Loving Concern for East and Central Java Flood Victims By Surabaya and Yogyakarta News Groups (Originally in English)
On December 31, 2007, fellow initiates from the Surabaya and Malang Centers went to Bojonegoro, where 16 districts (more than 50 percent of the city area) had been flooded. Among them were three districts where the water level had reached three meters. The team handed over the relief packages containing drinking water, biscuits and slippers to the local Red Cross to be distributed to victims who were widely dispersed. A week later, the team traveled to the severely affected area of Centini village and delivered relief supplies. According to the village head, two-meter-high flood waters had covered the entire village and destroyed a large number of agricultural fields. Thus, the relief items such as blankets and water were gladly received by the residents. On the morning of January 4, 2008, Yogyakarta fellow initiates traveled to Kudus where there were 18,751 refugees. Accompanied by local Red Cross personnel, they then went to Jetis Kapuhan village, where over a hundred hectares of fields were under water. After delivering 46 bags of rice and 432 bottles of drinking water to the villagers, the team brought more relief supplies to the Red Cross base camp as the workers there were running out of goods. The villagers conveyed their deepest gratitude
to Master for supplying them with the relief packages. And thanks
to God’s grace, the flood lessened on January 8 and many refugees
were able to return to their homes. Expenditures by The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association for Flood Relief Work in Central and East Java, Indonesia
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At the end of December 2007, a flood struck many cities in Central and East Java, forcing more than 10,000 people to seek shelter. The flood was caused by the inability of the local river to retain the extra water caused by heavy rains that lasted two days. Deeply concerned, Master instructed the Indonesian Centers to carry out relief work. Due to the vast area affected by the flood, the Yogyakarta Center arranged relief work for Central Java and Surabaya and the Malang Center arranged help for East Java. The initiates worked together with the Indonesian Red Cross to address the most severely affected areas, acquire basic necessities and distribute the relief items.
