Expats help starving infants

Expats help starving infants

BOGOR (JP): The We Care Fund handed over five tons of rice and
dozens of boxes of infant milk to needy residents of Mulyaharja
village here on Saturday.

Each of 509 families received 10 kilograms of rice, with 156
infants also getting three or four 300-gram boxes of powered milk
each.

"We were moved upon reading a report on starvation in the
village and we wanted to help out," said Renny Gooley, a
representative of fund which was established by the expatriate
community.

As reported by The Jakarta Post last month, many infants from
low-income families are suffering from undernourishment caused by
a diet deficient in calories and proteins.

At least four babies aged between four months and three years
died of marasmus between August and January, while scores of
other infants in the area face possible death.

At the donation handover at the local public health center,
Renny was accompanied by representatives Claudia Soegono, Clara
Alexandra and Maria Chin.

The donation was transported by truck with an escort of 20
members of the Harley Davidson Association and nine activists of
the Indonesian Muslim Action Front.

Aisjah Wan Granie, head of Bogor's health agency, said she
hoped other donors would follow We Care Fund's initiative to help
starving people. (24/ylt)