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Talk of the week: Swiss Humanitarian Aid chief visits Palu
Ambassador Manuel Bessler, the head of the Swiss Humanitarian Aid, talks to a woman whose family was affected by the Sept
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mbassador Manuel Bessler, the head of the Swiss Humanitarian Aid, talks to a woman whose family was affected by the Sept. 28 Central Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami. (Courtesy of Switzerland Embassy)
Ambassador Manuel Bessler, head of the Swiss Humanitarian Aid (SHA), visited Palu on Oct. 22-23. Accompanied by Kurt Kunz, the Swiss Ambassador-designate to Indonesia, Bessler reviewed Switzerland’s relief program for the victims of the earthquake and tsunami that struck Central Sulawesi on Sept. 28. Bessler also met the people who were displaced by the disaster as well as local authorities and aid organizations.
Switzerland also donated additional materials for a water treatment facility and shelter to the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI).
Switzerland has provided emergency assistance for the last three weeks to those communities affected by the Central Sulawesi disaster. Several SHA experts have been deployed to Palu, where they set up 300 family tents at three emergency camps between Palu and Donggala. Switzerland has also provided these camps with latrines and emergency drinking water bladders containing 5,000 liters of water.
The country has sent more than 30 tons of relief items to Palu that comprised 40 multipurpose tents, 800 tarpaulins, 600 mosquito nets, 300 kitchen sets and cleaning kits. Most of the relief items were donated to the PMI. The SHA also sent their experts to coordinate training with PMI staff.
Furthermore, Switzerland donated water treatment devices that can supply enough potable water to fulfill the daily needs of up to 200,000 people. It also donated US$500,000 to the emergency appeal of PMI and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
Switzerland has disbursed $1.67 million of the total $2.5 million it has allocated for its humanitarian activities in Lombok and Sulawesi.
