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FROM THE FIELD

Banda Aceh: From survivor to volunteer
13 Jul 2009 12:19:00 GMT
 Source: International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) - Switzerland
Nanda Aprilia, American Red Cross, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia

Website: Website: http://www.ifrc.org/tsunami

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Cut Resmi at her home in Banda Aceh. (p-IDN1243)
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Cut Resmi at her home in Banda Aceh. (p-IDN1243)
Nanda Aprilia/American Red Cross

Background

•  Disaster risk reduction

•  Indian Ocean tsunami

•  Earthquakes

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When the tsunami came, Cut Resmi was planting flowers in the yard of her home in Banda Aceh. The waves swept away one of her two children and destroyed her house, leaving Cut, her husband and their surviving son homeless. After the disaster, Cut says she was devastated and felt nearly hopeless.

"I gave up and never imagined that we would have a home again," she says. "I just tried to think about my son, who was still very young and needed me to be strong."

Cut and her family found refuge in temporary barracks built for individuals displaced by the disaster. Soon after their arrival, the American Red Cross and Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) psychosocial support programme began providing support to survivors in the area.

Support networks

Early on, the programme focused on barracks and temporary living centres to provide help for those who needed it most - survivors like Cut who had lost nearly everything in the tsunami and were separated from the traditional support networks of friends, family and neighbours that enable individuals cope with and overcome tragedy.

Along with several fellow residents, Cut took part in activities focused on helping affected individuals to cope. Altogether, the American Red Cross and PMI provided emotional support to more than 30,000 survivors like Cut in the six months following the disaster.

Actively engaged in community life before the tsunami, Cut soon became a community psychosocial facilitator, helping to organize supportive activities within the barracks and providing solace to those who were still grieving.

Heal from the trauma

"Survivors really needed this kind of assistance," she says. "It allowed us to come together and begin to heal from the trauma, even while we were still unsure about the future and mourning those we had lost."

Four years later, she and her family have moved into a new home on the land where their old village once stood. Cut has started a small business selling clothes and remains active in her community. So when the American Red Cross and PMI community-based first aid (CBFA) programme began in her village, she was eager to get involved.

The programme addresses the longer-term health needs of tsunami-affected individuals through outreach and education about emergency first aid as well as common health threats. The disaster destroyed more than 400 health facilities and displaced or killed nearly a third of all health workers in Aceh, further weakening a healthcare system strained by nearly three decades of conflict.

Preventable diseases

Though significant progress has been made in restoring health services, many, especially those in rural areas, remain unable to access basic health care. Preventable diseases such as dengue and malaria remain common and are all too often fatal.

As a health volunteer, Cut feels empowered to educate her friends and neighbours about health risks and how to avoid them. For several hours a week, she visits fellow villagers in their homes and discusses common health issues in their community.

In total, the programme will train volunteers like Cut to educate individuals in 140 villages in Banda Aceh, Aceh Jaya, Sabang and Bireuen.

Life and death

"Other mothers often ask me questions about their children, about nutrition or about how to detect if there is a serious problem, like dengue," Cut says. "I am glad that I can provide information and help people, as it could be a matter of life and death."

Through first aid and other emergency training, Cut says she feels prepared if there is another disaster.

"Before, I would have been scared and might have panicked," she says. "But now I know exactly what to do if some is seriously hurt and needs assistance."

************************************************

More information about the American Red Cross health programme in Indonesia:

As of June 2010, the community-based first aid programme have trained more than 2,300 community health volunteers and reached 127,000 tsunami-affected individuals with life-saving health information.

The American Red Cross and its partners have constructed 63 community health centers and helped train 1,132 midwives and community health workers to help re-establish local health services.

More than 1.2 million individuals across Sumatra and Java have been reached with vital information on how to prevent diseases, including avian and human influenza, malaria and dengue, through American Red Cross and PMI programming.


[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

Background information

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Last updated:Mon Jul 13 12:29:32 2009