Arman
06-01-05, 11:15
The below email is from one of my colleague from our field office in Singapore. Please get involve, help and show your support.
Thanks,
Arman
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As most of you know, Randolph and I (Randolph Oudemans Crockett International’s Sales/Marketing Manager for South Asia) are involved with assistance to ‘children in need’ in Indonesia. To date, most of our work has been focused on the islands of Bali and Java and has been directed specifically at helping to meet the needs of children that reside in a network of orphanages and youth hostels there. Today, however, there are suddenly some very large and unexpected needs in Indonesia, specifically on the island of Sumatra, due to the recent events there. The toll that has been taken, and that will continue to be taken by the recent quake and resultant tsunami’s in the Bandar Aceh (pronounced BOND-ar AH-che) region of Sumatra is far greater than previously expected. Via a network of high school classmates of ours that are on the ground there (remember that Randolph and I went to high school together in Indonesia) and reports from other relief workers and Singapore Air Force pilots with whom we have contact, only in the past couple of days are we getting further information about the real situation there. The official death toll of only 100,000 (in Indonesia alone) does not tell even half the story. Yesterday the Indonesian government announced that they will cease counting as they are discovering ‘tens of thousands’ of additional bodies along the coast.
Because the northern Sumatran region is near the epicenter of the quake, it suffered extensive damage from the quake itself. Immediately afterwards came the tsunamis which were larger and more destructive in this region than in any other region of Asia, estimated to have been twice the size of the one in the photo at left which hit Penang, Malaysia (near Empire Automation’s office).
In some parts of Aceh province, the waves reached as far as 14km (8 ½ miles) inland. There are at least two towns near Bandar Aceh, both of which were similar in size to Clovis, that are now completely gone, along with myriad other smaller villages. The people from these towns and villages are not included in the official death toll. The largest city in the area, Meulaboh, previously with a population of 40,000, is now reported to have less than 8,000 survivors, many of them children. All land links on the northwestern side of Sumatra have been demolished and from the air in low flying helicopters yesterday (Jan 5, 2005), no signs of life could be seen along 240km (144 miles) of previously populated sea front.
To date, all relief efforts in the area have been oriented towards rescue/recovery/evacuation and immediate treatment of infection and/or primary stages of triage. These efforts are now being coordinated primarily by the World Health Organization, and executed together with the armed forces of Indonesia, Singapore, the US (2 carrier task forces in the area with a total of 16 helicopters there now and more on the way) and other countries. The list of prominent NGO’s that are also on the ground include Save the Children, Red Cross, Catholic Relief Services, C.A.R.E World Vision and Doctors without Borders. Based on statistical estimates, which is the best that can be done at this point, it is estimated that there will be in excess of 80,000 children whom are now without a mother and perhaps as many as 30,000 new orphans only on Sumatra. The network of orphanages that we currently are working with in Bali are standing by to take in as many orphans as they can, but their capacity is very limited. In the coming weeks, Randolph and I will be alternately spending some time in Medan, another city in Northern Sumatra, as well as in Singapore, assisting with the needs of some of these children. Their needs are simply too large to allow us to be passive.
If you would like to participate in the effort to help these people, please contact the relief agency of your choice, perhaps one of those listed above which we know to be making progress at ground zero now. These agencies will utilize your donations in a generally meaningful way. If you would like a higher degree of accountability for your donations and would like to know specifically what your contribution does, I would also invite you to assist in some of the projects that Randolph and I will be supporting and helping to fund. Our short term efforts will be directed specifically to the service of as many children as we can assist, and to help provide them a dignified, safe and secure place to recover from this event. Medium term, we hope to assist in the assignment of many of these kids to hostels and orphanages around Indonesia (perhaps even in makeshift camps near the disaster zones) and to their continued formal education. Longer term, for those children that have to be evacuated and temporarily housed elsewhere, we would hope to assist in the re-integration of these kids back into their home communities in Sumatra if/when that becomes possible. If you would be interested in assisting in this effort that is specifically targeted at helping these children, please let either of us know. We expect that the costs of our very meager, micro projects for these kids in the first year could be as high as $ 100,000 USD, depending on how many of them need to be evacuated in the coming weeks, and on how many will be handled locally in temporary Internally Displaced Persons shelters.
I expect to be going to Sumatra soon to more accurately evaluate the needs, prioritize them and work with Randolph and with the authorities and NGO partner organizations to formulate our execution plans. For those of you that express interest, we will make that plan available for your evaluation. The magnitude of the need is almost overwhelming and we will only be able to help a small number of the tens of thousands that need assistance. But, it is clear that one person CAN make a difference. So, if you are able and willing to assist in some way, please let us know. Our activities will be orchestrated under the auspices of REACT, a non-profit organization founded by Randolph (www.react-react.org) a few years ago. This is the organization under whose auspice all of our work with the orphanages in Indonesia has been carried out. Randolph and I will direct the use of any and all donations in the way that we find to be most beneficial to the kids, as generally outlined above. At the time of execution, we will give a clear accounting as to how your contributions are used. Again, in the coming couple of weeks, we will be able to give you a more detailed prioritization of needs. Please let me know if you would like to receive that.
Whether with us or via some other channel of your preference, your help is badly needed in this region now, and in a sustained way for many months to come.
Regards,
Bill Rigsby
Thanks,
Arman
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
As most of you know, Randolph and I (Randolph Oudemans Crockett International’s Sales/Marketing Manager for South Asia) are involved with assistance to ‘children in need’ in Indonesia. To date, most of our work has been focused on the islands of Bali and Java and has been directed specifically at helping to meet the needs of children that reside in a network of orphanages and youth hostels there. Today, however, there are suddenly some very large and unexpected needs in Indonesia, specifically on the island of Sumatra, due to the recent events there. The toll that has been taken, and that will continue to be taken by the recent quake and resultant tsunami’s in the Bandar Aceh (pronounced BOND-ar AH-che) region of Sumatra is far greater than previously expected. Via a network of high school classmates of ours that are on the ground there (remember that Randolph and I went to high school together in Indonesia) and reports from other relief workers and Singapore Air Force pilots with whom we have contact, only in the past couple of days are we getting further information about the real situation there. The official death toll of only 100,000 (in Indonesia alone) does not tell even half the story. Yesterday the Indonesian government announced that they will cease counting as they are discovering ‘tens of thousands’ of additional bodies along the coast.
Because the northern Sumatran region is near the epicenter of the quake, it suffered extensive damage from the quake itself. Immediately afterwards came the tsunamis which were larger and more destructive in this region than in any other region of Asia, estimated to have been twice the size of the one in the photo at left which hit Penang, Malaysia (near Empire Automation’s office).
In some parts of Aceh province, the waves reached as far as 14km (8 ½ miles) inland. There are at least two towns near Bandar Aceh, both of which were similar in size to Clovis, that are now completely gone, along with myriad other smaller villages. The people from these towns and villages are not included in the official death toll. The largest city in the area, Meulaboh, previously with a population of 40,000, is now reported to have less than 8,000 survivors, many of them children. All land links on the northwestern side of Sumatra have been demolished and from the air in low flying helicopters yesterday (Jan 5, 2005), no signs of life could be seen along 240km (144 miles) of previously populated sea front.
To date, all relief efforts in the area have been oriented towards rescue/recovery/evacuation and immediate treatment of infection and/or primary stages of triage. These efforts are now being coordinated primarily by the World Health Organization, and executed together with the armed forces of Indonesia, Singapore, the US (2 carrier task forces in the area with a total of 16 helicopters there now and more on the way) and other countries. The list of prominent NGO’s that are also on the ground include Save the Children, Red Cross, Catholic Relief Services, C.A.R.E World Vision and Doctors without Borders. Based on statistical estimates, which is the best that can be done at this point, it is estimated that there will be in excess of 80,000 children whom are now without a mother and perhaps as many as 30,000 new orphans only on Sumatra. The network of orphanages that we currently are working with in Bali are standing by to take in as many orphans as they can, but their capacity is very limited. In the coming weeks, Randolph and I will be alternately spending some time in Medan, another city in Northern Sumatra, as well as in Singapore, assisting with the needs of some of these children. Their needs are simply too large to allow us to be passive.
If you would like to participate in the effort to help these people, please contact the relief agency of your choice, perhaps one of those listed above which we know to be making progress at ground zero now. These agencies will utilize your donations in a generally meaningful way. If you would like a higher degree of accountability for your donations and would like to know specifically what your contribution does, I would also invite you to assist in some of the projects that Randolph and I will be supporting and helping to fund. Our short term efforts will be directed specifically to the service of as many children as we can assist, and to help provide them a dignified, safe and secure place to recover from this event. Medium term, we hope to assist in the assignment of many of these kids to hostels and orphanages around Indonesia (perhaps even in makeshift camps near the disaster zones) and to their continued formal education. Longer term, for those children that have to be evacuated and temporarily housed elsewhere, we would hope to assist in the re-integration of these kids back into their home communities in Sumatra if/when that becomes possible. If you would be interested in assisting in this effort that is specifically targeted at helping these children, please let either of us know. We expect that the costs of our very meager, micro projects for these kids in the first year could be as high as $ 100,000 USD, depending on how many of them need to be evacuated in the coming weeks, and on how many will be handled locally in temporary Internally Displaced Persons shelters.
I expect to be going to Sumatra soon to more accurately evaluate the needs, prioritize them and work with Randolph and with the authorities and NGO partner organizations to formulate our execution plans. For those of you that express interest, we will make that plan available for your evaluation. The magnitude of the need is almost overwhelming and we will only be able to help a small number of the tens of thousands that need assistance. But, it is clear that one person CAN make a difference. So, if you are able and willing to assist in some way, please let us know. Our activities will be orchestrated under the auspices of REACT, a non-profit organization founded by Randolph (www.react-react.org) a few years ago. This is the organization under whose auspice all of our work with the orphanages in Indonesia has been carried out. Randolph and I will direct the use of any and all donations in the way that we find to be most beneficial to the kids, as generally outlined above. At the time of execution, we will give a clear accounting as to how your contributions are used. Again, in the coming couple of weeks, we will be able to give you a more detailed prioritization of needs. Please let me know if you would like to receive that.
Whether with us or via some other channel of your preference, your help is badly needed in this region now, and in a sustained way for many months to come.
Regards,
Bill Rigsby