Civil servants in Bantul regency, Yogyakarta, have been asked to set aside a small portion of their wages to donate to the Japanese disaster relief effort as a token of their appreciation for Japan’s help after the 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake.“We will encourage civil servants to voluntarily donate some of their salary and invite people to do the same to help the victims of the Japan disaster,” Bantul Regent Sri Suryawidati said Wednesday.
The regent said that the people of Bantul were eager to repay Japan, which was one of many countries that donated money in the wake of the devastating earthquake that killed almost 6,000 people and displaced 1.5 millions others in 2006.
She said the donations would be sent to Japan. “This is our way of showing our care and gratitude for what the Japanese did for us during our hard times,” she added.
“Japan is much richer than us. So, don’t look at how much we give but at how we respond to their suffering,” she said.
She said the regency administration would also organize for volunteers, including Indonesian Red Cross workers, to go to Japan to help in the relief effort.
Widodo, a resident of Sumberagung, Bambanglipuro, said Japan deserved Indonesia’s help because it had helped Bantul cope with its emergency and in the ensuing reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts.
After the 2006 earthquake, Japanese citizens and their government sent logistics and emergency field hospitals to Bantul.
During the rehabilitation period Japan organized various livelihood programs, including facility and business building.
Japan also provided Rp 18 billion (US$2.07 million) worth of lavatories to 59 schools for the disabled in the affected regions across Yogyakarta province.
The disaster that hit Japan’s northeastern prefectures of Fukushima and Miyagi has moved not only the Bantul administration but also other community groups and institutions in the area.
Gadjah Mada University set up facilities for the Japanese students studying at the university to monitor the news from their hometowns and get in contact with their families and friends.
Hundreds of children in the province held a program called Jogja Kids Act for Japan, in which they wrote good-will messages on postcards addressed to Japanese children, and made origami to be exhibited at a museum in Osaka, Japan.
Bali also organized events to honor the people affected by the Japanese disaster.
World Silent Day (WSD) supporters created 1,000 individual origami in the form of birds, and presented them to Deputy Consul General of Japan in Denpasar Hirashima Shusaku during the commemoration of World Silent Day, which fell on March 21.
“The origami birds symbolize hope and peace as well as support for the Japanese people,” said the statement from WSD’s members.
“We express our deepest empathy and solidarity to the people of Japan in this difficult time. Our prayers and thoughts are with those who have suffered due to the tsunami and connected disasters in Japan, including the possible radiation disaster due to the accident at the nuclear power plant.”
Shusaku responded, “We are thank-ful for the solidarity and sympathy of the Balinese people toward the people of Japan who are currently suffering from tremendous disasters.”
The regent said that the people of Bantul were eager to repay Japan, which was one of many countries that donated money in the wake of the devastating earthquake that killed almost 6,000 people and displaced 1.5 millions others in 2006.
She said the donations would be sent to Japan. “This is our way of showing our care and gratitude for what the Japanese did for us during our hard times,” she added.
“Japan is much richer than us. So, don’t look at how much we give but at how we respond to their suffering,” she said.
She said the regency administration would also organize for volunteers, including Indonesian Red Cross workers, to go to Japan to help in the relief effort.
Widodo, a resident of Sumberagung, Bambanglipuro, said Japan deserved Indonesia’s help because it had helped Bantul cope with its emergency and in the ensuing reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts.
After the 2006 earthquake, Japanese citizens and their government sent logistics and emergency field hospitals to Bantul.
During the rehabilitation period Japan organized various livelihood programs, including facility and business building.
Japan also provided Rp 18 billion (US$2.07 million) worth of lavatories to 59 schools for the disabled in the affected regions across Yogyakarta province.
The disaster that hit Japan’s northeastern prefectures of Fukushima and Miyagi has moved not only the Bantul administration but also other community groups and institutions in the area.
Gadjah Mada University set up facilities for the Japanese students studying at the university to monitor the news from their hometowns and get in contact with their families and friends.
Hundreds of children in the province held a program called Jogja Kids Act for Japan, in which they wrote good-will messages on postcards addressed to Japanese children, and made origami to be exhibited at a museum in Osaka, Japan.
Bali also organized events to honor the people affected by the Japanese disaster.
World Silent Day (WSD) supporters created 1,000 individual origami in the form of birds, and presented them to Deputy Consul General of Japan in Denpasar Hirashima Shusaku during the commemoration of World Silent Day, which fell on March 21.
“The origami birds symbolize hope and peace as well as support for the Japanese people,” said the statement from WSD’s members.
“We express our deepest empathy and solidarity to the people of Japan in this difficult time. Our prayers and thoughts are with those who have suffered due to the tsunami and connected disasters in Japan, including the possible radiation disaster due to the accident at the nuclear power plant.”
Shusaku responded, “We are thank-ful for the solidarity and sympathy of the Balinese people toward the people of Japan who are currently suffering from tremendous disasters.”