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UMCOR, partners respond to Java quake survivors

LINK: Click to open full size version of image
A UMNS Web-only photo by Djunijanto, YTBI-ACT

A man looks at damage to a Javanese Christian Church in Prambanan, Klaten, Central Java, caused by the 6.2 earthquake that struck May 27.

May 30, 2006

By United Methodist News Service

The United Methodist Committee on Relief is working with partners in the region to respond to survivors of the May 27 earthquake on the Indonesian island of Java.

Indonesian government figures released May 29 put the death toll at about 5,000. More than 15,000 are estimated injured and 100,000 people displaced from their homes.

Especially hard hit was Bantul, a town south of the city of Yogyakarta. The area already has been under threat from Mount Merapi, a volcano near the eruption point.

In Geneva, Action by Churches Together, of which UMCOR is a member, announced the heads of the emergency units of its members in Indonesia had arrived in Yogyakarta, according to Ecumenical News International.

One ACT member, Yayasan Tanggul Bencana Indonesia, was coordinating its efforts with the local Javanese Christian churches and had recruited more than 40 volunteers to distribute food and other aid.

The U.N.’s World Food Program was expected to bring in more than 40 tons of supplies to the quake zone May 30.

UMCOR, which has been working in Indonesia since the Dec. 26, 2004, tsunami, will focus on both immediate assistance and long-term relief for earthquake survivors with its regional partners.

Contributions to UMCOR’s “Indonesia Emergency” relief efforts can be placed in local church offering plates or sent directly to UMCOR, P.O. Box 9068, New York, NY 10087. Designate checks for UMCOR Advance No. 217400 and “Indonesia Emergency.” Credit-card donations can be made online at www.methodistrelief.org or by calling (800) 554-8583.

News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

 
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