Abu Dhabi, February 09: The Indonesian Embassy, in association with the Indonesian Women’s Association in Abu Dhabi, held a charity bazaar on Saturday at the embassy grounds to benefit the victims of the Mount Merapi volcano in Central Java, which erupted in November killing 353 Indonesians and displacing some 320,000 residents.
“We hold a charity bazaar every year to help victims of Indonesia’s natural disasters and raise funds to help the poor people and for their education in Indonesia” said Murgiyati Supriyadi, wife of the Indonesian Ambassador, who is also chairman of the Indonesian Women’s Association.
“This year, our project is for the disaster victims in Central Java. Last year, we held a fundraising for the earthquake victims in Padang, West Sumatra and we raised around Dh20,000. Likewise, all proceeds from this year’s bazaar will also go to the victims of Mount Merapi,”
She added that the women in the community had volunteered to cook traditional Indonesian dishes such as chicken satay, fried noddle (mie goring), fried rice (nasi goring), Indonesian salad (gado-gado) and meatball soup, which were sold at the event.
The whole day affair, which was attended by over 2,000 guests including expatriates and Emiratis, also featured a cultural show of traditional live music, dances, folk songs, fashion show, Indonesian handicrafts and Batik-making workshop. The event was also enlivened by raffle and door prizes, as well as, airline ticket auctions for a return flight to Indonesia.
“The cultural programme is aimed at promoting Indonesian culture and tourism. This is the third time we are running this annual Charity Bazaar and Cultural Performance event and the attendees are double than last year’s,” said Lely Meilani, first secretary for Information and Cultural Affairs at the mission.
–Agencies–