What Muslim Hands Are Doing

Click here to view the blog entries from our London Manager in the field.

Feeding the hungry

MH Indonesia’s efforts focus on Ambangkapur in Paraman district where we are running a feeding centre to provide 250 meals a day. These meals are typically made up of pak choi, potato wedges, cabbage, boiled eggs, steamed rice and chilli. The individual portions are wrapped in a banana leaf and then further wrapped in brown paper. The feeding programme is running in Al Mukhlisin feeding centre in Paraman.
MH Indonesia will also provide wells and water purification facilities for survivors to access a sustainable, safe supply of water for drinking and washing. These water purification units will purify 4 litres of water in a minutes and ensure all water-borne infections and contamination are removed from the water supply for families.

Shelter

Whilst there, we took the opportunity to speak to the head of the village, Mr Haji Ismail. He told us that the district had no electricity so we arranged for paraffin lamps to be brought in to allow them to operate during the night time. With heavy rain and people sleeping out in the open, we also arranged for plastic sheeting to make tents and blankets to provide families for the cold night time conditions. MH Indonesia has also arranged to distribute mattresses (made of palm fibre) for families and general medicines like antibiotics for those suffering from sickness.
The area of Agam also has great needs and food distribution is being set up for the survivors in that region.

Healthcare

Through an MH camp, survivors come for medical checkups from a makeshift clinic which runs during the day. Doctors visit and distribute basic medicines for the vulnerable residents of the town. MH Indonesia also fund the generators which people are relying on as an energy source.

Housing and reconstruction

Once the initial needs of earthquake survivors are met, it is important to focus on the long-term needs of people who have lost their homes and livelihoods.
MH Indonesia has initiated a major home reconstruction project across Western Sumatra, the worst-hit areas of September’s earthquakes. Over 170,000 people lost their homes and officials struggled to accommodate the huge numbers of destitute survivors urgently in need of shelter and protection from the heavy rain and night-time chill.
With Western Sumatra lying on a sensitive plate-boundary prone to earthquakes, it is important that new homes are reconstructed with strong, earthquake-proof material.
Whilst many people need new homes altogether, many require their damaged structures to be renovated and reconstructed. Phase II of the emergency response involves reconstructing 160 family homes within three months. These wooden and brick houses are the most appropriate for the local climate and will have concrete base to withstand earthquake tremors.
Houses will be reconstructed in both Padang-Pariman in the district of Agam, a largely rural area where families have been hit particularly hard.
A total of 160 houses will be reconstructed in the following villages:

• Padang Lariang
• Pinang
• Batu Basa
• Sitalang
• Batu Kambing
• Sitanang

The people affected

Januarti is 39 years old and lives in Kapalo Koko with her 7 month old baby. With 8 brothers and sisters, Januarti’s entire family are all rice and coconut farmers who on their crop both for food and for their income.
When the earthquake struck, Januarti’s brother Murad (aged 47) was out with the cows in the rice field. He was buried under a landslide and killed. With walls collapsed and their house destroyed, Januarti’s younger brother only hopes to be able to find Murad’s body so they can bury and lay him to rest. Januarti has moved in with her father and the family were provided with assistance from MH Indonesia.
Ismaniya lives in a clearing in forest, two minutes away from the main road in Angam Kapoor district. The houses in this area are all brick buildings and most have simple metal sheet roofing. Her area is filled with poor subsistence farmers who rely on agriculture for their income. Ismaniya lived in her home with her two sons, Risia and Safinah and her mother.
 As the earthquake struck, the family rushed to evacuate the house. Whilst leaving, her mother was struck by falling masonry on her head and was killed. Ismaniya buried her mother 20 metres away. Ismaniya’s mother is an example of somebody who will not show up in official statistics and now Ismaniya fears what will happen to her family once the provision of food runs out. Many people relied on their fields and these were all lost under landslides when the quake hit.