Disaster Relief in Indonesia

Giving Children Hope responds to tsunami and quake in Indonesia

(2005-10-01)

Several containers of relief supplies, which arrived in Indonesia at the end of September, have cleared customs and are currently being prepared for distribution by the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM). Within the next couple of weeks, a bakery in Bandeh Aceh will be up and running with new ovens, stoves, mixers, pans, and tables; a power plant in the Banyak Islands will light up additional homes with a new generator; and churches in Nias will be rebuilt with the provision of building materials.

Each of these areas were devastated by the tsunami on December 24th, 2004, and then by an earthquake on March 29th, 2005. Global Operations & Development/Giving Children Hope (GO&D/GCH) has played a large role in relief efforts and has remained committed to assisting Indonesian communities destroyed by these natural disasters. GO&D/GCH has continued to provide relief items-such as tents and mosquito nets, while also enabling community members to become self-sufficient by facilitating the development of micro-enterprises that serve the community- such as the bakery in Bandeh Aceh. Rebuilding infrastructure has also been a significant focus-in Nias, a predominantly Christian island, 1,000 of 1,200 churches were damaged or destroyed-GO&D/GCH is steadfast in our commitment to rehabilitate these churches.

GO&D/GCH has established an office in Nias in order to remain connected to community reconstruction activities. Three people are now working out of the Nias office on a permanent basis. This on the ground support is especially essential as GO&D/GCH is preparing to launch the “Young Doctor, Young Nurse” program. Set in schools, the program trains students in basic health promotion and disease prevention. In 2006, volunteer medical students from Jakarta will come to Nias as part of their required internships to assist with the further development of “Young Doctor, Young Nurse.”