Tag: Humanitarian Relief and Disaster Risk Reduction

How do Churches Instill Hopes to People in the Midst of Disaster?

Banner image: Herda, elder of Boladangko Church (Right) and Cynthia, who lost her father Written by: Jady Sit (Communications Officer) In early November 2018, a few CEDAR’s staffs visited Sulawesi of Indonesia to learn about the local conditions from partner PESAT and visit families devastated by the earthquake. The article below is our staff’s sharing after her visit. If you would like to understand more about CEDAR’s relief work there, please visit the page “Indonesian Earthquake and Tsunami Relief”. “During the earthquake, the door was locked, and thus Cynthia’s father was trapped inside the house. When it collapsed, he died,” Herda, an elder at the Boladangko Church, said emotionally with her arm surrounding Cynthia. Sulawesi was struck by an

Indonesia Earthquake & Tsunami Relief Enters New Stage CEDAR Continues to Help the Affected on Recovery

Banner image: CEDAR’s Indonesia’s partner, PESAT, meets with representatives of an affected community and talk about their livelihood needs CEDAR and its local partner completed the first phase of relief work (until November 2018) in central Sulawesi, Indonesia, where earthquake and tsunami hit last September. CEDAR allocated a fund of 20,000 US Dollars (around HK$150,000) to support its partner, PESAT, in the first phase to distribute emergency food, cooking kits, hygiene kits and medication to 1,347 affected families. Last November, chief executive of CEDAR Fund, Dr. Raymond Kwong and two staff visited Sulawesi, and learned about partner’s post-disaster work, visited the affected people, and explored further response work through our partner. After a few days of visitation, observation,

CEDAR Calls for Emergency Assistance for Chin People Living in Conflicts in Myanmar

Since December 2018, the conflict between the Tatmadaw (Myanmar’s military) and the Arakan Army (AA, Rakhine rebels) in southern Chin State and northern Rakhine State had escalated, which had caused 6,000 people homeless till the mid of February. In the first week of February, there were over 180 villagers from Paletwa in Chin State fled to Bangladesh. CEDAR’s partner in Myanmar stated that there were at least 20 temporary campsites built along the border. The diaspora sojourning in the campsites urgently needs humanitarian aids now. CEDAR funded our partner* USD 18,000 (approximately HKD 141,300) this February to provide 6 days of food and blankets to 218 families from Paletwa in the temporary campsites. Temperature difference at the campsite

Emergency Relief to Flood Affected Indian Communities Completed, CEDAR Supported 13,000 Families in Kerala

“I hope to resume my work in the fields after the floodwater drains away, so that I can put food on the table.” That was the wish of a flood-affected farmer in the southern Indian state of Kerala. In August 2018, a devastating flood struck Kerala causing over 480 deaths and an economic loss of US$2.8 billion. As the flood victims go through a difficult time of recovery from natural disaster, CEDAR reached out and provided relief aid to them through EFICOR*, our long-term partner in India. Until 27 November 2018, 13,060 families have been benefited from our support. They received relief materials included rice, cooking oil, bath soaps, clothes, and bed-sheets, enough for each household’s use for

CEDAR VISITED ROHINGYA REFUGEE CAMP

Banner Photo: CEDAR’s Project Officer Pui Shan visits a Rohingya family in Cox’s Bazar. The mother, who gave birth to a newborn baby, heard about infant vaccination service during regular household visit conducted by community health workers. While strolling through a muddy and dusty field, CEDAR’s Project Officer Pui Shan saw rows of tents sitting next to each other that were simply built by timber and canvas. This refugee camp is located in Cox’s Bazar, southeastern Bangladesh, which is the largest refugee camp in the world to date. The military force of Myanmar has been oppressing the Rohingya since 2017, which resulted in death of thousands and over 700,000 Rohingyas in the Rakhine State of Myanmar fleeing to

The Letter from CEDAR | December 2018

Dear Supporters of CEDAR, Few weeks ago, I was in Donggala, Indonesia, one of the hardest hit regions by the earthquake and tsunami on 28th September. We visited the victims in 7 of the 11 villages/temporary camps, where CEDAR is offering emergency support via our local partner, PESAT. Please click for details there. Here, I want to share with you my reflection from the trip. Donggala, situated in eastern Indonesia, has a good population of Christians. The earthquake had not only caused the loss of many homes, but also brought severe damages to churches. In one of the villages we visited, the 2-year-old church building had completely gone. Today, most believers have to worship God either outdoor or inside a

CEDAR’s Chief Executive and Staff Visited Sulawesi Devastated by Quake and Tsunami to Discuss Further Response with Partner

Banner image: CEDAR’s Chief Executive Dr. Raymond Kwong passes a cooking kit to a representative of the village It has been over two months since earthquake and tsunami hit central Sulawesi, Indonesia. In early November, CEDAR Fund’s Chief Executive Dr. Raymond Kwong and two staff visited the area. The team met and talked to the affected people, as well as monitored the relief efforts and discussed about further response to meet the needs of survivors with our local partner, PESAT. http://www.CEDARfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/20181116-video.mp4(Available in Chinese Only) “By the sea, there was the tsunami; in the mountains, there were earthquake and landslides; inland, there were earthquake and liquefaction,” Yanti, a colleague of PESAT, pointed out the extensive impact of the disaster.

CEDAR Aided 8,000 Kerala Flood Survivors and Conducted Site Visit

Banner image: CEDAR received grants from the Disaster Relief Fund to distribute aids to flood-affected families in Kerala through our local partner The Kerala State of southern India experienced the worst floods in a century in August this year, killing nearly 500 people and affecting more than 5.4 million inhabitants. The survivors’ needs are huge. Our partner EFICOR* continues to distribute flood relief, such as food, clothing and hygiene items to them. Several weeks ago, we sent an officer to Kerala to inspect the progress of emergency relief. Following our allocation of around US$10,000 to EFICOR’s relief work, we were recently granted a total of HK$3.613 million from the Disaster Relief Fund by the Government of Hong Kong to

Update: CEDAR Supports Local Partner to respond to the Needs of Survivors in Sulawesi Indonesia

It has been almost 3 weeks of the earthquake and tsunami struck Sulawesi, Indonesia. The government has ended search efforts of missing people on 11th October. Over 610,000 people are affected by the disaster. More than 82,000 people have been displaced and at least 2,000 people were killed. Right now, the government is planning to relocate survivors and build temporary shelters in Donggala and Sigi. Some families have set up tents on the roadsides. A lack of proper sanitation facilities in the affected area remains a concern. CEDAR has allocated funds to support a local Christian organisation, PESAT, to distribute emergency items in 4 villages in central Sulawesi. About 1,000 households will receive food, cooking tools, and hygiene

Urgent: Indonesia Earthquake and Tsunami Relief

On 28th September, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck Sulawesi, an island in Indonesia. The quake was followed by multiple aftershocks and triggered a tsunami with waves ranging from 6 metres tall. As of 8th October, at least 1,900 lives were lost and more than 2,630 people have been heavily injured, recorded by the Indonesian government. Nearly 66,000 houses were severely damaged, and about 74,000 people have been displaced. Palu and Donggala, in central Sulawesi, were heavily affected, but access to the area were blocked due to roads destruction. Conditions of the survivors in certain regions of remote areas are unknown. Humanitarian workers are expected to arrive the area in a few days. The number of deaths and affected