Rotary Club of Kuching Central, Sarawak, Malaysia

ALL ABOUT TSUNAMI...

HOW TO PARTICIPATE FOR DONATION? CLICK TO READ INSTRUCTIONS!
TSUNAMI Press Release 07 January 2005 (Donation from Staffs of Kim Hin Group)

FORMATION OF ACEH TSUNAMI DISASTER RELIEF EFFORTS COMMITTEE

Dear Rotarians,

I am pleased to inform you that a Committe has been set up for the 'Aceh Tsunami Disaster Relief Efforts'.

In view of the fact that Rtn Frankie Ong, who was more approriate to be the Chairman of the committee, is quite busy this month, I was asked by President Aw Tai Hui to be the Chairman of the committee.

A bank account will also be opened under the name 'Aceh Tsunami Disaster Relief Fund' with same signatories as the current bank account we are operating at HSBC Bank Msia Bhd. The committee felt that this is best way to operate the account. In this way, it will also make it easier for us all to solicit for funds from the public since they will be issuing cheques under this account name instead of issuing it to 'R.C. of Kuching Central'.

The committee has also agreed that all payments will have the prior approval of 2 members of the committee namely, the Chairman and another member (unless the Chairman is away and in which case, the President will be the alternate).

The names of the committee members are as follows:
1. Advisor: President Aw Tai Hui
2. Chairman: PP Andre Suharto
3. Secretary & Auditor : IPP Sylvester Fong
4. Finance: Rtn Ng Yaw Hua
5. Logistics: PE Augustine Wong
6. Procurement: PP. Chieng Lee Ching
7. Fund Raising & Collection: Rtn Steve Ng

I will provide constant feedback on what are needed to be sent to Aceh based on regular feedbacks from PP Ibrahim of the R.C. of Langkat. This info will be conveyed to Procurement who will then make arrangement to buy from the suppliers that can provide the cheapest price (based on same quality). Procurement will then contact Logistics to make arrangement on how the goods are to be pciked up for re-packaging (if needed), labelling and all neccessary documentation for exports. Logistics will also provide transport of the goods to the MAS cargo at the airport and inform the Rotary Club of Langkat on the consignment.

All monies received and spent will be recorded by Ng Yaw Hua who will also provide receipts and regular statement of income & expenditure.

Rtn Steve will continue with his fund raising activities and infact I am asking each Rotarian to do their part to help raise money. If you need a letter to support your case, I am attaching herewith a version which you can use. Feel free to do what is neccessary to get money. Report all pledges to Rtn Steve who will also chase each of you to collect the payment.

With best regards
PP. Andre Suharto
CHAIRMAN

PARTICIPATE IN THE RELIEF EFFORTS FOR TSUNAMI CASUALTIES IN ACEH PROVINCE, INDONESIA

The recent Tsunami tidal waves that hit many countries around the Indian Ocean on 26 December 2004 represented a catastrophe beyond imagination and believe. The Aceh Province in Indonesia is the worst affected area with the highest death toll that is increasing by the day.

The Rotary Club of Kuching Central, one of the four Rotary Clubs located in Kuching city, has taken up the lead to raise funds and to provide coordination and logistics to would-be donors for the benefit of the Tsunami victims in Aceh. The club is partnering with the Rotary Club of Langkat located 80km north of Medan between Banda Aceh and Medan. It is the nearest Rotary Club to the affected areas.

APPEAL FOR MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS AND/OR MEDICAL SUPPLIES:

We are appealing for good corporate citizens, organizations & individuals to participate to provide help by either donating medical supplies and/or monetary contributions which can be forwarded to the Rotary Club of Kuching Central.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR MONETARY DONATIONS:

Cheques should be crossed and made payable to ‘Rotary Club of Kuching Central’ with the contact person & address and the following words written at the back of the cheque ‘Aceh Tsunami Disaster Relief Fund’. Receipts will be issued accordingly.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR DONATIONS OF MATERIALS:

Materials requirement changes by the hour. Therefore, prior to making any donations of materials, kindly contact Mr. Chieng Lee Ching at 012-8866875 or 082-427032 to obtain information on what materials could be donated. Please call Mr. David Siaw of Sinar Mekar Sdn Bhd at 016-888 6989 or 082-433 333 to make arrangements for the donated items to be deposited at the warehouse at the following address:

Sinar Mekar Sdn Bhd
Lot 628, Block 4, MTLD, Jalan Bako
Demak Laut Industrial Estate
P.O. Box A98, Kenyalang Park
93800 Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

Sinar Mekar Sdn Bhd, a global logistic provider in Kuching is participating to provide all cargo handling assistance and storage.

About Rotary Club of Kuching Central

The Rotary Club of Kuching Central was established in December 1986 and currently has 36 members of various professions. For the past 11 consecutive years, the club has bagged the Rotary International Presidential Citation Awards for its fine achievements and fine performances as well as having received several Rotary International District 3310 recognitions.

About Rotary International (www.rotary.org):

Rotary International is the first non-profit making organization in the world where business and professional people are united worldwide to provide humanitarian services, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations and promote peace and goodwill in the world. It was established in 1905. In 1985, Rotary International initiated the PolioPlus Campaign, a major worldwide project to eradicate Polio from the face of the earth by 2005, the Rotary Centennial Year. One of the partners in this project is the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, founded by Bill Gates, the Chief Software Architect of Microsoft. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation committed to match dollar to dollar for every dollar committed to PolioPlus campaign up to a maximum of US$25 million. There are 65 Rotary Clubs in Rotary International District 3310 covering, Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei, Labuan, Melaka, Johor and Singapore.

A SMALL CONTRIBUTION CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LIFE & DEATH.
ACT NOW AND MAKE A POSTIVE DIFFERENCE!

INFRASTRUCTURE CONDITIONS IN ACEH PROVINCE, INDONESIA

Of the 220km of road in the Aceh Province, half of it has been destroyed by the tidal waves and earthquake.

Access to Meulaboh by road is only possible from Medan despite the bad road conditions and damaged to some bridges.

On the 4th of January 2005, Sultan Iskandar Muda Airport at Banda Aceh was paralysed for nearly the whole day because a Boeing 737-200 cargo plane which broke its landing gear. As the result, the airport was closed.

Prior to the Tsunami/earthquake incidents, there were about 10 flights a day going through this airport. At present, there are around 130 flights daily. You can therefore imagine the amount of activities in that small airport.

The land journey between Medan and Banda Aceh is around 12 hours whereas the land journey between Medan and Meulaboh is around 20 hours passing winding roads with steep terrain.

There were reports that some relief volunteers who were making their way between Medan and Meulaboh have been stopped for spot checks along the road by uniformed personnel on the pretext they want to ensure that these volunteers have nothing to do with GAM. However, in the process, these volunteers were also hassled for money between RM20 to RM30. Reasons being they need the money to buy petrol.

UPDATES FROM THE CHAIRMAN ON ACEH, 05 JANUARY 2005, 4:54PM

Dear Rotarians and supporters,

I have just received news from the Rotary Club of Langkat that the 1640kg of medical supplies they received from R.C. of Kuching Central are being sent out to Meulaboh and some to Malahayati Hospital which is full of refugees.

Tomorrow some of the medical supplies will go to smaller towns on the North Coast between Lhokseumawe & Sigli. These two towns were nearly wiped out 100%. Sadly, not much attention by the relief workers/aids are getting into these towns as the result of much focus given to larger towns such as Banda Aceh & Meulaboh.

The Rotary Club of Langkat, together with Aceh Sepakat (a local NGO) are working areas of the Aceh province not adequately covered by other relief organisations. They are usually the first NGOs going into these affected areas before other relief organisations moved in.

Rotary Club of Langkat, with only 12 members, needs to team up with Aceh Sepakat so that they can have an effected relief group.

The urgent needs now are as follows:

Blood donation containers and associated equipment (At the minor centres there is possibly no refrigeration so blood donations probably have to be given on the spot)
Equipment for minor surgery (50 sets)
Valium (oral or injectable) for anti kejang & penenang
Pavulon (organon)
Strong antibiotic such as Gol Cephalosporin (oral & injectable)
Cream antibiotic
Metronidasol/Flagyl
Antiseptic
Oralite
Anti diahrroea
1 unit ambulance for transport
1 unit 4-wd station wagon for transport
2 units motor trail for transport to remote areas

With regards to the vehicles request, we will need to look for used vehicles and then determined how to transport them. Ideally, these vehicles should either come from Penang or Singpore because of proximity to Medan and to minimise the cost of shipping.

Hope the above info is of some use to you all.

Yours in Rotary
PP. Andre Suharto
Chairman
Aceh Tsunami Disaster Relief Efforts Committee
Rotary Club of Kuching Central