Mennonite Central Committee

Indonesian Mennonites assemble relief kits for tsunami survivors

February 25, 2005
Abang Rahino

Ibu Parmi, from Gereja Kristen Muria Indonesia (GKMI), packs towels for MCC relief kits. 8,000 towels went into the relief kits assembled by Indonesian Mennonites. (Photo by Dan Jantzi)

In response to the earthquake and tsunami that hit northern Sumatra island on Dec. 26, volunteers from two of three Indonesian Mennonite conferences — Gereja Injili di Tanah Jawa (GITJ) and Gereja Kristen Muria Indonesia (GKMI) — gathered in this Central Java city on Feb. 12 and 13 to pack 2,000 relief kits for survivors.

Items for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) relief kits were donated by congregations of these two conferences, as well as by other church-affiliated groups, including students and staff of Central Java Inter-Mission School.

Leaders of the GKMI conference said they were touched by children of the Tanjungkarang congregation in Kudus, Central Java, who gave from their own pocket money.

“We have no chance to visit the affected areas, so this is our way to share and express our love,” said Gideon, member of a Mennonite church here.

Volunteer Ani Widjaja commented about the relief kit assembly, “I’m a teacher and it’s impossible for me to leave school. This is something valuable I can do to feel connected with the people who are suffering from this disaster.”

The kits, which are packed into buckets, contain soap, bath towels, toothpaste and tooth brushes, detergent and other items of personal hygiene.

Members of the two conferences also contributed money and clothing immediately following the tsunami. “They did so individually and spontaneously,” noted Adi Waluyo, general secretary of GITJ Conference.

Waluyo added that the conference also worked with a South Korean organization, World Christian Frontier, to send youth volunteers to assist with cleanup in affected areas of Aceh.

The two conferences raised an additional $15,000 Cdn./$12,000 U.S., from their own constituents and from international partners, to be channeled through MCC Indonesia. This will be used in MCC’s intermediate and long term rehabilitation work with partners in Aceh. The relief kits are being shipped to the tsunami-affected area and will be distributed there by MCC partner agencies.

As of Feb. 25, more than 8,500 relief kits had left the United States and Canada for Indonesia. Thousands more have been collected, and kits continue to come in — each bringing MCC closer to its goal of providing 22,000 kits for tsunami survivors.

 

MCC’s ongoing tsunami response

MCC continues to develop long-term plans for tsunami-affected countries in response to partners’ requests and changing needs in the region. MCC’s total long-term response will be in the range of $12 million over the next three to five years.

MCC has now approved a $64,623 Cdn./$51,860 U.S. project to help fishing communities in the Adale district of Somalia.

The project will give food to some of the most vulnerable members of the community and help replace fishing equipment for 50 families who are totally dependent on the ocean for their livelihood. This area of Somalia has a high number of residents displaced from other parts of the country by ongoing violence and is also the site of an MCC Global Family project.

Although MCC originally planned to send canned meat and clothing to tsunami-devastated areas, those requests have changed, and those resources will be redirected. A request for 2,000 metric tons of Canadian Foodgrains Bank(CFGB)-sponsored grain for India has also changed, and MCC will use its CFGB resources for other projects.