BURBANK, California (February 2, 2005) – Two Los Angeles-area relief
organizations, Islamic Relief USA and Operation USA partnered to send over
$7 million of emergency aid for tsunami victims in Indonesia. A 747 cargo
plane, donated by Polar Air Cargo, left for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia this morning
from Los Angeles International Airport. The United Nations World Food
Program has agreed to facilitate shipping the items from Kuala Lumpur to
Islamic Relief’s warehouse in Banda Aceh.
Included among the over 100 tons of aid items are medicine, medical and
surgical supplies, shelter material, food items, and hygiene kits. Half of the
contents of the shipment was provided by Islamic Relief USA, and the other
half was provided by Operation USA.
Local and national media outlets covered the airlift at a press conference at
Los Angeles International Airport. This shipment, the largest in-kind donation
in Islamic Relief USA’s history, marks the end of its emergency phase for
tsunami relief. Reconstruction and rehabilitation projects in Indonesia are
already underway, and will continue at least until 2007.
Three additional organizations helped provide the contents of the shipment –
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Global Operations and
Development, and MedPharm, LLC. The aid will be distributed by Islamic Relief
representatives in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
Islamic Relief USA spokesperson Arif Shaikh said in a statement:
“Islamic Relief is extremely excited about this shipment, as well as our
partnership with Operation USA. This will hopefully go a long way to help
tsunami victims. We would like to thank everyone who made this possible,
including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which helped
provide some of the contents of the shipment, and the United Nations World
Food Program, which is helping facilitate the shipment from Kuala Lumpur to
Banda Aceh. We also hope that people don’t forget about the tsunami
victims, as they will continue to need support for years to come during the
reconstruction phase.”