In Indonesia, trade bodies and travel agencies have rallied together to fight the virus crisis. The Association of the Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies (ASITA), through its subsidiary Asita Care, has been distributing food to medical workers at government referral hospitals.
Budijanto Ardiansyah, vice president of ASITA, said the initiative by the national board of ASITA was then followed by its chapters. ASITA East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), for example, has donated 300 masks to the community through the NTT Covid-19 Handling Acceleration Task Force. Elsewhere, Asita Riau Islands has distributed 500 boxes of rice directly to motorbike taxi drivers, taxi drivers, street sweepers, and other needy people.
“There are four chapters that have carried out acts of solidarity – North Sulawesi, East Nusa Tenggara, Riau Islands, and West Java. Other regions may soon follow suit,” said Budi, who is also ASITA’s West Java chairman.
He added: “The form of assistance varies, depending on the conditions and needs in the region. Like in West Java, we chose to focus on helping affected travel agent employees by giving them grocery packages.”
Also contributing towards pandemic relief efforts is Panorama Group which has donated 100 personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical teams working in Covid-19 referral hospitals. The group also makes portable sinks to be placed in public areas, along with spray equipment and disinfectants.
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