Palu, Sail on! The Mustard Seed Mission Express Cross-national Love with 30 fishing boats

A 7.4 magnitude earthquake occurred in Sulawesi, Indonesia and was followed by a tsunami, causing Palu city severely damaged. It was the deadliest earthquake in the world in 2018. The Mustard Seed Mission cultivates overseas humanitarian aid for a long time, bring love from Taiwanese people and government together to donate more than 40,000 US dollars and purchased 30 new fishing boats to the fishermen to restore their livelihood.

The sailing ceremony on June 25th was spectacular, 30 new fishing boats set sailed to the ocean at same time; followed by dances from the local children, fishing boats painting and display of fish processed products. Joined by ZulkiFli, District Head of Tawaeli, Palu City, Lin Dean-Shiang, Director General of the Taipei Economic and Trade Office in Surabaya, Wu Xiaoping, CEO of The Mustard Seed Mission, and Basuki, Senior Leader of Pesat, together they painted the fishing boats as a milestone of rebirth and hope after the disaster!

Palu City was hit by a massive tsunami on September 28, 2018. Officially, 2,256 people died, 1,309 missing and 14,254 injured, with 223,751 displaced in temporary shelters. The Mustard Seed Mission has connected the love of Taiwan people and donated a total of US$44,323, along with US$4,800 from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of China (Taiwan), and started a recovery project in Palu and cooperated with Pesat, an Indonesian NPO, to help the survivors to rebuild their lives.

Rendra, a 36-year-old fisherman, said that when the tsunami struck, his wife and his second son were swept about 50 meters away. When they found his son, he was not breathing. Fortunately, after the first aid treatment, his son showed vital signs again. His wife was injured and couldn’t walk for a month. Rendra's family is in good recovery now. He is very grateful to God that he can still make living from fishing in this difficult phase of life after the disaster. Although he does not know that where Taiwan is, he is very grateful for this assistance from overseas.

The restoration project assisted Padoloan, Panau and Kayumaue, the 3 serious damaged fishing villages in the coastal areas, by purchasing 30 fishing boats, 70 fishing nets and 2 sets of fish collectors, aiming to send local fishermen back to the sea to make a living again. Moreover, with the purchase of shredded fish equipment, women learn skills to preserve and extend shelf life of fish catches; they also learn e-commerce to sell their product. Furthermore, providing after-school care, counseling, and post- trauma treatment activities to children.

In response to the severely affected remote mountain villages, farm tools and pig breeding were provided. Farmers were taught to start organic farming to improve their lives. At the same time, three temporary kindergartens were set up in the villages of Boladangko, Lonca and Namo to allow children to be taken care of.

The Mustard Seed Mission has a profound relationship with Indonesia since 50 years ago; within overseas development projects, Indonesia was one of the key countries been supported. Indonesia is currently the largest source of foreign labor in Taiwan, in particular, medical care and home care industry, highlighting the close relationship between Taiwan.

Facing the long reconstruction period in Palu City, The Mustard Seed Mission will plan to invest in community sponsorship, long-term disaster recovery and reconstruction, and sending Taiwan volunteers to promote disaster prevention education in order to save more lives while encountering future disasters.

More information about Indonesia disaster recovery project, please check
https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/indonesia-tsunami-relief-plan/

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The Mustard Seed Mission

This release was published on openPR.