By John Patrick
INDONESIA - Three days of torrential rain throughout Aceh, Indonesia, has caused severe flooding and mudslides, displacing some 400,000 villagers and sending many families running for the hills.
"We lost our house, and all our belongings," said Mukmin, 45, as he held his son Muhammad.
Mukmin, along with his wife and eight children, fled the rising floodwaters and evacuated to the hills where they have been living in a crudely-built tent.
"We have only the clothes on our back," Mukmin said. "Our youngest son, who is 10 months old, has been living on breast milk for ten days."
OBI emergency teams arrived on location on December 27 to distribute supplies and provide medical care for the sick and injured. The teams concentrated relief efforts on several isolated villages around the Simpang Kanan River that had not yet received humanitarian aid.
In total, five tons of rice and 900 boxes of noodles and mineral water were distributed to victims.
With roads impassable due to flooding, OBI medical teams navigated dangerously high waters by boat to serve a total of 21 villages alongside the river. In one area, Sekerak, 696 patients received treatment and 425 food packages were distributed.
In addition to OBI's flood relief efforts along the banks of the Simpang Kanan River, tsunami recovery efforts to rebuild Aceh's infrastructure remain ongoing.
Aceh Province, located on Indonesia's largest island of Sumatra, was at the epicenter of the devastating 2004 tsunami, claiming the lives of more than 160,000 of Aceh's coastal residents. To date, OBI's relief and recovery efforts have benefited more than 850,000 survivors of that disaster.
How You Can Help
Disaster victims like Mukmin and his family are still in desperate need of your help. By making an online donation today toward OBI's disaster relief programs, your gift will continue to bring much-needed food, water, medical supplies and more to those caught in the midst of disaster.