PROGRESS

What has been achieved:

Our organization started with 2 people on the day of the quake and gained volunteers at the rate of one every day since. The key mechanism was the use of the www. A simple web page and e-mails to all our friends and family triggered an amazing response. Within 5 days we had 2 charter boats loaded and funded by Aus Aid with a brief to head to the Banyak Islands. Within 2 weeks we had secured the Batavia and pledges of funding for over $100,000. During the first 3 months of operations we often carried over 25 volunteers aboard Batavia and on our last mission to Nias & Simeulue we departed Banda Aceh with 42 volunteers on board.

Image Jason Childs - Batavia and MAF Beaver at Patek - NW Aceh coast

12 Month Numbers at a Glance:

• TONS OF AID DISTRIBUTED BY SEA = 650+mt of food, shelter, hygiene and reconstruction supplies
• TONS OF AID DISTRIBUTED BY LAND= 50+mt of Aquaboxes to Gomo area
  
• MEDICAL SUPPORT FOR OBI MEDICAL TEAM IN ACEH = 5,000+ patients treated
• MEDICAL SUPPORT FOR MIXED MEDICAL TEAMS IN SIMEULUE & NIAS = 2,730 patients treated
• ELM MEDICAL SUPPORT IN MENTAWAI = 230 patients treated
  
• FUNDS RAISED = US$450,000+
• EQUIPMENT DONATED = US$70,000+
• VOLUNTEERS ABOARD BATAVIA & OTHER BOATS = 170+
• VOLUNTEERS ACTIVE AT HOME = 50+
  

Log extracts:

• 27th Dec: Published simple web page, called and e-mailed friends, family and associates to raise awareness of Aceh and Nias areas. Contacted our Mentawai network to confirm status of the area and provided this information to UK, Australian and other embassies, UN agencies and the public.
• 28th Dec: Co-ordination and liason role in Padang assisting the Australian Naval Attache and AUS AID staff to contact the Mayor of Padang and other officials.
• 29th Dec: Co-ordination role to assist the Mayor to launch an appeal for help from the West Sumatran community via radio announcements. Secured recommendation letter 01/SK-3/2005 from the Mayor of Padang.
  
• 30th Dec: Commenced the preparation of 2 charter boats, family buckets, medicine, medical team and local volunteers.
• 31st Dec: Arranged departure of Electric Lamb bound for Nias and Pulau Banyak in Aceh.
• 1st Jan: Arranged departure of Sembilan bound for Nias and Pulau Banyak.
• 4th Jan: Assisted SAI local staff and worked with AUS AID to liase with other boats.
• Coordinated fund raising in Australia and around the world that secured donations exceeding US$20,000
• Early Jan: Provided situation reports to Surf Aid International and AUS AID from Nias, the Banyak Islands and Simeulue.
• Early Jan - Established contact with the Aceh Rapid Response Fund via Rolls Royce. Secured sponsorship for 4 beach landing skiffs, motors and equipment from ARRF valued at over $40,000
• Early Jan - Located Batavia, arranged charter documents and funding.
• Early to Mid Jan - Jane joined SAI medical mission to Sirombu, Nias.
  
• Mid Jan - Secured donor relief aid from over 10 NGOs, the Indonesian Navy, the Ministry of Marine Affairs and private donors. Loaded 150 tons of aid onto Batavia, secured sat-phone and extensive equipment list for the vessel.
• Early Jan - Secured British Telecom sponsorship for an Inmarsat telephone/data link for US$12,000
• Mid Jan - Established a website to support our efforts. Initially we were offered www.tolong.net but our content has now migrated to a dedicated site at http://www.electriclamb.org
• Mid Jan - First contact with Marshall Bailey and University Volunteers.
• 3rd week of Jan - Delivered Care International hygiene packs to Singkil for on shipment to Simeulue.
• End Jan till Mar - Worked with helicopter support from OBI to enable joint medical teams to reach remote villages in NW Aceh.
  
• End of Feb - Established and registered "The Electric Lamb Mission" as a California Public Benifit Corporation and applied for 501(c)3 tax deduction status for US donations.
• Early Mar - Jane worked with her co-members at GFC to gain Rotary International "adopted" status for ELM.
• Jan till end of Mar - 450+ tons of aid distributed to over 20 village communities in NW Aceh.
• 5,000+ people treated for injuries and illness over a 2+ month period in NW Aceh. Support for Operation Blessing & North West Medical Teams in addition to in-house medical volunteers.
• Mar - In partnership with Mentor Initiative, 2,500+ houses sprayed with residual insecticide to combat malaria and other mosquito borne diseases in NW coastal Aceh.
• In partnership with Obor Berkat Indonesia, provided relief to Sampioniet sub region of Aceh Jaya (pop 12,000+) inluding food, sanitation, hygiene and household needs. Support started 3rd week of January and continued for 2+ months when World Food Program support finally arrived.
• Early Apr - Worked with the newly formed Australian Indonesian Partnership for Reconstruction and Development (AUS AID) and North West Medical Teams, ELM/UV delivered food, sanitation and medical support to remote villages on Simeulue's West coast.
• Apr & early May - 150+ tons of aid distributed to over 20 village communities in Simeulue and Nias.
• Apr & early May 2,700+ people treated for injuries and illness over a 1+ month period in west Simeulue and SE Nias. Support from Operation Blessing & North West Medical Teams in addition to in-house medical volunteers.
• April, May - AIPRD/NWM/ELM/UV delivered the first on-site medical support to Nias communities in Gomo and Teluk Dalam sub regencies and delivered a significant proportion of the material and food aid to reach these remote areas since the March 28th earthquake.
• Early May - ELM secured a $13,500 donation from Geraldton Fishermen's Cooperative in West Australia and channeled the funds through Rotary.
• Jan till mid May - 6 Medical evacuations by boat and one by helicopter to USN MERCY. The MERCY medivac was from a very isolated mountain in central Nias and it saved a critically ill earthquake victim's life.
• Jun - Currently arranging the distribution of 50tons of family boxes from Rotary UK to Gomo area, Nias.
• July - Sep - Medical and school support missions to the Mentawai Islands on Electric Lamb.
  
• New organization name: ISLAND-AID.org registered in January 2006
  

For full descriptions of these milestones visit the UPDATES section on this web site.

ISLAND-AID sustainable support to isolated communities
island-aid.org operated by The Electric Lamb Mission