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| Playing together in an emergency relief camp to work through their experiences - Photo: SOS Archives |
25/05/2009 - It was 2 a.m. on 27 March this year when the Situ Gintung dam burst on the south-western outskirts of Indonesia's capital, Jakarta. A four-metre high wave of water crashed through the densely-populated poor district of Cireundeu. Around 400 houses were completely destroyed and thousands damaged. The shacks built of flimsy wood especially were swept away, taking people with them. Around 200 people lost their lives and many lost their entire possessions.
SOS Children's Villages Indonesia reached the scene soon after the disaster with an emergency relief team of twelve people. The SOS Children's Village site in Jakarta was used as the base camp and coordination point for the emergency relief efforts. Rice was distributed to families affected in the emergency relief camps, along with clothes, medicines and other urgently needed goods.
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| The SOS mobile library comes to the children - Photo: SOS Archives |
Support in a rather different form, however, was provided by the SOS mobile library, a successful project in Indonesia that has made books and teaching materials available free of charge to many children at schools and in poorer communities. The 67 children, who were accommodated with their families in temporary shelters in Pancol after the dam had burst, could hardly wait for the library on wheels to come to them twice a week. As Alia explained "It makes a really nice change for our children. They have learned new things and always look forward to the SOS library." Another woman who lost her husband in the disaster added, "We lost everything when the dam burst. I am pleased that the children at least have the chance to learn something."
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| Lessons outdoors - Photo: SOS Archives |
The SOS library, which is housed in a mini-van, also laden with play materials, made regular rounds for several weeks in six camps where families affected were living temporarily. "The SOS library has a good selection of books. I borrowed comics and stories, and read them all", explains twelve-year-old Shana. But it was not just about lending books. The volunteers played with the children, told or read them stories, drew pictures with them, showed them how to do origami, and gave lessons (in matters of hygiene and health as well). And in this way they tried to allay the children's fears following their terrible experiences and alleviate the shock - an emergency relief campaign which was warmly welcomed by the Indonesian Children's Protection Commission (KPAI).
Most of the emergency relief camps have now closed, and the people have moved on and have started to rebuild their lives.