Grab your cell phone, start SMS-ing for Aceh

Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

After trumpets were blown, toasts made and hugs shared, Nina settled down on a cozy sofa in a plush hotel room rented by a family friend to welcome the year 2005.

She picked up her cellular phone, ready to send mass Happy New Year greetings to her friends, but paused and wrote a simpler, more somber message instead: "For Aceh". With the click of the send button, the 26-year-old donated Rp 5,000 (about 54 U.S. cents) for tsunami-stricken Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam and North Sumatra.

"That's somebody's lunch," said a friend, glancing over Nina's shoulder and followed suit.

Cellular operators have been opening special numbers for contributions for Aceh since last Thursday after receiving requests from customers to do so.

Excelcomindo's marketing business solutions Rudiantara told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that so far the operator had collected about Rp 412 million.

"The money will be channeled through UNICEF (the United Nations Children's Fund) for scholarships, trauma therapy and to prevent child trafficking," he said.

The donating mechanism is easy. Customers only need to type a message and send to the special numbers. The money will be deducted from their prepaid card or charged in next month's bill.

As of Tuesday morning, some 238,523 messages had come through to the nation's biggest cellular operator Telkomsel, which collected Rp 477 million, said spokesman Suryo Hadianto.

Publicly listed PT Indosat, through its products IM3, Matrix, and Mentari, has also seen messages pouring in and funds of some Rp 460 million.

"We'll keep the service open for as long as it is needed, at least until the end of the month," said Indosat's cellular marketing director Hasnul Suhaimi. The company plans to channel the fund directly to relief posts in the field.

However encouraging, the funds coming through the nations cellular and fixed wireless operators seem minuscule compared to their foreign counterparts.

The Agence France-Presse, quoting an Italian daily, reported that as of last Thursday, mobile phone users there had donated more than 11 million euro (US$15 million) for tsunami victims. Operators in other countries, including Germany, Singapore and France, have also set up similar services.

"Imagine how much we can get if every user sends a donation through the message service, even only once," said Nina.

Simple mathematics will show that with over 15 million Telkomsel subscribers, 9.6 million Indosat and 4.4 million Excelcomindo subscribers, the funds will surpass Rp 100 billion -- 7.5 percent of the government's estimated required emergency relief funds.

Shortly after Nina sent her message, a reply came.

"Thank you. Your donation of Rp 5,000 will be given entirely to our brothers and sisters in Aceh and North Sumatra".

No matter how small, the donation serves to show that in the middle of celebrations or the comfort of our daily lives, the victims are still remembered.

I-box --------------------------------------------------- Operator Number Message Donation ---------------------------------------------------- Excelcomindo 5000 Anything Rp 5,000 Telkomsel 2000 Aceh Rp 2,000 Indosat 5000 Anything Rp 5,000 Esia 3514 Dompet Aceh Rp 10,000 ----------------------------------------------------