ACT Situation Report

Indonesia 06/06

Geneva, October 3, 2006

ACT appeal for Indonesia - ASID62 - West and Central Java Earthquake/Tsunami

Information provided by ACT member YAKKUM Emergency Unit (YEU) for the period July to September 2006

GENERAL SITUATION

The July 17, 2006, earthquake-triggered tsunami that killed many people and washed away the belongings of many others along the coast of South Java, especially in the Pangandaran beach area of West Java, a tourist destination with resorts as well as permanent settlements, hit residents of these areas without warning. Most of the tsunami survivors climbed coconut or other tall trees when the three-to-five-meter wave hit settlements as far as 500 meters inland from the coastline. The tsunami killed as many as 300 people in the Pangandaran area, where hundreds are still missing. In total with other areas, the current death toll is 587 people, with about 300 people still missing.

Following the tsunami, many camps for displaced people were set up in higher places, occupying public facilities such as schools and other public buildings, while other IDPs stayed with relatives. Since the first day after the tsunami hit, YAKKUM (the umbrella foundation of YEU), through Emanuel Hospital, and YAKKUM’s emergency unit (YEU) has provided rapid assessments and responses for the IDPs staying in Cikembulan elementary school.

The number of IDPs was around 2,000 households. IDPs with houses that were not totally destroyed stayed in the camps in the evening and went back to their homes during the day. On July 20, the Geophysics and Meteorology Agency said the possibility of another tsunami in the region was weak. Therefore, many people returned to their houses the following morning.

IDPs whose houses were totally destroyed and who came to live in Cikembulan camp came from three villages:
Desa Budak Laut Timur: 70 households
Desa Budak Laut Barat: 53 households
Desa Pamugaran: 45 households

In total there are 150 under-5 children, 50 elderly people and 15 expectant mothers (considered vulnerable groups). YEU has been focusing its comprehensive response in the Cikembulan camp and area since the crisis phase while continuing its mobile health service in surrounding villages such as Wonoharjo, Ciparanti, Bagolo and Madasari.

On July 28, the Cikembulan village leaders relocated the IDPs to a new site in front of the village hall of Cikembulan. The logistics area was also relocated to the public assembly hall with supervision and permanent management from the Youth and Scholar Union or P3C (Persatuan Pemuda Pelajar Cikembulan). Although there are latrines, a supply of fresh water and electricity, the new site is still lacking in the quality of the tents, for example, and the soil is very humid and could trigger diseases as tent bases are made of woven bamboo.

At the new site there are several health posts run by various NGOs and INGOs. On July 29, YEU coordinated with P3C to determine a site for YEU’s health post, operated jointly by the two. YEU also worked with P3C to put up a tent for children’s gatherings in the camp. In addition to the ongoing provision of health services, YEU gathers data from the patients in Banjar Hospital; all were villagers from Pamugaran who were caught in the tsunami. YEU carries out a program for patients when they return and for visiting them at home.

In mid-August, the IDPs were saying that they were bored as their days were inactive. They were staying in the camp the whole day because many of them had lost their means of making a living. Most had worked as palm sugar extractors (tappers) and were in need of equipment, such as pans for cooking the sugar palm. They wanted to work again as soon as possible to earn money, to occupy themselves with productive activities and to forget their trauma for a while as their experiences have left them deeply traumatized. To meet the need of the tappers, on August 14 YEU provided 19 pans for the tappers so they could resume working. The selection of the pans and the distribution was done by Bagol, a tapper and also a member of P3C. YEU is monitoring the use of the pans in order to determine the usefulness of the program.

The head of the Ciamis Regional Legislative Council, visited Cikembulan on August 18. He announced that the regional government intended to give a 3 million rupiah (US$326) grant to each household, while the Regional Legislative Council proposed a 12 million rupiah (US$1,304) grant for each household. He also reported that the budget for the disaster recovery that is administered by the central government is short. Therefore, the village leaders do not expect villagers to receive these full grants, so they must find alternatives to fulfil their immediate needs through their own efforts.

P3C also proposed a long-term program to the local government which has been approved by Cikembulan’s leaders. The program is to establish a new Cikembulan village with a vision to attract tourists, i.e., to promote Cikembulan as an art and culture center. One of the ways this will happen is to provide training by the Social Department for women in handicraft skills.

YEU ACTIVITIES

Health program

Mobile clinic

The health service has been operating in Cikembulan ever since the first visit of the health team from YEU visited, shortly after the tsunami. YEU is now set up in a health post while it continues running its mobile clinic three times a week plus service on Saturdays in Ciparanti since August.

In response to other NGOs providing fewer health services in August, YEU has expanded its mobile clinic target area. On August 14, YEU decided with the Pasundan Farmers Union or SPP (Serikat Petani Pasundan) on the areas that could be reached through the mobile clinic. SPP recommended the Bojong Salaweh and Madasari areas to YEU. There are many other villages near the coast in need of health services, but so far, YEU is operating the mobile clinic only in Cikembulan and Bojong Salaweh and Madasari.

Working with the mobile clinic, YEU staff carry out home visits to people who have returned from the hospital. Those patients need further treatment but not at the hospital. The mobile clinic also recently helped a mother who gave birth in the camp.

In line with the exit strategy, the mobile clinic will gradually be phased out when the other health providers, such as Puskesmas (local health posts), operate again and when cadres are trained by YEU to manage the village health post as part of the disaster preparedness plan of Cikembulan and the surrounding villages.

Supplementary feeding

During the emergency response phase, YEU provided three public kitchens that could be operated by the women in three villages.

In the post-crisis phase, supplementary feeding is carried out once a week and the monitoring once a month. In addition, in Pangandaran, YEU distributed milk, biscuits, oranges and sandwiches to around 130 children on August 13. And on August 24, YEU, together with posyandu, the community health center, provided milk, biscuits and bean porridge for another 130-some children.

Survival needs related to health

Non-food item distributions of tarpaulins, mats and blankets (especially for babies and children) for IDPs in Cikembulan elementary school took place during the emergency phase.

Temporary shelter program

On August 14 YEU purchased plywood, wood and bamboo in order to provide divans for the IDPs through the coordinator of the voluntary carpenters, Mr. Rosso. This is to address health concerns about the damp ground beneath the tents. YEU also bought carpentry tools and registered the local carpenters. On August 18, Mr. Rosso and the other carpenters held a meeting to organize the work of constructing the divans and determine the rate of pay for their carpentry services (a daily rate – not a salary). The aim of providing payments daily is to attract other IDPs to join the work for the sake of the community. So far ten carpenters have joined the program. The construction started on August 21.

More than 67 percent of the households that are living in tents at Cikembulan have no definite status on land ownership, and almost 69 percent of those living there have no certainty about their income.

The IDPs are dealing with an uncertain future. Rumors have been circulating in the Cikembulan camp to the effect that IDPs who do not have a legal land certificate will be relocated to the land belonging to PT Strust Trust, a former cocoa plantation company, in Pangandaran. The IDPs have obtained information that two local donors have collected around 300 million rupiah (US$32,610) for the land exemption. In response to these rumors and to obtain clarity, YEU consulted with the head of the Sidamulih sub-district, who said there was no immediate plan to relocate the IDPs and that it was not the right time to introduce the program or even to make it a reality. But he is still considering a plan to relocate the IDPs.

After training community representatives about community-based disaster risk management together with YEU staff on September 11 to 13, on September 25 YEU sent its expert on village block planning to meet with the IDPs in Cikembulan and address the issue of relocating 122 households still living in tents. YEU plans to facilitate their plans for relocation and developing the village strategic plans by integrating a disaster risk-management perspective.

Soon after a village block plan and relocation plans (i.e., the land ownership issue is settled) are established, YEU intends to facilitate the establishment of temporary housing in the new location as part of a disaster-preparedness plan and village strategic planning.

Water and sanitation program

YEU has been actively organizing the Cikembulan elementary school camp – with tent arrangements, for instance, as they came from three different villages, and by involving IDPs in the construction of latrines. IDPs built emergency latrines while YEU provided carpentry equipment. Oxfam provided the technicians and the materials.

In cooperation with Oxfam, YEU provided fresh water facilities and latrines. YEU also cooperated with the state water company, which provided fresh water tanks.

Psychosocial program

YEU’s mental health team does not intend to run a trauma healing program for children, particularly in Cikembulan, because there are other Islamic institutions that can work in this area. YEU will therefore move to Madasari and Ciparanti to carry out trauma healing for children. The implementation of this program will occur alongside the supplementary feeding in these areas.

In the first and the second weeks of September, three activities took place in this sector. First, children were gathered for studying and games. Second was the post-trauma counseling in home visits to tsunami survivors. And third, questionnaires to monitor and evaluate the post-trauma condition of the IDPs were distributed. Activities involving 19 children in Madasari are conducted every Friday afternoon after school. The psychosocial team prepares a series of games, including games about health and preparedness for disaster. The children have responded positively and enthusiastically to the games. In order to gauge their creativity, the team lets the children tell stories. The children’s attendance in Ciparanti is showing a significant increase. The children’s activities are attended not only by those in the camp, but also children from the surrounding Ciparanti village. On one occasion, the number of children reached almost 100, ranging in age from under 5 to 12-year-olds.

Through home visits, the psychosocial team has conducted trauma counseling for a patient, a 35-year-old man traumatized by the tsunami; he suffers from a panic disorder and agoraphobia. The questionnaire was distributed on September 8, and 76 respondents have returned the forms. The psychosocial team is still waiting for the remaining respondents to fill in the forms. After all are gathered, the team will analyze the results.

Community organizing and capacity building for people’s organizations

YEU encourages the participation of the IDPs, the heads of the villages and their coordinators in managing the camps. They have faced challenges in this as this was the first time they have faced a disaster like this. The activities consist of:

a. Assisting the leaders of the village and team coordinators of the IDPs in their coordination of the needs of the IDPs and management of assistance to the IDPs.

b. Getting the IDPs involved in the implementation and management of every activity that provides for the fulfilment of their daily needs; one way is by dividing the IDPs into three groups according to their home villages.

In the post-crisis phase, as part of YEU’s exit strategy, it has conducted community-based disaster-response management training in Yogyakarta and invited three representatives from the Pangandaran area and the YEU field coordinator. They were trained in the framework and steps of disaster risk management and were encouraged to communicate this to the rest of the camp. Two weeks after the training, the YEU field team facilitated several meetings with IDPs and the village head to discuss the long-term planning of their village and specifically the logistics and relocation plan after most NGOs phase out.

After finalizing the village block plan (including the relocation plan) from YEU’s staff and the village strategic planning using the disaster-preparedness perspective discussed by the people, the village committee will finalize and bring together both plans and communicate them to the different stakeholders, including YEU, in order to facilitate their comprehensive village strategic planning.

COORDINATION

Coordination with YAKKUM units: Coordination with YAKKUM units was done during the relief phase with Emanuel Hospital and its community-development unit in Banjarnegara, which is closer to the affected area in West Java, and with PRY (YAKKUM Rehabilitation Center), which has a mandate in working with disabled people.

Coordination with other ACT members in Indonesia: The initial coordination was done by phone with YTB and CWS, and then the field coordinators met in the field to inform each other of the plan of their respective organizations and focus areas.