Dear Friends and Supporters,

It has been 6 days after the Saturday’s 6.3-magnitude quake hit Yogyakarta and its surrounding cities, the third disaster that hit Indonesia in 18 months after the tsunami back in December 2004 and the earthquake in Nias in February 2005. According to our ground team, there are still many remote quake-hit areas yet to be reached by relief agency with aids as majority of the disaster relief team is concentrating in city of Bantul. Yet our team discovered that people in the area of Prambanan, Klaten, and Ganjuran are still in dire needs of food and tents. That’s why World Harvest team is focusing on distributing aids to these affected areas.

As of today, the death toll has risen to 6,234 and left more than 30,000 people injured and 600,000 people displaced or homeless. The earthquake has destroyed 135,000 houses to piles of bricks, tiles and woods in less than a minute and forced many living under makeshift tents which are actually just plastic sheets coverings, near their former homes, in rice fields or on roadsides with no electricity and clean water. Hospitals in Bantul, the worst quake hit area, is overwhelmed with the victims of the earthquake. Many of the victims are now facing the danger of malnutrition and illness..

Yogya Quake victims living at sidewalk and refugee shelter (AP Photo/David Longstreath, Ed Wray)

World Harvest Distributing Food and Sending Medical Assistance to Yogya Quake Victims in Bantul

Responding to the immediate needs, World Harvest has sent a team of doctors and counselors from Semarang and Jakarta to the disaster area,to bring medical aids and counseling in Bantul, Klaten (the second hardest hit after Bantul), Prambanan and Ganjuran. World Harvest has also registered to the head of District of Bantul for medical and counseling clinic. As our base operation in Yogyakarta is coordinating the relief efforts in different cities to ensure the needs are met, we have also set up a care center/medical clinic in Bantul, located at Jakerto Village (District of Timbul Karyo in city of Sewon Bantul). On top of that, we have also distributed 1 tons of rice and much needed instant noodles to the victims and survivors. Many of the survivors expressed their gratitude to World Harvest counselors as they listened, encouraged and prayed with them.

Many villagers are still pleading for more food and shelters. According to our ground team in Yogyakarta, the greatest current needs are baby foods, medicine and tents. On top of that, clean water still remains as another problem with all of the 12 water distribution systems in Bantul had been either knocked out completely or were not working properly.

Within the next couple of days, World Harvest will set up 3 more care centers at Prambanan,  Suwon (to serve the remote area Pundong and Pendowo in Bantul) and Bantul Hospital to serve as medical clinics and counseling center to help provide further medical assistance, food and shelter. Next week, World Harvest will send another team of doctors and nurses from United States and Ecuador along with medicines to help saving lives of Yogya quake victims.

We need your Prayers and Help NOW!

Your participation is needed urgently to ensure that people in this disaster area will be able to get all the help they needed. This is not the time to “wait and see” or stand on the sideline. Survivors experienced shortage of food, drinking water, medical assistance and even shelter. This is a time to give generously to help meet the needs of these hurting and homeless people. The help to save lives is most needed right now, not later.

You can help rush life saving aid to the Yogya quake victims by donating at our website page: One-Time Donation and please specify your donation as 'Yogya Quake'. 

• Please pray for the people affected by the earthquake in Indonesia and those working hard to minister to those in need.
• Please pray for comfort towards those survivors who have lost their family members· Pray that God should bestow His blessings and replenish the lives of the bereaved· Pray so those victims may keep peace within their souls and accept this natural calamity
• Pray so that Yogyakarta will be restored back to its original self and the residents might get back to their normal lives soon· Pray for extra strength to World Harvest medical team and volunteers who are in Yogyakarta right now