The earthquake and tsunami disaster
that occurred in Palu Valley on May 20 and Tomini Bay on May 23, 1938, in fact
attracted international attention. The disaster also attracted the attention of
the Queen of the Kingdom of the Netherlands at the time, Wihelmina.
Wilhelmina even provided personal
assistance amounting to 1000 guilders for victims of the disaster. This was
recorded in the Bredasche courant newspaper, published June 16, 1938, which
reported, after the earthquake and tsunami that struck the Palu bay area, May
20, 1938 and Tomini Bay on May 23, 1938, the Queen of the Kingdom of the
Netherlands, Wilhemina, handed over 1,000 aid guilder to the Governor-General
of the Dutch East Indies, for the benefit of disaster victims.
Similar news was also published by
other newspapers, such as De Telegraaf, Algemeen Handelsblad, De Gooi-en Eemlander,
Nieuwe Tilburgsche Courant, Leeuwarder Courant, De Banier, Het Vaderland, De
Tijd, Utrecht Volksblad, Zaan Volksblad, De Maasbode, Delftsche Courant
Courant, and Provinciale Overijsselsche en Zwolsche Courant.
In addition to the Kingdom of the Netherlands,
a number of other parties at that time also attempted to channel aid to the
affected areas. One of the recorded is the Salvation Army (Salvation Army).
This was recorded in a number of
newspaper reports, both Dutch and local publications, which related the issue.
One of them was the Het nieuws van den dag voor Nederlandsch-Indië newspaper
edition of May 25, 1938, which reported, Commander De Groot of the Salvation
Army, received a report from Central Sulawesi, that as a result of an earthquake
in the region, resulting in a loss of around 10,000 guilders from the base
agricultural colony in Kalawari / Kalawara. In addition, there were losses of
around 4,000 guilders, caused by damage caused by other buildings and schools.
In their base area in Kapiroi, almost
everything had been destroyed. The total losses caused by the earthquake
amounted to 14,000 to 15,000 guilders. For this reason, the Salvation Army
requested assistance from the public.
De Groot himself, whose full name is JW
De Groot, is one of the territorial commanders of the Bala Salvation Army who
leads the Indonesian territory. Reporting from the official page of the
Salvation Army, De Groot served between 1931-1938.
A few months later, to be exact October
1938, the Territorial Commander of the Salvation Army post JW De Groot, Colonel
AC Beekhuis with his wife, visited Central Sulawesi. This visit was to
celebrate the 25th anniversary of missionary work in the area. AC Beekhuis itself, as reported by the
official page of the Salvation Army, was the Territorial Commander who led
between 1938 and 1946.
As reported in the October 18, 1938
edition of the newspaper Soerabaijasch Handelsblad, Colonel Beekhuis said that
many had been destroyed by the disaster, but the disaster had no effect on the
Salvation Army.
On the occasion of his visit, Colonel
Beekhuis checked and decided what would be restored and renewed. Schools
affected by the disaster have been and are being repaired. In particular he
said, substantial financial assistance had been provided for this repair work
from their own circle.
The newspaper also reported, the
Salvation Army Congress was also held in Central Sulawesi, precisely in Palu.
This congress as written in the newspaper, was marked by a spirit of gratitude
and joy for the future.
This congress was considered as a
thanksgiving, because it was attended by the Territorial Commander of the
Salvation Army, the Resident Assistant and the Donggala Controllers, as well as
the Palu Gezaghebber.
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