When flash floods hit the North-Sumatran district of Bahorok, 100 km north of the capital Medan, , it caused a devastating landslide that killed or buried alive some 245 people and destroyed the renowned Orang Utan Sanctuary. MR was among the first foreign NGO to respond, dispatching its first relief team to provide food, clothing and blankets, to more than 400 families who survived the disaster. Following this, subsequent teams brought temporary shelters to accommodate 6,000 people who had lost their homes and provided S$12,300 worth of building materials to kick-start the reconstruction work.

The ability to respond swiftly was made possible by the early funding from Al-Istighfar Mosque. While there, the MR team established good will and strong networks with the local authorities, which later proved crucial in facilitating the early intervention of MR’s Tsunami relief teams a year later in 2004.

About Mercy Relief

Mercy Relief is a Singaporean humanitarian organisation which engages in both disaster relief and sustainable development programmes. It was established in 2003 as an independent non-governmental humanitarian charity responding to the human tragedies in Asia. Mercy Relief’s aid programme focuses on providing timely and effective assistance to disaster-stricken communities and has maintained the delivery of emergency aid within 72 hours from the point of appeal for assistance.  

In the past 12 years, Mercy Relief has disbursed over S$32 million in aid across 40 disaster relief and 53 sustainable development initiatives. Mercy Relief has impacted an aggregate of 2 million lives in 24 countries and areas, namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, DPR Korea, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal,  Pakistan, Palestine, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and Yemen.

For more information, you may call us at 6514 6322 or email corporateaffairs@mercyrelief.org

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