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October 11, 2018
TORONTO – Unifor is supporting Oxfam and Save the Children’s disaster relief efforts in Indonesia with a combined $70,000 donation.
“The scale of the damage from the earthquake and tsunami is massive,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias. “Save the Children Canada and Oxfam Canada are working with their Indonesian partners to provide vital aid, alleviate suffering and prevent further loss of life from spread of disease.”
On September 28, a 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia’s Sulawesi region, triggering a powerful tsunami. More than 2,000 have been killed, with the death toll expected to climb, as an estimated 5,000 people remain missing, feared buried or swept away.
While the Indonesian government has blocked access to some foreign aid, both Oxfam and Save the Children have deployed relief staff to the hardest hit areas. The Unifor Social Justice Fund has donated $35,000 each to Oxfam Canada and Save the Children Canada to provide medical care, shelter, food and clean water to the tens of thousands displaced by the devastating earthquake and tsunami.
"Oxfam and our local partners are aiming to reach 500,000 people with emergency aid supplies, such as mobile water treatment, hygiene kits, and essential household items, including clothing,” reports Ancilla Bere, Oxfam's Humanitarian Manager in Indonesia.
Save the Children, operating through its local partner Yayasan Sayangi Tunas Cilik (YSTC), is also focusing on efforts to reunite lost children and provided care to orphans.
"I’m particularly worried about children who’ve been separated from their families or are now orphans because their parents have lost their lives in this tragedy," said Zubedy Koteng, Child Protection Adviser for Save the Children Indonesia. "Many of these children are sleeping on the streets because they simply have nowhere to go. It’s hard to imagine a more frightening situation for a child.”
To donate visit www.oxfam.ca and www.savethechildren.ca.
For more information, please contact Unifor Communications Representative Kathleen O’Keefe at @email or 416-896-3303 (cell).
