January 14, 2005

PHILADELPHIA, PA - The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) has raised more than two million dollars in support of its Tsunami relief effort. New funds to support more medical personnel, equipment and supplies have been sent to the Aceh Province of Indonesia, where the risk of disease and infection is escalating.

The bulk of new work will be concentrated around the coastal city of Meulaboh, the closest major city to the earthquake's epicenter and perhaps the hardest hit. 43,000 of the area's 200,000 inhabitants were killed in the tsunami. The first wave of medical supplies were sent to Banda Aceh, Lhokseumawe and Nias in the Aceh Province.

A logistical infrastructure for a health station - complete with medical and humanitarian teams - and a transit post have been set up in Medan. Up to 800 people a day are being treated for fever, diarrhea, and skin disease. The transit post has already shipped more than 40 tons of supplies to Meulaboh.

Andreas Subiyono, director of our Indonesian partner agency, the Society for Health, Education, Environment and Peace (SHEEP), reports that more than 270,000 displaced people have fled to camps in South and West Aceh.

"Prices for basic necessities in the region such as oil, sugar, rice and soap have increased by as much as 60%," Subiyono reports. "Clean water and sanitation remain major concerns as diseases continue to spread. Housing for the displaced continues to be a problem with people sleeping in mosques and under bridges."

SHEEP teams will concentrate on immediate medical and food needs and on mental health counseling for survivors. More than 200 Indonesian students have volunteered to work with SHEEP to assist its medical and humanitarian teams.

A team of 25 volunteers is at work in Lhokseumawe, where communications infrastructure is better, thanks to the large number of international firms based in the port. In Meulaboh, a team of 23 volunteers has been assisting in removing bodies.

"Systems to supply camps with food, water, and medicine are still being established, resulting in shortages in many places," he adds.

SHEEP's humanitarian post in Ujung Pateha - a village 20 kilometers from the urban center of Meulaboh - is serving 8500 displaced people. This is only one of 74 camps for survivors in the area.

Backed by an 87-year history working for peace, justice and reconciliation in troubled areas of the world, the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is a faith-based organization grounded in Quaker beliefs respecting the dignity and worth of every person. Its humanitarian relief efforts throughout World Wars I and II were among the reasons AFSC and its British counterpart received the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of Quakers worldwide.

Serving as director of the American Relief Administration, President Herbert Hoover commissioned the Service Committee to launch massive programs to feed millions of starving children in post-war Germany. On behalf of the United Nations, AFSC administered relief for over 200,000 refugees in the Gaza Strip in the 1940s. During World War II, AFSC provided temporary aid, housing and other assistance to Japanese Americans in efforts to get them out of internment camps.

The American Friends Service Committee is a Quaker organization that includes people of various faiths who are committed to social justice, peace and humanitarian service. Its work is based on the belief in the worth of every person and faith in the power of love to overcome violence and injustice.

American Friends Service Committee