US contact: Jeremy Barnicle, +1 503 367 7738 UK contact: Anna Clarkson, +44 (0) 7917 532954

March 8, 2007

-- USAID grants $100,000 to Mercy Corps for quake relief

-- Projects to provide food, water and other essentials to displaced families

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Three days after a powerful earthquake leveled towns in West Sumatra, Mercy Corps is rushing food, water and other relief supplies to survivors in Solok, the hardest-hit district on the island. As many as 72 people have been killed by the 6.3-magnitude quake, and thousands of people have been left homeless.

Yesterday, Mercy Corps staff assessed the damage in Solok, located 60 miles from Padang, and found widespread damage. According to the assessment team, more than 1,700 people have been forced from their homes, 14 schools have been damaged, and local water systems have been impacted, leaving vulnerable displaced residents without reliable access to clean water.

"Our first order of business is to help families with essentials," said Craig Redmond, Mercy Corps' Indonesia country director. "Their biggest needs, in addition to food and water, are supplies like hygiene kits, plastic sheets, cooking utensils and sleeping mats."

Mercy Corps was awarded a $100,000 grant from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to provide emergency assistance to affected communities.

With an existing office in Padang, Mercy Corps is well-positioned to respond quickly to this disaster. In Sumatra, Mercy Corps participates in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-funded Emergency Capacity Building Project (ECB), a collaborative effort of seven humanitarian agencies (including World Vision, International Rescue Committee, CARE, Catholic Relief Services, OXFAM and Save the Children) that are jointly tackling common problems in emergency response and preparedness.

As part of the ECB collaboration, Mercy Corps is partnering in this emergency response with Save the Children to focus on meeting immediate needs as well as the special needs of children and schools.

Mercy Corps also operates the Sumatra Healthy Schools Program in the region, serving over 170,000 students and teachers at schools on the island with fortified soy milk, de-worming pills and education about health, hygiene and clean water in four Sumatran provinces.

Mercy Corps has extensive experience responding to the needs of vulnerable Indonesian families. For the past several years, its 525 in-country staff have helped more than 1,000,000 Indonesians affected by poverty, conflict and disaster.

The agency provided rapid relief to survivors of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, and continues to help over 423,000 tsunami survivors return to their home villages, rebuild their communities and establish strong, vibrant local economies.

How to Help: Online: www.mercycorps.org Phone: 1-800-852-2100 Mail: Mercy Corps, Indonesia Earthquake Fund Dept NR, PO Box 2669, Portland OR 97208

About Mercy Corps: Mercy Corps works amid disasters, conflicts, chronic poverty and instability to unleash the potential of people who can win against nearly impossible odds. Since 1979, Mercy Corps has provided more than $1 billion in assistance to people in 94 nations. Supported by headquarters offices in North America, Europe, and Asia, the agency's unified global programs employ nearly 3,200 staff worldwide and reach more than 13.5 million people in nearly 40 countries. Over the past five years, more than 90 percent of the agency's resources have been allocated directly to programs that help people in need. For more information, visit www.mercycorps.org.