BHA donates to Aceh and Nias

BHA donates to Aceh and Nias

DENPASAR: The Bali Hotels Association (BHA) this week disbursed
the final portion of US$41,000 in cash donations to earthquake
and tsunami relief efforts in Aceh and Nias island.

The final $28,000 in funds will be divided equally between
three foundations currently providing direct relief in the
affected areas.

These foundations are: Yayasan IDEP of Ubud, the Bali Crisis
Center for Natural Disaster in Denpasar, and Jakarta
International School Cares.

"We sought to contribute our funds to reliable and transparent
foundations that have direction and involvement from the local
community. This approach aims to ensure our funds reach priority
projects to sustain victims and their community redevelopment,"
association chairman Robert Kelsall said.

On Dec. 27, BHA began raising funds and taking food, clothing,
linen and medical donations from among its 63 member hotels and
the public.

On Dec. 31, $13,000 worth of non-perishable food supplies were
purchased and sent directly by ship from Jakarta to the western
coastal towns of Aceh.

Seven container truckloads of donated goods were shipped
courtesy of Santa Fe and Crown Relocations from Bali to Jakarta
where they were loaded onto ships carrying relief aid to Aceh
throughout January and February.

The last load of goods, scheduled for shipment in late March
was diverted to Nias island, which was hit by 8.2 and 6.2-
magnitude quakes on March 28 and April 3 respectively.

Besides hotel members', cash contributions were made by Bali
Golf & Country Club, the Thailand community, PT Harum Indah Sari,
Bali Villas.com, Tanjung Sari Hotel, Sonja & Bernd Horwedel,
Radisson Kestrel Hotel in Australia, and DiscIndo sports club in
Jakarta.

The complete details of BHA's relief funds and assistance
efforts are available at www.balihotelsassociation.com --JP