Indonesia (MNN)–Monday’s 8.7 quake devastated a region already lashed by December’s tsunami disaster.
Critical survival aid is flowing into Indonesia’s Nias Island, even as damage reports are trickling out. Global Aid Network’s (GaiN-USA) Duane Zook says, “We have been getting people in place to go in. In fact, we have a team of four medical people, and other people will be arriving in the next couple days on Nias Island to further assess the problem.”
As many as 2,000 people are feared to have died and many more were believed trapped under the rubble. A United Nations statement said 500 people were confirmed dead on the island. Zook says that’s the basis of their haste. “The preliminary reports indicate that up to 70-percent of the houses and buildings have collapsed or are damaged.”
But it’s more than a simple humanitarian project. During the initial phase of relief, their teams are most often asked, ‘Why are you doing this?’ Zook explains that’s at the heart of their work. “What an opportunity to then say, ‘The reason we do this is because of God’s love, God’s love for you, God’s love for the world,’ and that then opens up just an incredible opportunity for sharing about God’s love and Christ’s love for them.”
You can help GAiN by going to their website http://www.GAiNusa.org.
