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NGOs work in West Sumatra to relieve quake trauma
A minor tremor caused by a passing truck is enough to make 8-year-old Amri run out of his home in Tungkal Selatan village, West Sumatra
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minor tremor caused by a passing truck is enough to make 8-year-old Amri run out of his home in Tungkal Selatan village, West Sumatra. Amri is among hundreds of children who have suffered trauma following the devastating magnitude 7.9 earthquake that struck the area in September last year.
“Memories of the earthquake still reoccur.” Amri said.
Children are not the only ones who were traumatized. Yarnalis, 40, is one of many mothers who are still easily panicked by small tremors.
“I’ve been trying hard but the memories don’t go away,” she said.
The Pariaman area of West Sumatra saw massive destruction from the quake. The disaster claimed 46 lives, injured 366 people, and severely damaged 13,405 houses, Pariaman city secretary, Armen said
“About 85 percent of the region was destroyed,” he said.
Remote villages including Tungkal Selatan and Pakasai, around one hour from Pariaman city, faced even more difficult circumstances.
“We didn’t receive significant aid until 10 days after the quake. Most access to broader communication was lost. At least 135 children did not attend school for more than 20 days,” Tungkal Selatan village chief Fikrianto said.
“Taking care of traumatized children is not an easy job,’ said West Sumatra Earthquake Response project manager Djuneidi Saripurnawan.
“But today, Pariaman children are back to their normal selves. The children still have horrible memories, but that’s understandable,” Saripurnawan said.
Plan, an international NGO focused on community development and child welfare, was one of the NGOs and international organizations that have helped provide relief aid to the area.
Plan began working in Pariaman two days after the quake struck.
“Our objective is to provide emergency relief for the children”, Plan Indonesia country director John McDonough said.
“We also prepare children for the possibility of future disasters, because we know this area is prone to earthquakes,” he said.
“Children have different perspectives. They think in the short term like most adults, but also contemplate longer-term horizons.
“Children think about who they will be when they are adults, and are therefore in a very delicate stage of development,” Plan International CEO Nigel Chapman said.
Plan has provided education on disaster preparation and response and psychosocial assistance to around 2,100 children from 21 villages in Pariaman.
During an earthquake drill in Tungkal Selatan, dozens of children demonstrated how they would react in the event of an earthquake. Once the warning siren sounded children left their schools, houses, and other buildingscarrying “Tas Siaga” (alert bags) above their heads as they moved to designated “Safe Areas”.
The Tas Siaga is not an ordinary bag. Its contents include snacks, water, clothes, a flashlight, batteries and medicine. The bag is always placed on a wall at home or in schools.
“If an earthquake occurs, children already know where to immediately find the bag before leaving the building,” said Ervin Walenta from the West Sumatra chapter of Padma Indonesia.
Padma Indonesia is among dozens of local organizations that have been working with Plan.
During the drill children brought their parents to designated safe areas, while others prepared a community tent with a tarpaulin.
Djunaedi said the drill not only aimed at preparing children for future disasters, but also helped to relieve trauma.
“The more activities the children do, the easier it will be for them to get over their horrible memories,” he said.
