Cargo Plane With $7 Million of Aid Leaves LAX For Tsunami Victims

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.”