Mercy-USA for Aid and Development (M-USA) is collecting funds to aid the survivors of the deadly earthquakes that struck Indonesia's island of Sumatra on March 6, 2007. The magnitude-6.4 and 6.3 quakes, which struck around 11 a.m. local time near the city of Padang on western Sumatra, have left over 135,000 persons homeless.
"This time, it was not only very strong but also lasted a long time," said 75-year-old Nurbari, a grandmother sitting under a large plastic sheet strung between trees in front of her house. "The last time there was such a strong earthquake, that crumpled buildings and left large cracks on the ground, I was still very young."
"I have no house, my husband is jobless and I have to feed my five children," said 45-year-old Hartati, one of 100 survivors packed in a tent about the size of a basketball court. "I may have to rely on handouts. We have no savings," she said, holding one of her small children.
Others cooked on firewood and slept on palm leaf mats in temporary tarpaulin shelters outside their flattened homes. "I accept this as God's will. I'm lucky to stay alive whereas many people have died," said 45-year-old Zulkifli, a farmer from Bukittinggi. "The earthquake is Allah's reminder to us."
Mercy-USA's Response
Mercy-USA's office in Indonesia is providing food packages and two blankets each to 750 families affected by this earthquake. Each food package contains: 22 pounds of rice, 4.4 lb. of sugar, 2 liters of oil, 1 box of instant noodles (40 packages), 2 cans of sardines, 2 lb. of biscuits, one pint of condensed sweetened milk, 100 tea bags & 0.4 lb of coffee.
Please join us in this vital relief effort!
You may send your contribution immediately through our secure online donation form or mail it to:
In the US:
Mercy-USA for Aid and Development
Attn: Indonesia Earthquake
44450 Pinetree Drive, Suite 201
Plymouth, Michigan 48170-3869
In Canada:
Mercy-USA for Aid and Development (Canada)
Attn: Indonesia Earthquake
Fiesta RPO, PO Box: 56102, 102 HWY # 8
Stoney Creek, ON L8G 5C9
Please make all checks payable to "Mercy-USA for Aid and Development" and write "Indonesia Earthquake" in the memo section.
If you have any questions or wish to donate over the telephone, you may call us at 1-800-55-MERCY (1-800-556-3729) or (734) 454-0011. Donations are tax deductible (US Federal Tax ID No. 38-2846307 and Canada Revenue Agency Business No. 89458 5553 RR0001).
Thank you for your caring and concern.
Many companies will match the donations of their employees. Please ask your company if it has such a matching gift program.
Dedicated to alleviating human suffering and supporting individuals and their communities in their efforts to become more self-sufficient, Mercy-USA for Aid and Development has an office in Indonesia and has been implementing relief and reconstruction programs for the survivors of the 2004 tsunami. Last year, M-USA's office in Indonesia also responded to a deadly earthquake on the island of Java, and recently provided relief to persons affected by severe flooding in northern Sumatra.
Mercy-USA is a tax-deductible 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (IRS tax ID # 38-2846307). M-USA is also a registered PVO (Private Voluntary Organization) with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and is a member of the American Council for Voluntary International Action (InterAction).