Indonesian Mennonites organize aid for quake victims

Hendro (left) and Mugiyem, a Mennonite couple in Pundong, fled their house as it collapsed in the earthquake. They are currently living in a tent and receiving aid from humanitarian groups, including Indonesian Mennonite churches.

Mennonites in the area hit hardest by the May 27 earthquake that killed more than 6,200 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless mobilized quickly to help. A new organization, Mennonite Diakonia Service (MDS), was formed and set up a command centre in the Pundong District of Bantul County.

MDS identified “refugee cluster points” in order to focus its response ministries, including providing medical treatment and distributing food staples, blankets, used clothing, and personal care items, and offering trauma healing. Longer-term goals include reconstructing homes for 100 families and schools in Pundong.

The Mennonite church in Pundong has 80 adult members and 55 children in 41 families. The quake damaged all their homes; 38 of them heavily.

Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is also responding to the disaster, and is appealing for $290,000 to assist survivors.

Central Java, where the quake struck, is predominantly Muslim, but the region is also home to the majority of Indonesia’s Mennonites. Indonesia has three Mennonite conferences with a combined membership of more than 87,000.

—from reports