After two consecutive earthquakes struck the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF) is providing immediate food aid to over 2,400 survivors in remote areas. TPRF is working with the Yayasan IDEP, a local non-profit organization, which reports that thousands of survivors in the Padang Pariaman area have not received “help whatsoever to date” and are “homeless and desperate for food and clean water.”

According to their reports, IDEP is targeting people in the outer vicinities who have been impacted not only by the earthquakes but also by massive landslides. The report stated: “Helicopters carrying food and medical supplies had been dispatched to the highland, but they are not carrying enough supplies to fulfill needs on the ground. The few that have received help to date have only been provided with some instant noodles, not nearly enough to help people survive. They have not had any proper food for more than a week now, and are getting weak and desperate for immediate assistance.”

Over the next two months, using small trucks and vehicles, volunteers from the local Lumbung Derma Coalition, a coalition over 10 NGOs from the West Sumatra region, are partnering with IDEP to directly distribute rice, eggs, tea and milk to at least 2,400 people, with special provisions for children, pregnant and lactating women, and the elderly. Additional provisions of enriched milk will be provided for children who are malnourished and ill. This emergency response support will help reduce immediate suffering and the ongoing impact of disease and malnutrition for the affected homeless people in the area.

TPRF has provided several grants to IDEP after earthquakes, mudslides and a tsunami. IDEP Executive Director, Petra Schneider, said: “We cannot begin to express the depth of our gratitude for this excellent working partnership that has resulted in the relief of thousands of people in plight to date in Indonesia. Your support will make an incredible difference in relieving some of the suffering and helping people to build up their strength and ward off potential disease, especially children and the elderly.”

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