Oxfam cargo plane leaving for disaster zone

Oxfam is sending a chartered plane load of emergency aid supplies to Sri Lanka and Indonesia. The loading will start from shortly after midnight Tuesday/Wednesday (New Zealand time) and the plane will depart London the following day to Colombo, Sri Lanka and then on to the island of Aceh in Indonesia.

The IL76 cargo plane will carry 27 tonnes of emergency equipment worth NZ$270,000, which will be split roughly fifty-fifty between the two destinations.

The load will include water tanks, pumps and taps to set up emergency drinking water systems for homeless families, and latrine slabs to build emergency latrines.

Oxfam New Zealand has opened an emergency appeal to enable New Zealanders to contribute to the world-wide emergency relief efforts. New Zealand donations will be channelled through the Oxfam network to those most in need.

People who would like to give to Oxfam's emergency response should call 0800 400 666

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