Australian representatives from the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sent an aid package to the East Timorese National Council that contained gardening tools, food and clothing. The package arrived on Dec. 18, and was accepted by Xanana Gusmao, president of the council.
"This is a great Christmas present for my people," Gusmao said. "While it is good to give hungry people food, it is best to give them tools so they can use them to grow their own crops and become self-sufficient."
Gusmao asked that the package be delivered by international peacekeeping troops to East Timorese in Oecussi, which is within West Timor.
The relief package, with shovels, hoes, mattocks, corn, rice, red kidney beans and children's clothing, was generated primarily by the LDS Church's farm in Griffith, New South Wales.
More than $262 million in cash and goods have been distributed in the past 15 years to victims of natural disasters, war and other calamities. Latter-day Saint Charities, the humanitarian relief arm of the LDS Church, often works with other organizations, such as Catholic Relief and the Salvation Army, in distributing aid.