Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation

After an earthquake on the afternoon of November 21 in West Java Province, Indonesia, Tzu Chi volunteers in Jakarta, Bandung, and Cianjur immediately made contact and worked together how to prepare supplies that would be urgently needed in the disaster-hit area.

As of the afternoon of November 22, the death toll of the magnitude 5.6 earthquake in Cianjur, West Java Province had reached 268, with 151 missing, 1,083 injured and more than 60,000 people left homeless.

On the 22nd, the first place the Tzu Chi volunteers arrived was a shelter in Cianjur. They distributed supplies to 60 recipients and visited places where it would be possible to hold free clinics. On the 24th, Tzu Chi volunteers provided further care for the affected people.

A crack in a corner can quickly expand. Whether it was a brick house or a concrete wall, with the tremors of the quake, the structure collapsed to the ground, and the roof that sheltered people from the rain and the sun was also damaged.

Hamida, a survivor of the disaster said: "I was sleeping at home, and I didn't realize that the house had collapsed. I just ran out and was lucky to be out of danger."

Bandung volunteer Chen Wei-fang said: "We came to Cianjur to provide emergency relief. Because we learned that there are still some shelters that have not received assistance, we set off from Bandung and traveled for 3 to 4 hours to come to distribute relief supplies here.”

Tzu Chi volunteers prepared diapers, toys and story books for families with young children. The emergency household items include blankets, clothes, hygiene products, and drinking water and food. Volunteers also prepared rice, cooking oil, and instant noodles for a public kitchen there.

On the 24th, a free clinic was held, at a location 800 meters away from a church.

Let us pray for people in West Java Province, Indonesia.

Reported by Dayal Lizzi from Indonesia