29 MAY 2006

Save The Children Calls For Donations

Approximately 40,000 children have been directly affected by the earthquake that hit Java on Saturday evening creating devastation in its wake. Many have been injured and many more are without shelter. The Save the Children team in Bantul, the worst affected region, estimate that 80% of houses are damaged. Initial assessments by the team report that families' immediate needs are shelter, blankets, cooking utensils and hygiene items.

Save the Children is appealing for donations to fund our response for the children in Java who have been left homeless and scared following the earthquake yesterday.

Save the Children is already working to deliver hygiene kits to 1,000 affected families. These kits, containing soap, detergents, towels and toothbrushes, have been diverted from the proposed Mount Merapi volcano response for use in Yogyakarta. Thirty boxes of games and toys, including sports equipment, are also heading for Yogyakarta to provide children with some relief.

Kevin Byrne, Save the Children Indonesia Director is concerned for the wellbeing of the surviving children, "When we consider that children living in these towns have been aware of the possible eruption of Mount Merapi, and that many of them will remember the images and stories of the tsunami in Aceh, we are expecting to have to deal with a lot of trauma over the coming weeks. It is critical to get children back to as normal activities as possible to speed their recovery, hence our focus on games and education, as much as on essentials such as shelter."

More Save the Children emergency experts are on their way to the earthquake zone, including a team who flew out from the UK last night. Save the Children spokesperson Fay Mahdi is available for interview on +44 7831 650 409.

Save the Children has also placed orders for the following kits which will be distributed as soon as is possible;
* Family household kits (cooking utensils, plastic sheeting, tools, torches stove and jerry cans)
* Further game kits for use in safe play areas

* Education kits (textbooks, pencils, crayons, paper)
* Teacher kits (teaching supplies, chalk, paper etc)

This is how we will use your donations;
Hygiene kits for a family - $75
Family household kits - $225
Enough toys and games for 20 children in a "safe play area' - $150

Please donate now by calling 0800 167 168 or visiting www.savethechildren.org.nz or sending your donation to Save the Children, PO Box 6584, Marion Square, Wellington.

ENDS

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