Island gives £75,000 in tsunami relief
GUERNSEY will donate £75,000 to help the aid effort following the devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Indonesia.
The 7.5-magnitude quake struck just off the central island of Sulawesi on Friday and more than 1,300 people are known to have died.
The Overseas Aid & Development Commission has agreed to donate the money to the UK Disasters Emergency Committee, which launched its appeal yesterday.
Commission vice-president Judy Moore said: ‘The commission has been approached by several charities working in the international sector with regards to making a donation towards emergency relief for the Indonesia Tsunami Appeal.
‘The commission has a close working relationship with the UK Disasters Emergency Committee, which works with 14 of the UK’s leading charities to co-ordinate emergency response in times of crisis to provide effective and swift humanitarian assistance.
‘The DEC advises us on the scale of need in response to disasters and has launched a national appeal to address the Indonesia situation.
‘The commission is therefore making a donation to the DEC which enables the funds to be utilised quickly and in the area of highest need identified by the organisations ‘on the ground of the emergency’ which whom the DEC work.
‘The commission’s donation will supplement the individual donations made by the community of the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the work of other local charities who are addressing this emergency.’
The DEC launched its appeal in response to recent calls from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs for further emergency aid to help avert a human catastrophe.
Estimates suggest that more than 1.5m. people may have been directly affected by this disaster.
The commission’s donation will help support the work of the DEC’s member humanitarian charities and NGOs to scale up support to the Indonesian government-led response in the areas of logistics, shelter, safe water and sanitation, health care, camp coordination and camp management, emergency livelihoods and protection services.
The DEC brings together 14 UK charities when a crisis hits poorer countries.
They include Age International, the British Red Cross, CAFOD, Christian Aid, Islamic Relief Worldwide, Oxfam GB and Save the Children UK.
Its 2004 tsunami earthquake appeal raised £392m., while the 2010 Haiti earthquake appeal raised £107m.
The commission said it was mindful that tens of thousands of people in Sulawesi have lost everything and have little or no access to clean water, shelter, food or clothing and so the need for emergency aid is pressing.
