Indonesian girls walk past ruins of a house in Yogyakarta, Central Java May 27, 2006. A powerful earthquake that shook Indonesia's royal city of Yogyakarta on Saturday killed nearly 3,000 people as houses and government buildings collapsed near ancient heritage sites in the area. Reuters/Stringer, courtesy www.alertnet.org

Westport, CT (May 27, 2006) - Save the Children is appealing for public support as it responds to the needs of thousands of children and families who have survived a powerful earthquake that struck early Saturday morning in central Indonesia.

The magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck about 250 miles east of the capitol, Jakarta, while many were sleeping. Fifteen hours after the quake, officials estimated nearly 3,000 had died from the disaster, with thousands more injured.

Save the Children officials are concerned that the earthquake struck near Mount Merapi, an active volcano that recently has been sending out large clouds of gas and ash. A major eruption of the volcano could claim additional lives and greatly complicate relief efforts.

"We are asking the American public once again to support our efforts in Indonesia as they did so generously following the earthquake and tsunami of December 26, 2004," said Rudy Von Bernuth, who heads Save the Children USA's emergency response operations. "We have assisted more than 276,000 survivors of the tsunami in Indonesia, where we have operated programs for 30 years."

Von Bernuth said that Save the Children staff members in Indonesia have begun to mount a rapid assessment in areas impacted by the earthquake to determine the immediate needs of children and families who have survived the earthquake.

"We will focus first on helping meet basic needs including providing water, food, medicines, hygiene kits and temporary shelter, with a special focus on ensuring that children are protected and safe," he said.

Following the tsunami, Save the Children played a leading role in helping protect children who survived the disaster. The agency helped reunite separated children with their families while also training teachers and re-equipping schools so children could return to school shortly after the disaster.

"In every disaster response situation, we work to inject some normalcy into the lives of children who have been uprooted from their homes and have seen everything familiar to them suddenly disappear" said Von Bernuth. "Children are very resilient and can overcome disasters, with the proper support and guidance."