July 29, 2008
Since a devastating earthquake struck Indonesia's Central Java and Yogyakarta provinces in May 2006, Church World Service and long-time CWS partners Yakkum Emergency Unit (YEU) and Yayasan Tanggul Bencana di Indonesia (YTBI) -- all members of the worldwide alliance Action by Churches Together -- have been providing relief and rehabilitation assistance to people in affected villages.
The May 27, 2006, 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck the very heartland of Indonesia, near the historic city of Yogyakarta, killing 5,743 people and injuring around 48,000. The earthquake hit one of the most densely populated rural areas in Asia - the six districts most affected by the earthquake have a population of about 4.5 million. Damages and losses amounted to over $3 billion, more than initially expected and higher than the damages and losses suffered in the Pakistan earthquake in 2005 or the Gujarat earthquake in India in 2001. Housing accounts for over half the damage - some 300,000 units needed to be rebuilt or repaired.
While assistance provided to date has saved lives and enabled many people to advance on the road to full recovery, an external ACT evaluation of response efforts has revealed gaps in assistance in some geographical areas and to some vulnerable affected communities. This region faces a high level of environmental hazards, including floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and drought, leaving many people's livelihoods in the earthquake-affected areas uncertain or highly vulnerable.
Complementary assistance is needed, with a focus on disaster risk reduction (DRR), to ensure the sustainability of livelihood recovery, and to strengthen community preparedness and longer-term resilience in these areas. CWS and its partners have identified further needs in some of the villages for adequate water supplies, sanitation and hygiene promotion. Also identified as areas in need of support are: the further development and strengthening of community-based organizations; health posts providing village-level health services, livelihood activities and disaster preparedness; and the involvement of local schools, teachers, children and government to strengthen networks for better community-based preparedness and management of disasters.
Response
CWS's initial relief and recovery activities after the earthquake were implemented between May 2006 and November 2007, through account appeal #6980. and included the distribution of 20,000 emergency relief packages and other assistance, such as shelter assistance and provision of water and sanitation systems to 17,643 households. (Further information on the CWS response can be found at: http://www.act-intl.org/appeals/appeals_2008/ASID82.pdf).
This supplemental response has as its goal building disaster-resilient communities in Yogyakarta and Central Java Province through the rebuilding of livelihoods and implementation of disaster risk reduction; engaging in strategic risk reduction initiatives at school, community and health institution levels; and reducing vulnerability and enhancing community capacity to become aware of and responsive to disasters.
While all Indonesia members of the ACT alliance are responding, this CWS appeal will focus only on CWS work. CWS has identified the following villages and sub-villages or hamlets (dusun in Indonesian) and schools as the proposed locations of response:
Yogyakarta
Seven primary schools: Five schools in Jogotirto Village, Berbah Sub-district, Sleman and two schools in Wukirsari Village, Imogiri Sub-district, Bantul.
Jogotirto Village Berbah Sub-district, Sleman
Wukirsari Village, Imogiri Sub-district, Bantul
Sriharjo & Patalan Villages, Jetis Sub-district Bantul
Central Java
Melikan and Kaligayam Villages - Wedi Klaten
Pasung Village - Wedi Klaten
Objectives
To increase resilience and capacity of students and community in general in disaster preparedness and risk reduction through school and community safety approaches, targeting 5,465 persons that include 350 school children. This includes formal trainings; formation of groups to disseminate information; provide disaster preparedness kits for schools; the retrofitting of seven schools for the safety of school buildings; roof truss improvements;
To strengthen existing livelihood activities and provide capacity building on small-scale business for members from 53 community-based organizations. The issue of sustainability and self-reliance for these groups will be the focus in this proposed project. CWS intends to continue collaborating with the existing local partners in providing capacity building and technical skills for these groups through expansion of economic projects, vocational training, business development activities such as workshops, market networking.
To build water and sanitation facilities and conduct hygiene promotion activities for 350 households (1,750 persons), including construction of latrines, septic tanks and drainage. Construction refers to newly built permanent latrines or rehabilitation of existing latrines that were damaged during the quake in Melikan and Kaligayam villages. Also: construction of 350 units of wells and boreholes in Melikan and Kaligayam villages; provide 350 packages of maintenance kits for each family sanitation facility; maintenance kits consist of bucket, soap, dustbin, floor brush and disinfectants; hygiene promotion activities that include development of posters and leaflets and the distribution of such items to 1,050 earthquake-affected households to promote key hygiene behaviors.
To reduce disaster risk for physically disabled people from 60 households with the entry point of developing promotion of livelihoods. This includes campaigns on the issues of livelihoods for the disabled through information dissemination (radio and television) to community members and local stakeholders in Klaten area and its surroundings where the targeted 60 HH of the disabled reside; conduct disaster reduction trainings for the disabled; develop access to networking of livelihood opportunities for the disabled that will cover mapping of target beneficiaries skills, experience and other capacities, communication bridging between the disabled and potential employer/ buyers and promotion of disabled beneficiaries' livelihood activities; development of a database of small businesses or small scale exhibitions of disabled people.
Contributions to support this emergency appeal may be made online, sent to your denomination, or to: Church World Service, Appeal # 699-C, Indonesia: Yoghyakarta & Central Java Rehabilitation, P.O. Box 968 Elkhart, IN 46515.
Contributions may also be made by calling:(800) 297-1516, ext. 222.
Media Contact:
Lesley Crosson, CWS/New York, 212-870-2676; lcrosson@churchworldservice.org
Jan Dragin, 781-925-1526; jdragin@gis.net
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
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