On the early morning of 27 May 2006, the ancient city of Yogyakarta was struck by a 6.2 magnitude earthquake, 25 kilometers from the centre of the quake which was under the seabed south of Java Island. The worst hit areas were the Bantul and Klaten districts and the south of the city. The office of FORUM-ASIA member Sekretariat Anak Merdeka Indonesia (SAMIN) was damaged. FORUM-ASIA is currently extending our solidarity by facilitating a fundraising to accommodate SAMIN’s needs to repair the headquarters, and replacing damages caused by the earthquake as part of our solidarity and long time commitment to our members and networking partners.
Letter of Appeal
On the early morning of 27 May 2006, the ancient city of Yogyakarta was struck by a 6.2 magnitude earthquake, 25 kilometers from the centre of the quake which was under the seabed south of Java Island. The worst hit areas were the Bantul and Klaten districts and the south of the city. Through our member, Pak Muhammad Farid, who is the executive coordinator of Sekretariat Anak Merdeka Indonesia (SAMIN), we understand that the relief effort has so far been well coordinated and survivors have received some assistance.
As of today, the official death toll is 5,800 and counting, as rescue workers continue to discover bodies under collapsed houses. Officials estimate that 135,000 homes were destroyed and 647,000 people now live in makeshift shelters. To date, the international community has begun providing humanitarian needs related to emergency shelter, medical assistance, water, sanitation, food and child protection. The total cost for the six-month response is estimated at $US100 million.
In view of this, we at FORUM-ASIA are currently extending our solidarity by facilitating a fundraising to accommodate SAMIN’s needs to repair the headquarters, and replacing damages caused by the earthquake as part of our solidarity and long time commitment to our members and networking partners.
SAMIN has been an important institution promoting and protecting the rights of the children in Asia and has contributed towards the adoption of many Asian governments of the Child Rights Convention (CRC) and its implementation in Indonesia. This important work must be continued and so we appeal for all possible support towards the rebuilding of the facilities that will enable SAMIN to assist families and children's institutions.
SAMIN has opened an account specifically devoted to receive transfers for our relief and rehabilitation scheme. Any fund for that purpose can now be transferred to:
Name of account holder: ZAIMAH and SUBHANSYAH
Account number: 0372499883
Name of bank: Bank Central Asia, KCU Yogyakarta
Address of bank: Jl. Jenderal Sudirman 49-51, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Swift Code: CENAIDJA
For transparency and accountability, kindly notify us of any transfer, consist of basic information regarding Name of sender (please notify us if you want to be publicly anonymous), date of transfer and amount of transfer (in your currency). Such notification can be made through the email of SAMIN: [email protected].
Upon received of transfer in our account, you will be registered into our “list of contributor” and we will inform you of the receipt and its amount in our currency.
We will make periodic reports and final report indicating the use of the fund and such reports will be sent in electronic file to every individual and organization registered to in our “list of contributor”.
You can also let FORUM-ASIA knows how much you want to contribute. We can send the promised amount to SAMIN and receive your fund later on. However small it may be, your contribution will be appreciated as a sign of solidarity.
Background
SAMIN is a non-governmental organisation established in 1987 focusing on children. Their main objective is to advocate and promote human rights of children, providing technical assistance for NGOs in addressing issues related to children’s rights and building strategy for development of socio-cultural sphere supportive to the promotion of children’s rights.
A long time member of FORUM-ASIA, SAMIN is also a current committee member of Southeast Asian Committee for Advocacy (SEACA) and International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID).
FORUM-ASIA is a membership-based regional human rights organisation committed to the promotion and protection of all human rights including the right to development.
FORUM-ASIA was founded in 1991 in Manila and its regional Secretariat has been located in Bangkok since 1994. At present, FORUM-ASIA has 31 member organizations in 13 countries in Asia.
For further information about FORUM-ASIA’s and members’ involvement in the earthquake disaster and its aftermath, please contact Tadzrul Tahir Hamzah at [email protected] or telephone at 02 391 8801 ext 203.
