Palu & Donggala Emergency Relief

Based on the team’s evaluation, basic needs were still needed in several places. For this reason, the YUM team led by Farah Diba Agustin flew again to Sulawesi to continue its activities in the areas of Palu, Donggala and Sigi in January and April 2019.

We wanted to reach refugee populations who had received very little, if any, help and focused on thedistribution of basic necessities and post-traumatic healing actions. We went to villages that rescuers had not been able to reach because of landslides and muddy roads. What was quite incredible was that many people entrusted us with relief packs so that we could distribute to a greater number of victims; thus the number of victims assisted exceeded our projections (2500 families). In January, thanks to a donation from iAID (https://iaid.org/) we also distributed 1,000 solar lamps and water purifiers in the villages of Saloya, Amal and Kaliburu (Donggala sub-district).

Activities to help women and children to overcome the traumas of this disaster were also carried out. With children, it is mainly drawings, storytelling, relaxation. When we spot drawings that denote inner suffering, we refer these children to psychologists. In April, 178 children participated in the trauma healing sessions that included more varied activities; those sessions were conducted by a Board member of YUM – Dra. Ary Prawoto - who is a professional psychologist with years of trauma healing experience in Aceh after the tsunami. With teens, through discussion groups, we encouraged them to express themselves freely and tell us what they witnessed; this is usually followed by a relaxation exercise and yoga session to manage stress.

During our first mission, we had spotted the villages that we have been assisting in a continuous and regular way. There are, for example, two very special places: Saloya and Amal. The members of these two communities were expelled and had to re-establish a new camp 3 times, the last being in the middle of the forest. Thanks to a generous donation from GlobalGiving, the construction of 45 housing units, a public kitchen and a sanitation building were started in January 2019 in the village of Amal (Donggala sub-district). Because of heavy rains in February and March, the houses were not yet completed by the time we returned in April, but good progress had been made. YUM is also working with local NGOs to build 70 temporary shelters in the Sirenja Donggala area.

Links:

• News Article about housing (in Bahasa Indonesia)
• News Article on YUM's work in Sulawesi (in Bahasa Indonesia)

Our third visit to Palu and Donggala happened on November 20th for a duration of one week. The main focus was still to distribute basic necessities, such as food, water, hygiene equipment, clothing and educational materials for children. We were also able to purchase three (3) electricity generators for communities who were still living without electricity.

Our team observed that most aid agencies have left Palu. Only a few are still active and the assistance is incidental.

The villages visited by the YUM team were:

• Biromaru: The refugees are scattered in several points of evacuation in conditions that are quite alarming. The team organized a trauma healing session for children including entertainment programs, singing together, and shared snacks. Some 200 children were involved in this activity.

• Tanjung Padang: Coinciding with the commemoration of Mother’s Day in Indonesia, this trip also focused on providing assistance to mothers and women such as giving out basic personal hygiene kits as well as bread and 150 aid packages.

• Sirenja: During this trip, we checked on the construction of temporary shelters, for which YUM donated approximately $1,000. The construction plan targets 70 units of 5 x 5 meters in size, with wood frame, zinc roofing and fibre cement walls. Furthermore, these shelters can function as kitchens or tradestalls.

• Amal: During our visit, we realised that very little assistance had so far been given to refugees because the village is located in a remote area; this tribal community was badly hit by landslides.The team provided assistance in the form of towels, underwear and local snacks for adults and children. The number of refugees there is 86 from 24 families.

• Saloya: We visited the Saloya shelter for a third time. Refugees in this shelter have made efforts to improve the quality of their life; they established an emergency school tent, measures to ensure hygiene are taken and the blankets that had previously been distributed by our team have been washed regularly. The community was welcoming and friendly and ready to cooperate. At this shelter, the team also held activities with the children.

• Kaliburu: Kaliburu is a shelter that was identified by the local team as having received minimal assistance so far. Because going there by car is not possible, the team brought assistance to the farthest point that can be accessed and the community picked up the relief goods using a motorcycle.

Our team also reported that temporary shelters are needed as soon as possible given the health of the refugees and the frustation that can result from living in camps for long periods of time. The government has so far only planned to build 12,000 houses out of 86,000 severely damaged, while temporary shelters provided by aid agencies are categorized as uninhabitable (the same happened in Aceh some years ago).

Thank you once again for your generous support to this much needed project!