T

he ongoing seismic activities of Mount Sinabung in Karo regency, North Sumatra, for the past eight years have not only changed the lives of residents but also affected the health and education of their children, as thousands are exposed to volcanic ash.

Some 12,000 children are reportedly suffering from health problems as eruptions at the second-highest peak in North Sumatra continue, according to NGO Sheep Indonesia Foundation.

The children have also been forced to quit school for various reasons, said director Andreas Subiyono, adding that the foundation’s data was derived from monitoring children living in 27 villages in the area.

He urged the government to quickly address the problem.

“Otherwise, they will become a lost generation,” he told Mt. Sinabung survivors during a recent discussion in Medan, North Sumatra.

Sinabung erupted in 2010 after being dormant since the 1600s. It erupted again in 2013 and has been showing volcanic activity to this day, spewing hot clouds and volcanic ash.

The volcano’s deadliest eruptions were recorded in 2014 and 2016, claiming at least 20 lives.

The Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center (PVMBG) issued a warning earlier this year about the reoccurrence of volcanic ash and pyroclastic flows throughout 2018.

Seismic activities continued on Sunday morning as the volcano spewed ash 1,000 meters into the sky, accompanied by earthquakes from several eruptions.

Armen Putera, head of the PVMBG’s Mt. Sinabung observation post, said the eruptions were expected to continue for several months. He called on residents of the area to remain alert and wear masks when conducting activities outdoor.

According to priest Darmais Sembiring Pandia, chairman of the Batak Karo Protestant Church’s (GBKP) disaster mitigation commission, an 18-month-old was currently being treated at a hospital in Tiganderket district for issues with his lungs caused by inhaling volcanic ash.

His office has also recorded some 1,000 children from Payung and Batukarang subdistricts affected by Mt. Sinabung’s eruptions since 2010. Half of the figure suffer from health problems.

“It’s threatening the future of Karo’s children,” Darmais said, lambasting the local administration for its slow response in handling the matter.

Basing Sembiring, a survivor, from Kutarayat subdistrict, told participants of the discussion that his two grandchildren, David Aryoga Putera Sembiring and Retno Sugianto, had been forced to drop out of university as their parents could not afford their tuition fees after eruptions destroyed their crops.

The head of the Karo Disaster Mitigation Agency’s (BPBD) emergency and logistic division, Natanael Peranginangin, said the administration was aware of the situation.

“We implemented several programs to tackle health and educational problems arising from Sinabung’s eruptions. But we admit that they have not achieved optimum results,” he said, adding that resources were never designated to assist children on the back of limited budget.

However, the head of Karo regency’s Education Agency, Eddi Surianta Surbakti, denied that students had left school over Sinabung activities. The administration, he said, had relocated residents to temporary housing facilities, where their children’s rights to an education were being be fulfilled.