Tsunami Fund Ceremony And Seminar

From left, Joe Passanise, President of the St. Louis-Bogor Sister Cities Committee, and John Campisi, Chairman of the St. Louis County Council, are shown giving a $3,200 check to Daulat H.A. Pasaribu, Indonesian Consul General, to help support victims of the tsunami disaster. Witnessing is Alex Soetjipto, Principal/Board chairman of the St. Louis-Bogor Sister Cities Committee. The donation was made in ceremonies at World Trade Center Saint Louis on January 27, 2005.


St. Louis-Bogor Sister Cities Committee Donates $3,200 to Indonesia Tsunami Relief Effort

JANUARY 27, 2005, St. Louis, Missouri ...

The St. Louis-Bogor Sister Cities Committee today donated $3,200 to representatives of the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia to help support victims of the tsunami disaster that to date has killed more than 85,000 Indonesian people.

The St. Louis-Bogor Sister Cities Indonesian Tsunami Relief Fund raised the money to help Indonesians who lost homes, family and friends after a 9.0-magnitude earthquake erupted 95 miles off Indonesia's Sumatra Island late, triggering a tidal wave that ripped across the Indian Ocean.

John Campisi, chairman of the St. Louis County Council, and Joe Passanise, president of the St. Louis-Bogor Sister Cities Committee, gave a $3,200 check to Daulat H.A. Pasaribu, Indonesian consul general, in ceremonies today at World Trade Center Saint Louis.

The tsunami struck Sumatra the hardest of 12 nations affected by the disaster late in December. Millions of Indonesians lack clean water and basic supplies. Authorities anticipate greater human loss with the potential spread of cholera and other diseases.

Passanise said, "We sincerely thank compassionate St. Louis citizens and companies who made financial contributions to this relief effort, and we will continue to raise donations to help Indonesia's disaster victims."

The St. Louis-Bogor Sister Cities Committee initiated the relief effort with help from the Indonesian Consulate's office; Permias - the Indonesian Student Association of St. Louis; PLN, the Indonesian Electric Power Company; the St. Louis Center for International Relations; and World Trade Center Saint Louis.

Tax-deductible donations to the "St. Louis-Bogor Sister Cities/Indonesian Tsunami Relief Fund" should be mailed to Southwest Bank, 700 Corporate Park Drive, Clayton, MO 63105 .

St. Louis County and Bogor officially established a Sister Cities relationship last May to promote business, cultural and educational exchange. Bogor is a city of 700,000 near the Indonesian capital city of Jakarta. The non-profit St. Louis Center for International Relations ( http://www.slcir.org/) coordinates 14 sister cities programs in St. Louis City and County, and is affiliated with World Trade Center Saint Louis.

For more information about the "St. Louis-Bogor Sister Cities/Indonesian Tsunami Relief Fund," please contact Joe Passanise at 314-616-4216 or mailto:jpassanise@yahoo.com.