Indonesia Quake Response Gets $300K Boost From Europe

CRWRC Newsroom | February 25, 2009

 

Earthquake survivors look out of a nearly completed "core"  home built by CRWRC.

European based organizations, ZOA refugee care and Word & Deed International, have committed $225,000 Euros (about $306,000 USD) to CRWRC’s work in West Sumatra, Indonesia where families are continuing to recover from an earthquake.

 

"ZOA and CRWRC have been working together in emergencies for many years and developed a deep mutual trust in each others performance. For that reason ZOA is happy to allocate the funds from its public appeal to CRWRC’s earthquake response program in Padang," said John Buijs, of the Emergency Relief Department of ZOA.

 

The earthquake on September 30, 2009 took the lives of 1,195 people.  It also caused landslides and widespread damage to homes, schools, roads, hospitals, government buildings, power supplies, and water networks.

 

CRWRC was on the scene soon after the disaster struck.  Its first response was to provide medical assistance to 1,443 individuals, emergency food and hygiene kits to 100 households, and two generators to restore electricity.  This was done in partnership with local organizations SHEEP (Society for Health, Education, Sustainable Environment and Peacebuilding), Totalitas, and GKSBS (The Christian Church of Southern Sumatra).

 

In the next phase of its response, CRWRC distributed an additional 1,900 hygiene kits and is in the process of providing latrines and access to clean water to 470 people in 2 villages.  

 

The funds from ZOA and Word & Deed are being used to fund the third stage of the response - rebuilding homes.

 

“The need for housing in Sumatra is great,” said CRWRC’s Senior Project Manager Grace Wiebe.  “When the death toll following a disaster is relatively low like it was in this instance, the media and global community tend to move their attention on to other things.  They overlook the many other needs that exist.  In this case, the quake caused extensive damage to housing.  Nearly 200,000 homes are still in need of repair, but the international disaster response community only has funding to help with about 32% of these.”

 

With its funding from ZOA and Word & Deed, CRWRC is building core homes for vulnerable families similar to the ones built by CRWRC following the 2004 South Asia tsunami.  These core homes are built using earthquake resistant techniques and can be added to and expanded upon by the recipient families as their incomes allow.  Two sample houses have already been completed, with 84 more currently under construction.

 

Additional support for this project is still needed. 

 

To make a donation, please give online: US | Canada

Checks marked "Indonesia Earthquake 2009" can be sent to

CRWRC-US
2850 Kalamazoo Ave SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49560
Ph: 1-800-55-CRWRC

CRWRC-Canada
3475 Mainway
P.O. Box 5070 STN LCD 1
Burlington, Ontario, L7R 3Y8
Ph: 1-800-730-3490

- by Kristen deRoo VanderBerg, CRWRC Communications