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