wfn.org | Indonesia's Tsunami Recovery Needs: CWS Head Tells World

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

CONTACTS:
Jan Dragin/New York/Boston - 24/7,  (781) 925-1526, e-mail: jdragin@gis.net
Ann Walle/CWS/New York,(212) 870-2654, e-mail: awalle@churchworldservice.org

TO NATIONAL, INTERNATIONAL DESKS & ASSIGNMENT EDITORS

NEWS UPDATE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

"WE CANNOT LEAVE THEM WITH THIS," SAYS CHURCH WORLD SERVICE DIRECTOR
AFTER LONG-TERM RECOVERY TOUR OF INDONESIA¹S ACEH PROVINCE

Post-Tsunami Region Rebuilding on Top of Irretrievable Cemeteries,
Trauma, Unmet International Pledges

NEW YORK­Thurs., Feb. 10­The devastation at every level of life is so
profound in Aceh province that the world cannot leave the tsunami-ruined
Indonesian region to rebuild on its own, the head of international
humanitarian agency Church World Service said today.

Returning from a week-long tour of the Indonesian province a month after the
deadly Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, CWS Executive Director Rev. John
L. McCullough says, "Survivors in Aceh are beginning to pick up the their
lives, but the needs continue to be almost overwhelming. This territory
cannot be left idle or left in the lurch to rebuild.

"Recovery of the dead is still going on­and the international community is
very much involved," McCullough said. "But the world community must stay
focused and present for what will be long-term recovery in these worst-hit
tsunami regions.

"In (Aceh¹s provincial capital) Banda Aceh," he said, "there is still only
one street. Everything else was destroyed. They will be rebuilding on a
cemetery in Banda Aceh, because all that is left are irretrievable body
parts. We cannot leave them with this."

McCullough echoes a plea from the United Nations this week for world
governments to keep their pledge promises for tsunami recovery. According to
the UN, almost two-thirds of the money promised by governments to help the
millions of people affected by the tsunami has yet to be received by the UN.

As has happened in previous disasters, some countries have failed to
contribute the funds pledged. So far, only $US360 million has been
received-­little more than a third of the total $US977 million- needed for
the projected first six months of emergency phase relief work. *
Nearly $6 billion in aid has been pledged so far from public and private
sources, according to the United Nations.

"It has been the private agencies who received an outpouring of funds for
first-phase emergency relief," says CWS¹ McCullough. "But it¹s down the road
when attentions turn elsewhere that the trouble tends to come in.  Because
of the magnitude of impact in places like Aceh province, we just can¹t
afford to neglect long-term development with this catastrophe."

Psychological dimensions different from anything previously experienced

"The psychosocial dimensions we found in Aceh province," McCullough
reported, "are different from anything experienced in the past." Those
dimensions, he says, "must be the under-girding
to help these people return to sustainable self-sufficiency. It¹s one thing
to recover from a horrific tragedy, from great personal loss, but another to
rebuild lives literally on top of soil that has
been destroyed."

During his tour of Aceh, McCullough says, "Even a month into recovery, all
the images we saw in the media, all of the preparation we received did
nothing to prepare me for what I saw.

"I saw a young girl four or five years old who was a symbol of what has
happened. She lost both parents. Her house is gone. She was taken in by a
family in one of the camps for displaced people. She still exhibits the
playful characteristics of children.

"How do kids do it? She is in a strange environment. But she¹s cared for.
What will be the final outcome? Will a family member surface?  How will it
work out?"

UN, aid agencies, Indonesian government: ?Tightened, coordinated work now¹

Responding to recent reports that aid efforts and supply distribution were
being hampered by disorganization and a surfeit of inexperienced
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), McCullough said, "The work is now
effectively tightened and coordinated between UN agencies, the Indonesian
government, sectoral working groups, and those aid agencies working in
Aceh."

McCullough said CWS¹ work had been well coordinated from the outset of its
response, immediately following the disaster, due to the agency¹s
longstanding and large Indonesian staff, including experience and partners
in the heretofore government-restricted Aceh province.

McCullough said he left Aceh feeling "extraordinary gratitude for our
Indonesia staff, its leadership, high level of skills, and commitment to
mission.

"The challenge," he said, "is to balance the needs of our ongoing programs
in the region-, such as our Indonesia AIDS education program, - while
dedicating staff to the tsunami."

Traveling with McCullough, CWS Indonesia Director Maurice Bloem said the
agency is delivering and installing such first-stage reconstruction
assistance as water purification and sanitation equipment and is refining
further recovery programs.

CWS is also continuing to deliver emergency aid in the region. Reports
indicate possible malnutrition among affected children in Aceh. Last week,
over two days, the agency¹s Indonesia team in Banda Aceh and local NGO
partner Mamamia distributed instant food and rice packets and CWS Blankets
and Health Kits to 1,119 displaced people.

An ocean freighter, scheduled to leave the U.S. on Monday (Feb. 14) for
Indonesia, will carry a CWS shipment of disaster kits valued at $1,110,900.
The shipment will provide 14,325 CWS "Gift of the Heart" School Kits (valued
at $157,575), 56,475 Health Kits (valued at $677,700), and 7,875 Baby Kits
(valued at $275,625).

CWS airlifts to Aceh last week included 2,000 Health Kits, 2,000 School
Kits, 2,000 Baby Kits, and 980 Heart-to-Heart Kids Kits.

CWS¹ mobile medical unit continues to deliver care in Luthu Lamleu, Suka
Makmur sub-district, Aceh Besar district, and reports a significant number
of children with worms in the district.

Since the deadly quake and tsunami hit South Asia and coastal East Africa,
Church World Service has shipped more than $3.5 million in material aid to
affected areas and has received to date more than $4 million in cash
contributions.

CWS¹ new donors increased tenfold over usual monthly norm

Cash donations for the agency¹s relief and recovery efforts have tripled
since the first week after the tsunamis, says Rev. Peter D. Crouch, CWS
Chief Development Officer. "And between December 27?the day after the
tsunamis hit­ and January 31, CWS¹ gifts from new donors increased tenfold
over the agency¹s usual monthly norm," he said.

Grassroots groups still mounting fundraising for CWS tsunami funds

Across the U.S., scores of community groups are still gaining momentum in
mounting an unprecedented outpouring of help, says Crouch.

One project in the planning is targeted solely at survivors¹ health care. A
student nurses¹ association here in the U.S. is mounting a campaign to
support CWS Indonesia mobile health clinics now dispensing medical care and
trauma counseling on-the-go throughout Aceh province.

Church World Service¹s Crouch says, "We estimate that it will take about
$100,000 for our mobile clinic and clinicians to continue providing health
care needs for those in our coverage area in Aceh, throughout the rest of
2005. Having that project supported even in part by student nurses
associations is a perfect fit."

CWS emergency aid, reconstruction, and long-term recovery plans are also
continuing in Sri Lanka.

* Source: UN Update on Indonesia and Tsunami/Situation report No. 24 4
February

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