Red Cross fund raising month begins today

JAKARTA (JP): Jakartans will have to set aside a bit of their incomes for humanitarian purposes in line with a two-month fund raising campaign launched by the Jakarta chapter of Indonesian Red Cross (PMI DKI) yesterday.

"The campaign will last from Sept. 17 until Nov. 17 during which we expect to get at least Rp 2 billion or 25 percent more than that of the figure we received last year," said Mrs. Hindarto, chairwoman of the organizing committee.

Last year the organization collected Rp 1.6 billion in a similar campaign.

The fund raising campaign was held by PMI DKI in connection with the celebration of its anniversary.

Mrs. Hindarto said that 10 percent of the funds will be donated to the national Red Cross office, five percent to the Jakarta office of the organization and 15 percent to finance the operational costs of the blood transfusion unit.

"The rest will be distributed to our branch offices in the city's five mayoralties to cover their operation costs," said the wife of the city police chief.

During the ceremony, which was attended by Deputy Governor for Social Welfare R.S. Museno and chairman of PMI DKI Muhammad Muas, Mrs. Hindarto symbolically distributed contribution receipt books to several organizations which will participate in the fund raising campaign.

"The organization has also signed an agreement with government agencies as well as private organizations who are willing to collect contributions," said Mrs. Hindarto, adding that such cooperation is very effective in collecting funds.

During the two month campaign motorists who process their vehicle ownership documents and travelers, including those who travel by plane and ship, will be encouraged to donate to the organization.

"This year we printed 71,665,000 books of contribution receipts, each consisting of 100 receipts," she said.

The receipts are in amounts of Rp 100, Rp 200, Rp 500 and Rp 1,000 per piece.

Mrs. Hindarto explained that the donations are also being collected at each branch of the organization in the city's five mayoralties with the receipts being a different color for each branch, white for Central Jakarta, pink for North Jakarta, yellow for South Jakarta, blue for East Jakarta and green for West Jakarta.

Blood donors.

Meanwhile Muhammad Muas said that Jakartans who need blood do not have to worry because the supply of blood at the organization is adequate and is provided for free.

"The city needs 1,000 pockets of blood every day," Muas said, adding that this year the organization expected to collect blood from 170,000 donors, up from last year's 163,058 people.

When asked about complaints from the public in the difficulty of obtaining B negative blood, Muas said that there are around 500 donors with negative rhesus blood which could be contacted in the city.

"That's the only problem we face but we always try to fulfill the demands of the public for that particular type of blood," said Muas, who is also a member of the House of Representatives (DPR).

An official from the organization recently said that there were an average of eight to 10 patients asking for negative blood monthly.

In order to ensure that the recipients get healthy blood, Muas said that since 1980 the Indonesian Red Cross has been examining any blood they receive from donors. (yns)