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A team of eight World Vision relief workers expects to arrive in Dili on Wednesday. They are part of the first contingent of private aid agencies to return to East Timor. They will distribute rice to hungry Timorese and assess the most urgent needs of as many as 200,000 people expected to flock to Dili once order is established in the city.
"People fled Dili with nothing at all," said Al Dwyer, leader of World Vision's relief team and one of the last private aid workers to leave the city when post-election violence got out of hand. "Their homes have been burned, their crops destroyed. They'll all be starting from scratch."
Along with other humanitarian aid agencies, World Vision will distribute food already dispatched to East Timor by the United Nation's World Food Program. World Vision's initial team is composed of experienced relief workers who specialize in aid distribution, health and logistics.
World Vision operated a relief program in East Timor from June until September 7, when Dwyer was forced to leave Dili. The agency plans an initial 6-month, $3.5 million program to aid 25,000 people. Included will be monthly food rations, basic household goods such as blankets and cooking supplies, clothing and plastic sheeting, and agricultural tools and seeds for the November planting season.
Donations to World Vision's East Timor relief efforts can be made by calling toll-free 1-888-56CHILD (1-888-562-4453)
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World Vision's staff in the region are available for interviews between the hours of 9:00am and noon (ET) and 6:00pm and 9:00pm (ET). Please call the following individuals to schedule an interview:
Kathleen Brown, (202) 608-1842 (office); or (202) 607-3739 (cell) in Washington, D.C.
Dean Owen, (253) 815-2103 (office); or (1-800) 605-9475 (pager) in Seattle, WA.
or e-mail us at mediainfo@worldvision.org
World Vision is the largest, privately funded Christian humanitarian aid agency in the world, serving more than 70 million people annually in nearly 100 countries.
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