One of the largest Christian relief and development organisations in the world has commenced the distribution of emergency relief assistance to the people of Nias, with the first-batch provided to a public hospital and three inland villages on Monday 4th April.

World Vision Indonesia Senior Operations Manager, Wynn Flaten said in Gunung Sitoli on Monday that the relief program would become a significant operation as volumes of relief goods continue to arrive for distribution in the next few days.

"Non-food items, such as tarps, clothes, blankets, and bottled water arrived here on the weekend," Flaten said. "We have begun to distribute the goods and will expand into Gido, Moi and Mandrehe sub-districts. World Vision has so far provided 75 tarps, over 200 blankets and 60 boxes of clothes."

In cooperation with Unicef, World Vision is also distributing 350 boxes of bottled water to the Nias public hospital and to Unicef-supervised child protection centres.

The organisation will also work with the World Food Program to distribute rice and other food aid to stricken inland villagers.

World Vision reports that 10 trucks, mainly transporting family kits, had arrived in Sibolga town across the straits, with the goods set to reach Nias later this week. A ship loaded with World Vision relief items has also left Banda Aceh for Nias.

The World Vision relief team has been in Nias since 30th March to prepare for the relief response.

According to reports, the 28th March earthquake killed some 600 Nias people, with hundreds more feared dead, buried beneath the rubble.

The island has been fraught with rumours that Nias would sink from a more powerful earthquake as severe aftershocks continue, World Vision reports. Many people have begun to leave Nias, fearing a larger quake.




Kenneth Chan
Ecumenical Press