Football stars make awareness-raising visit

Football stars make awareness-raising visit

Christopher Bodeen, Associated Press/Lamno, Aceh

Like most Indonesian children, the kids in the remote coastal
town of Lamno had never heard of American football -- let alone
New York Giants' quarterback Kurt Warner.

But that didn't stop them from chasing the National Football
League star and his teammate, wide receiver Amani Toomer, around
a soccer field on Saturday.

Warner, Toomer and their wives were flown in on a helicopter
by the United Nations' World Food Program to help raise money for
the long-term aid needs of Aceh province, where the Dec. 26
tsunami left more than 200,000 people dead or missing and many
more homeless.

"I don't know who they (Warner and Toomer) are, but they are
really nice," said Saledulah, a grinning 9-year-old in tattered
shorts and a T-shirt.

Warner, a two-time MVP quarterback who led the St. Louis Rams
to two Super Bowl appearances and one victory in 1999, said the
devastation he saw was impossible to imagine.

"To actually think of lives and homes and the community as a
whole and then to see all this -- unbelievable," Warner said,
adding that Americans have to realize it will take years for
people's lives and homes to be rebuilt.

"People think that when the media leaves, things go back to
normal, but that is not the case," he said.

They helped unload a chopper full of rice, bottled water and
cooking oil destined for camps and feeding centers elsewhere
along Sumatra island's coast. They also visited the USNS Mercy, a
U.S. Navy hospital ship treating tsunami victims off Sumatra,
where Aceh is located.

The disaster has prompted a massive global outpouring of aid
from both governments and individuals. More than US$4 million has
been raised by the NFL, its teams, owners, players and fans to
support the tsunami relief efforts -- but Toomer said that's
still not enough.

"People are going to need a lot more help in the future," he
said.

U.S. President George W. Bush plans to ask Congress for US$950
million for tsunami relief efforts -- up from US$350 million
committed so far. The pledge would put the United States at the
top of the donor list.

But despite the incredible loss and devastation suffered by
the children in Lamno, they proved they still know how to have
fun when Warner's wife, Brenda, taught them to chant a few
phrases in English while her husband looked on grinning.

"Football is silly!" they cried. "Kurt Warner is old and fat!"

GetAP 1.00 -- FEB 12, 2005 23:05:25