Disaster
Update
6 January 05
Here's some reports that have come to us in the last 24
hours:
From South India - The
situation, at the moment, is settling down gradually, but a lot of
people are suffering and are not receiving the help that they should be
receiving.... Doctors have also accompanied the team, and
[in addition to some food and basic survival supplies] we have sent a
good supply of medicines. We have been receiving reports about 5
villages which the team have visited, that they had an excellent
reception and many families in deep need have been helped today. It is
not easy to go out like this and do relief work, but all of us, as we
do this, it gives us the greatest joy to help these suffering people.
We are contacting government people in order to adopt ... village areas
for future rehabilitation. Every day we are having relief teams going
out.
One sad thing which has happened here, is that the
RSS militant Hindu group are asking people not to give any help to
Christians. Today, this report was conveyed to us again by one of our
assembly ladies from Ennore. They have 6 families camping in the church
compound and the local people have told them that they have to feed
their own families and cannot receive any help. We need a lot of prayer
for the Lord to guide us and show us the places He wants us to work in,
in the future. We praise God that so many of our staff have offered to
go out on relief work in teams, and render all the help they possibly
can. We need your continued prayers. - Dr. Colleen M
Redit (CMCT)
From Phuket
/ Phangnga Areas of Thailand:
The first group of workers have been replaced to give people
much needed rest and relief. There is serious emotional trauma
attached to this work as they have been dealing with so much grief and
processing of several 1000 bodies in very basic conditions.
I am leaving Bangkok for the south this morning with an assessment
team. Pray for meetings with provincial authorities in southern
Thailand in the next few hours.
Aceh, Indonesia
An air assessment by helicopter (via military,
Samaritan¹s Purse & MAF) yesterday showed that the tidal wave
went 14 kilometers inland so death toll could reach [much higher than
any previous reports]. Military authorities are burying bodies
without identifying so the numbers may never be known.
Some roads going out of Bandar Aceh have been blocked by rebel groups
and the situation is highly volatile. Some of the trucks
transporting goods to the affected areas have been commandeered by the
rebels. Road travel is highly insecure at present. Prayer for
this situation is critical at this stage. - Steve Goode (YWAM
Mercy Ministries)
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Food and emergency supplies distribution continues on
in the midst of numerous aftershocks. I am not able at this time to
give you data as to how many people have been helped or how many people
have received help. I think they are not counting and I am hesitant to
want to preoccupy them with this right now. I was on the phone with one
of our leaders this morning and he had to pause because things were
shaking again. Keep praying... [name withheld for security
reasons]
-----------
We currently have about 35 workers on the ground helping out
with relief efforts. They are coordinating several hundred Indonesian
volunteers, including many doctors and logistics personnel. These are
primarily trained experts who speak Indonesian. To send in others now
could be dangerous due to lack of housing, food and water, disease and
ongoing civil unrest. Since there is only one small airport and one
road into the capitol, relief supplies and workers are also backed up
and waiting to get in. To send more workers now could also contribute
to this problem.
So, for the time being we will continue to facilitate our colleagues
who are currently working there. There will be many needs over many
months and years to come. Those who speak Indonesian and who are
familiar with the culture and religion here will be of most help. There
are many hundreds more Indonesians ready and willing to help.
Facilitating these people would be our first priority as they do not
need translators and are more familiar with the situation here.
For those who want to give financially, details are below. Thanks
again for your interest, and please continue to pray. - [name
withheld for security reasons]
Donations for Aceh Relief can be made to:
Community
Development Center
Bank
: BCA
Branch:
Duta Mas Fatmawati, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Acc.
No. 7300300370
Swift
Code for Foreign currencies: BCA:CENAIDJA
MPORTANT:
All donations must accompany a note indicating "For Aceh
Relief(ALJP)" Please send an email to Paton AND Suja informing them of donations
made.
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