U.S. gives $250,000 for flood victims

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

United States President George W. Bush has expressed sympathy to floods victims in Jakarta, extending US$250,000 in food aid under a program of the U.S. Assistance for International Development (USAID).

The USAID general counselor, John Gardner, conveyed on Tuesday Bush's sympathy and distributed food and medicine to 50,000 victims in Klender, East Jakarta.

"We are concerned about the problem of health, nutrition and children who could not go to school due to the floods," Gardner said, as quoted by Antara.

USAID might give more assistance if floods do not subside soon. USAID, in cooperation with World Vision Indonesia, has distributed 300 tons of rice, 16,000 cans of food, eight tons of beans and survival kits that include plastic bags, blankets and medicines.

The fund will also be distributed through the Catholic Relief Services and Mercy Corps.

The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has also provided assistance worth Rp 216 million to flood victims. Working together with local non-governmental organizations, WFP has also monitored the distribution to ensure that the much needed assistance is provided promptly to the victims.

While the Canadian ambassador to Indonesia, Ferry de Kerckhove, also announced that the embassy would provide Rp 100 million (US$9,700) to help flood victims.

The embassy, under the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Canada Fund for Local Initiatives program, will channel its support through the Suara Ibu Peduli (Voice of Concerned Mothers) to help 5,260 victims in South Jakarta.

Besides embassies, private companies and individual donors have also lent a hand to help flood victims.

Heavy downpour in Jakarta since last Monday inundated most of the city, including the "untouchable" areas around Jl. Sudirman, Jl. Thamrin and the Monas area.

More than 380,000 people whose houses were inundated have taken refuge in temporary shelters. They are now in deep need of food, blankets and medicine.