food, water and sanitation, health care and emergency-relief supplies. Yet, three weeks later, some communities on the west coast have still not been reached. The fate of thousands more is still unknown, and survivors in remote areas still face the potential risk of hunger and disease. The government is planning to relocate the displaced to alternative sites over the coming weeks.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) recently provided $200,000 towards the relief efforts in Indonesia. PDA is responding to these vast needs as a member of the ACT (Action by Churches Together) International alliance. The response is carried out by ACT members in Indonesia — Church World Service (CWS), YAKKUM Emergency Unit (YEU) and Yayasan Tanggul Bancana (YTB). Each in turn cooperates with well-established local church and secular organizations in Banda Aceh, on the west coast, including the island of Nias, and on the east coast in Lhokseumawe, North Aceh. They have coordinated their responses by appointing an ACT regional coordinator. An office has been set up in Medan to respond to the crisis.
CWS has been operating in Banda Aceh since 2002 and working closely with Mamamia, a local developmental organization. Together they have been actively identifying displaced persons and providing assistance in the form of medical care and food distribution. But their work is being hampered as they await the arrival of non-food items such as blankets and health kits.
Another ACT member, Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), has been assisting with water and sanitation planning. Water engineers have begun installation of a water treatment plant in Rantau Panjang village in the Aceh Barat district. Once installed, the water purification units that were donated by the Norwegian government will produce 20,000 liters of potable water per hour — or enough clean water for approximately 50,000 persons per day. The NCA team has initiated a solid-waste management scheme in TVRI camp, which has 3,000 internally displaced persons. A local water engineer will be employed to facilitate the water and sanitation work.
YEU is operating in Lhokseumawe, North Aceh, while YTB is directing its attention on Nias Island, North Sumatra. But the task facing all organizations is immense — not least the provision of shelter, relief and clean water to more than 100,000 people left homeless by the killer waves in Banda Aceh alone. All over Banda Aceh, temporary relief shelters have been set up, and some system of organization is beginning to be seen. But in other areas, desperate people wait for the sound of a helicopter and risk life and limb to get at one of the packets being thrown from the American aircraft. |
