Hotels association sends relief to Aceh

Hotels association sends relief to Aceh

DENPASAR: The Bali Hotel Association (BHA) sent on New Year's Eve
its first wave of relief to survivors of the Dec. 26 earthquake
and tsunami in Aceh and North Sumatra.

Seven cubic meters of medical supplies and ready-to-consume
food were sent by air to Jakarta, in cooperation with Continental
Airlines, Garuda Indonesia and Aerowisata Catering Services.
These goods will enter the Red Cross supply chain.

The Rp 125 million-worth of ready-to-consume foods were
purchased and loaded directly onto Indonesian naval vessels
departing from Jakarta to Sumatra on Jan. 4.

Two 20-foot containers with nearly 1,000 boxes of donated
goods -- clothing, blankets, sheets, pillows, shoes, food --
began the 40-hour journey overland to Jakarta, sponsored by Santa
Fe Relocations. This cargo is expected to join Tuesday's naval
transport to Aceh.

The overland cargo will be received in Jakarta by Indonesia
Peduli, a relief conglomerate organized by Exxon Mobil, Unilever,
Asia Pulp & Paper/Sinar Mas Group, General Electric and British
America Tobacco. Goods are centralized at Worlwide Movers in
Jakarta for upload onto military vessels. Non-governmental groups
including Mercy and Oxfam will help distributing these goods in
Sumatra.

Collection efforts were under way on Dec. 27, and three days
later five warehouses of various sizes were filled. These
contributions came from the Bali Hotel Association's 63 members,
hotel staff, hotel guests, travel agencies, private companies and
individuals across Bali.

Local companies Dijon and Ombak Putih coordinated a central
collection center for businesses and the general public, merging
these contributions into the BHA supply system.

Toh Jiwa Cargo, Bintang Supermarket and Sourcing Bali
contributed hundreds of packing boxes and Sourcing Bali crew
members packed literally thousands of towels, sheets and blankets
for shipment. As packing continues, it is estimated that three or
four more 20-foot containers are required to transport existing
donations to Aceh.

Those wanting to contribute should contact: The Workshop, Jl.
Muding Indah 2X Gang Anyelir, Kerobokan Kaja, telephone: (0361)
423596/425754. -- JP