Christians open two projects in tsunami zone

Indonesia (MNN) — It’s been eight months since the tsunami hit South Asia leaving thousands of people homeless and communities destroyed. Banda Aceh and Nias Island, Indonesia were two areas hard hit by the tidal wave and earthquake, but these are two areas being helped by International Aid, a Christian humanitarian organization.

IA’s President Myles Fish just returned from Indonesia where he attended a grand opening for two of their projects. The first one is in Banda Aceh. “It’s a facility that we’ve put together in partnership with Johnson and Johnson and the World Health Organization to provide repair services for medical equipment. One of the needs we’re trying to meet there is to provide a facility where medical equipment can be repaired and where technicians can be trained to repair medical equipment after we’re gone.”

Fish says the other project is their child survival program. “That’s taking place in eight different villages in very remote parts of Nias Island. These are villages that were all damaged by the earthquake. These are opportunities to provide very basic health care services for the population of these villages.”

While this region of the world is predominately Muslim, Fish says Christians are being accepted. “Everyone know what our motivations are. Our hope is, particularly with these two projects, that we’ll be able to develop the kind of personal relationships that are necessary so that we will one day have the opportunity to explain in more depth who Jesus Christ is.”

Fish says while this area of Indonesia was antagonistic toward Christians before the tsunami, that’s not the case now. Pray that these programs will be a testimony to those involved and that many would eventually turn to Christ.