Latest News #315 – Indonesia
May 12, 2005

The following news concerns Indonesia.

Bible Society brings God’s love to the suffering people of Nias

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(Nias09.JPG) All photos taken by the Indonesian Bible Society in Nias, Indonesia, in mid-January 2005 when Society staff visited tsunami victims with members of the Benua Niho Karisto Protestant Church’s disaster emergency team. Available in low resolution only.

INDONESIA — While the tsunami that struck southeast Asia on December 26, 2004, has largely slipped from the attention of the world's media, Bible Societies and humanitarian organisations in the region continue to work closely with the thousands of people for whom it could take years for life to return to normal. One example of long-term commitment to tsunami victims can be found on the Indonesian island of Nias, where the Indonesian Bible Society (LAI) is supporting people who, even before the tsunami, were living in very difficult circumstances.

Back in 2003, LAI's One in Love program involved it participating in a collaborative venture to distribute 7,500 Nias Bibles to churches and Christians on Nias island, where more than 100 people had been killed by a flood. Before the people of Nias had fully recovered from this disaster, a much larger one struck. In the immediate aftermath of the tsunami, the Rev Zendrato, who led the Banua Niho Karisto Protestant Church earthquake emergency team, estimated that 78 members of church congregations from two districts had been killed and that 2,200 people had been forced to flee their homes.

Within three weeks, LAI had despatched local representatives for a three-day trip to the most badly affected areas, where, in collaboration with local emergency teams, they distributed biblical materials to Christians who had lost everything in the flood waters. Sometimes forced to abandon their vehicles and continue on foot, they managed to distribute items including 1,500 Indonesian Bibles, 900 Children's Bibles, 2,000 Bible comics and 35 cassette players.

Determined that this would be just the first stage in its efforts to be One in Love with the 700,000 residents of Nias following the latest disaster, the Bible Society lost no time in planning follow-up activities. As reconstruction and rehabilitation work gathers pace, it has so far distributed, in collaboration with NGOs and university students working as volunteers, 3,400 Portions for elderly people, 3,500 Portions for children, 200 cassette players, 220 Bibles on audio cassette and 1,700 blankets. A second huge earthquake on March 28, in which at least a further 500 people died, has made it very difficult to gain access to the island, but LAI is still making plans for the distribution of a further 5,600 Portions for elderly people, 4,000 children's Portions and 3,300 blankets.