A community-backed effort recently saw 10 tonnes of rice, thousands of packs of instant noodles, blankets, baby essentials, medical equipment and other vital supplies delivered across the Lombok Strait to the worst-hit areas, mainly in North Lombok Regency.
Mövenpick Resort & Spa at Jimbaran in Bali has joined the relief campaign in support of the victims of the devastating earthquakes in Lombok.
A community-backed effort recently saw 10 tonnes of rice, thousands of packs of instant noodles, blankets, baby essentials, medical equipment and other vital supplies delivered across the Lombok Strait to the worst-hit areas, mainly in North Lombok Regency.
The group also mobilised medical personnel from Dr Romy Associates.
Several other tourism groups including Infinity Holidays, Buffalo Tours and Elite Havens are also on the ground in Lombok, assisting with the island’s recovery.
In total, Mövenpick Resort & Spa Jimbaran Bali and its owning company, PT Summarecon Agung, raised IDR65,000,000 (approximatey US$5000), while Eka Jaya Fast Boat donated IDR300,000,000 (US$20,000) and PT Pramana Agung raised IDR13,000,000 (US$ 1000).
I Ketut Sugita, head of the Bali Tourism Society Cares for Lombok team, said, “The extent of the quake devastation on Lombok required the delivery of medical supplies “to the people who need it most, as quickly as possible”.
“I would like to thank everyone for their generous support but there is still a lot of work to do,” he added.
Wayan Suwastana, Mövenpick Resort & Spa Jimbaran Bali’s director of sales and marketing, who was born in North Lombok, is among the volunteers.
He said, “Everyone in Bali feels a deep sense of sorrow and wants to help our brothers and sisters in Lombok, who have been so terribly impacted by this disaster. I am proud to see so many organisations and individuals supporting this relief effort. By working together, we can help to ease people’s suffering.”
Horst Walther-Jones, general manager of the Mövenpick Resort & Spa Jimbaran Bali, added, “It’s truly heart-breaking to see what happened in Lombok. So many lives and homes have been destroyed. By joining this relief effort we want to show the people of Lombok that they are not alone, and that Bali stands shoulder to shoulder with them.”
Bali Tourism Society Cares for Lombok was established after the initial 6.4-magnitude struck the eastern part of Lombok on July 29, and was strengthened after the catastrophic 7.0 quake that hit the north of the island on August 5.
Research undertaken by ForwardKeys, which analyses over 17 million flight booking transactions a day, has revealed that the recent earthquakes in Indonesia have been responsible for a 26% slump in bookings to the destination since the second major earthquake on August 5.
Among those assisting the relief effort are Infinity Holidays and Buffalo Tours, who will build 150 short-term and 40 permanent shelters on Lombok where 80% of the island’s structures were damaged or destroyed by recent earthquakes.
Buffalo Tours country manager Indonesia, Peter Christensen, said, “We have committed nearly US$80,000 so we could build the shelters immediately instead of a fundraiser where help would be too late getting to those in need.”
Bastien Boulay of Elite Havens Luxury Villa Rentals said, “The people of Lombok rely on tourism and international visitors for their livelihood and it's important that we assist in ensuring the island is up and functioning as quickly as possible which will give these beautiful people back their jobs and dignity.”
Elite Havens has opened a donation page for those who wish to help the Lombok community - https://chuffed.org/project/lombok-earthquake-survivors