Aid agencies wind down tsunami fundraising

Some aid agencies are winding down their fundraising efforts for victims of the Boxing Day tsunami, five weeks after the devastating waves swept through parts of southern Asia.

Oxfam New Zealand spokeswoman Prue Smith told NZPA the organisation was starting to ease back its tsunami fundraising efforts.

"We are not starting any more new initiatives," she said. "Things that are already in place will continue, but we've almost got to the $1.8m target that we had set ourselves for the five years of work that we've got in place."

The organisation was now urging the public to remember other forgotten emergencies that "desperately" still needed money, she said.

A spokeswoman for Catholic aid agency Caritas told NZPA the organisation was still accepting donations but were now encouraging donors to turn their attentions to its annual Lent appeal for long-term development projects around the world.

Save the Children would still accept money for tsunami victims, but would not be actively campaigning, a spokeswoman said.

But initiatives already in place would continue, including fundraising with the New Zealand Rugby Union at this weekend's International Sevens tournament in Wellington.

Other aid agencies, including World Vision, Unicef and the Red Cross said they had no plans to ease back on fundraising efforts.

New Zealand Red Cross spokeswoman Christine Langdon said it was "status quo" for the organisation.

"The situation is that the emergency phase is fairly well over and we're now moving into the reconstruction phase," she told NZPA.

"We do still have events going on and we are still accepting donations so nothing has really changed for us."

Meanwhile, 62 New Zealand Defence Force personnel leave for Indonesia this Thursday to replace personnel who have been in Jakarta, Medan and the tsunami devastated province of Banda Aceh since late December.

Acting commander joint forces New Zealand, Air Commodore Dick Newlands, said rotation of personnel was needed because of the demanding nature of operations in extreme working conditions.

The second contingent, consisting of a light medical team and airforce aircrew, will leave from the airforce base at Ohakea in Manawatu just before 11am on Thursday.

They will be deployed for 60 days, and should return towards the end of March.

Personnel currently in Indonesia will return to New Zealand after completing a handover with the replacement group.

They are expected to arrive back in New Zealand in the early hours of Tuesday, February 8.

- NZPA