Ford Motor Company Aids India After Earthquake Wreaks Havoc

31 January 2001
Ford Motor Company Aids India After Earthquake Wreaks Havoc
    DEARBORN, Mich., Jan. 31 Ford Motor Company , in
conjunction with Ford India Ltd., is providing aid after an earthquake ravaged
India on January 26, 2001.  Tremors registered between 7.6 and 7.9 magnitude
-- India's greatest in 50 years.
    This assistance includes dispatching 21 mobile trauma care units to the
Gujarat state, the area in the greatest need.  These units will include 30
medical doctors, 30 paramedics and Ford India support personnel as well as
blankets and food packets, and will help deliver needed medical assistance to
rural areas.  Additionally, the Ford Motor Company Fund is making a
contribution to the American Red Cross to assist in the earthquake relief
efforts.
    In the United States, the Ford Asian Indian Association, a professional
and personal resource group of more than 2,000 Asian Indian employees of Ford,
is coordinating relief efforts with the local Indian community and is setting
up collection centers within the Ford campus where all employees will be able
to donate money, canned food, blankets and other supplies.  Several Ford
operations elsewhere around the world also are developing similar assistance
initiatives.
    Ford India Ltd. is headquartered in Chennai and produces the Ford Ikon.
Ford India has two dealers located in the Gujarat state -- in Ahmedabad and
Baroda -- and two branches in Surat and Rajkot.  All dealership and service
center personnel and their immediate families were unharmed, and none of the
facilities or cars in inventory sustained damage.  Employees and facilities at
Ford India in Chennai also were not harmed by the quake.  Ford India's
employees are donating blood and relief supplies, and Ford's dealers in
Gujarat are continuing to assist the Company's humanitarian mission.
    Anyone interested in contributing to the earthquake relief efforts may
contact the American Red Cross at 800-HELP-NOW or the India Earthquake Relief
Fund of Michigan, P.O. Box 531840, Livonia, Michigan 48153-1840.