Emergency aid after the volcano eruption in Indonesia

Mount Merapi, a volcano on the Indonesian island of Java, erupted on 26th October 2010. Further eruptions followed in subsequent weeks. Red-hot ash rained down on the surrounding areas, killing many people and forcing thousands to flee to neighbouring districts. Villages and farmland were engulfed by fire and then coated with a thick layer of ash.

Thousands of aid packages
Our subsidiary Indocement immediately initiated its own measures to provide humanitarian assistance. In November and December 2010, the company dispatched its own “care team” to the disaster area in Yogyakarta, which is located approximately 600 kilometres from company headquarters in Jakarta. The team distributed thousands of aid packages to people from the many villages that were affected by the eruption. Inside the packages were, among other things, sanitary articles, toiletries, biscuits, milk pudding, blankets and mattresses. During a second relief mission in December, the care team handed out a further 2,200 packages of rice and cooking oil to families in eight villages who had returned to their homes after the eruption. The decisions regarding the type and amount of aid to be given were taken on location according to the actual needs of the villagers.

Donations from employees
These and other aid measures were funded by Indocement together with the company workforce. All in all, employees have donated approximately US$37,000 to help the victims of various natural disasters that have hit Indonesia in recent years. In addition to the eruption of Mount Merapi, these include the tsunami that hit the Mentawai Islands in western Sumatra at the end of October 2010 and the flooding in West Papua, which also occurred in October. For Indocement, helping to provide emergency relief for the victims of natural disasters throughout Indonesia is a key element of our Corporate Social Responsibility programme.