NU, AusAID extend aid for quake victims

JAKARTA: Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the country's largest Muslim organization, and the Australian government agency AusAID have extended relief aid worth A$250,000 for victims of the magnitude 7.9 earthquake that devastated much of West Sumatra last month.

The aid is targeted to reach as many as 10,000 victims in 24 remote villages in the province, who were affected by the Sept. 30, 2009 quake, according to a press statement from the NU's Community-Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRMNU).

NU volunteers were sent Thursday to Padang, West Sumatra with the aid, which includes basic health necessities, school books, clothes and sanitation and trauma healing equipment.

NU said its central board was mobilizing its local members, including clerics, community leaders and volunteers, to provide assistance to the quake victims in cooperation with local authorities.

NU also sent 15 doctors and volunteers on Oct. 4 to assist emergency measures at the affected areas in Padang. -JP