-borne diseases like cholera and diarrhoea and it is children that are most at risk.

"Getting clean water to people in the camps is critical at this point to head off the spread of disease," said Lizette Burgers, UNICEF's chief of water and environmental sanitation.

"Providing oral rehydration solution is critical as it combats diarrhoeal dehydration that can kill small children."

The smallest amount of cash will help improve conditions in the countries. Just pounds 25 will provide enough blankets to keep 36 children warm at night, pounds 60 will provide emergency health kit supplies for 260 people for three months, while pounds 100 buys enough water purification tablets to give 1,000 children a litre of clean water to drink.

Meanwhile pounds 205 buys a 24 sq mt tent to house a family made homeless by the earthquake and pounds 1,202 buys a water testing kit to assess quality of available drinking water.

Already Unicef has supplied over 1,500 water tanks to the stricken area of Tamil Nadu in India. Three million chlorine tablets are being provided, along with 50,000 sachets of oral rehydration solution. Across the region Unicef has delivered 30,000 blankets and sleeping mats.

Louis Coles, regional fundraising manager for Unicef North East, said: "A disaster on this scale is unprecedented and without Chronicle readers' support the death toll will only rise. I urge every Chronicle reader to send whatever they can."