Additional food for refugees

ATAMBUA, East Nusa Tenggara: Care International has supplied additional food for 6,200 malnourished East Timorese children and women in refugee camps in Atambua.

Herman Y. Watin, a staff member of Care International, said here on Thursday that since January aid recipients had been provided biscuits, vitamins, rice, mung bean, sugar and salt on a daily basis.

The organization has taken the initiative to supply additional food to children and women following the government's decision to halt food aid to around 55,000 East Timorese refugees in the province in April, he said.

"Such food is needed by babies, young children, their mothers and pregnant women," Antara quoted him as saying.

He said his organization would also enhance its cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to supply food to the refugees.

However, he said his organization often encountered difficulty in distributing the food because of personnel shortages and limited funds to recruit locals to help carry out the charity mission. (rms)