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