YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia (ABP) — Several Baptist groups have joined the worldwide outpouring of support for victims of a deadly 6.3-magnitude earthquake, which killed more than 5,700 people May 27. More than 200,000 people remain homeless, according to the Indonesian government.
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Baptist World Aid sent two relief teams to the mostly destroyed cities of Bantul and Yogyakarta, which are located on the island of Java, Indonesia. The teams — one of which was already in the field working on tsunami recovery and the other dispatched by Hungarian Baptist Aid in Budapest, Hungary — include doctors, medical assistants and supplies, according to a CBF press statement.
Indonesian Baptists also donated food and tents, and they continue to look for bodies as the death count continues to rise.
The United Nations said more than 22 countries have pledged assistance to Indonesia, which sits on an archipelago fraught with volcanic activity. Mount Merapi, located close to Jakarta, has produced three times as many hot clouds per day as it did before the quake, according to AP reports, and experts worry increased seismic activity could trigger a larger eruption from the volcano.
The May 27 earthquake was the latest in a series of four large temblors in Indonesia since the magnitude 9 quake that caused a tsunami that killed more than 130,000 people in 2004. CBF donated $2.56 million toward ongoing recovery efforts after that quake. On March 28, 2005, another quake killed more than 900 people when it hit on the west side of Sumatra.
“Although we are not a first response organization, we are partnering with those who are to meet basic human needs of food, shelter and medical care,” Jack Snell, interim CBF global missions coordinator, said in a statement. “Our heart goes out to those in Indonesia who once again face the devastation of lives and property.”
Baptist World Aid, the relief sector of the Baptist World Alliance, designated $20,000 for the relief effort.
Another partner in the effort, Food for the Hungry, provides emergency relief and development programs to people living in some of the world's worst conditions. Since the day of the quake, it has been working with water and sanitation officials in Java to establish clean living conditions. Headquartered in Phoenix, Ariz., the Christian group deployed two teams to keep up with the so-far outpaced needs for medical supplies, personnel and shelter, officials said.
Another Christian aid organization, Church World Service, donated bottled water, blankets and food to nearby hospitals. Group organizers said they have hygiene kits and tents to distribute as well. Church World Service, the benevolence arm of the National Council of Churches, is a national cooperative of Anglican, Catholic and Protestant denominations.
Despite the mobilized aid, heavy rains and damaged roads have made it difficult for workers to help survivors, the Associated Press reported. Local airport closures and power outages also continue to impede the recovery process in the country with the world's largest Muslim population.
According to experts, shelter and sanitary water are the most urgent needs in a crisis like this. United Nations officials have led the charge, donating 10 100-bed hospital tents and supplies, AP reported.
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