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Date: May 26, 2005
Contact: Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
V: 847/742-5100 F:  847/742-6103
E-MAIL: CoBNews@AOL.Com

CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN	NEWSLINE
May 26, 2005

EMERGENCY RESPONSE DIRECTOR SEES TSUNAMI  RESPONSE IN INDONESIA

May 26, 2005 (Elgin, IL) -- Areas of Indonesia	affected by the
tsunami are "very much still a mess," said Roy Winter,	director of
Emergency Response for the Church of the Brethren General  Board.
"This is going to be a five-to-six-year response." In  mid-April
Winter was one of seven representatives of US denominations in	a
Church World Service (CWS) delegation to two major tsunami  response
areas: Banda Aceh and Meulaboh.

The Church of the Brethren is  supporting CWS's tsunami relief
effort. To date, the General Board's  Emergency Disaster Fund has
given $320,000 to CWS for tsunami relief in  Indonesia, India, and
Sri Lanka.

Winter and the men in the delegation  visited Meulaboh, south of
Banda Aceh along the coast of Sumatra. Some 13,000  people died or
disappeared in the 314 villages in the area, Winter said.  Before
the tsunami, the area was closed to tourists or foreign  visitors
because of the civil war, but now foreigners are allowed to  visit.
Winter was impressed by the work of local officials, especially  a
Muslim sub-district head who obviously had the wellbeing of his
people	at heart. Most of Indonesia is Muslim, Winter explained. 

The official  showed the delegation the need to rebuild boats for
fishermen, who are among  the poorer members of the community,
before rebuilding homes for the  relatively wealthy landowners. He
was very respectful of the CWS response to  the disaster, Winter
said. "He was also supportive and cooperative of using	good
disaster response and development principles."

The official took  the delegation to view the mosque where he and
other worshipers were caught  by the tsunami when it hit. The
building filled completely and many in the  congregation survived by
holding on to ceiling fans for an hour before the  water subsided.
Then the bodies of those who did not survive were carried  into the
mosque--only to be swept away again by a second wave. That  personal
story--and the high-water marks on the walls--brought home  the
extent of the destruction, Winter said. "We were on holy ground,"
he  said.

In Meulaboh, Winter saw people living in tents beside  their
destroyed houses--for some the only way to claim their land  after
government records were lost in the disaster. Indonesia has
declared  a "green zone" from the coast to 500 meters inland, in
which rebuilding will  not be allowed, Winter reported. The
government is to buy property in other	locations for those who
lived in the green zone. "This means whole  communities are waiting
for the government to relocate them, when the  government does not
have the funds to buy the land," he said. Tents provided  by CWS and
others are considered temporary, but Winter fears many will live  in
them for a long time. Rebuilding of homes has already begun in
areas  that have received a lot of international attention, he said,
therefore CWS  plans to begin its rebuilding program in "forgotten
villages" where other  agencies are not at work.

CWS has helped rebuild a water treatment plant	in Meulaboh, where
clean water has been a major issue. The plant serves 300  households
and some 5,000 refugees in tent cities. CWS also is cleaning  wells
contaminated by the tsunami, digging new wells, and  providing
latrines and communal bathrooms. "While I was there I heard  nothing
about disease outbreaks," Winter said, citing this as a  major
achievement of the emphasis on clean water and good sanitation.  The
CWS response in Indonesia also has included material aid
distribution  and medical teams carrying Interchurch Medical
Assistance (IMA) Clinic Boxes  to remote villages to do medical care
and to offer counseling  services.

CWS had 100 staff--mostly Indonesians--working in Indonesia  before
the tsunami hit. Since that time, some have been reassigned  to
tsunami response, and some new staff have been hired to respond to
the  need, Winter said. Other CWS staff continue ongoing development
programs  throughout the rest of the country. "I cannot say how
impressed I am with  what they do," Winter said. Many are taking
months away from their families  to do the work, he added.

Winter encourages Brethren to send letters or  cards of appreciation
to the CWS staff in Indonesia. Send cards and letters  to: CWS
Staff--Indonesia, Emergency Response, Brethren Service Center,	P.O.
Box 188, New Windsor, MD 21776-0188.

The Church of the Brethren  is a Christian denomination committed to
continuing the work of Jesus  peacefully and simply, and to living
out its faith in community. The  denomination is based in the
Anabaptist and Pietist faith traditions and is	one of the three
Historic Peace Churches. It celebrates its 300th anniversary  in
2008. It counts about 130,000 members across the United States	and
Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister churches in Brazil,  the
Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Nigeria.

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For more  information contact:

Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
Director of News  Services
Church of the Brethren General Board
1451 Dundee Ave.
Elgin,	IL 60120
847-742-5100 ext.  260
cbrumbaugh-cayford_gb@brethren.org

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