Indonesia: Medical care, shelter in wake of disasters

Friday, October 29, 2010

  • Mentawai tsunamiYEU medicines are ferried on small boats, the only transportation to the tsunami-hit Pagai islands.
  • Merapi volcano kidsChildren forced to leave their homes near Mt Merapi take time out to play at a YEU shelter.
  • Mentawai shelter church hallResidents who lost their homes in the Mentawai tsunami take shelter in a local church hall.
  • sleeping - MerapiResidents of the mountain slope of Mt Merapi take shelter in a YEU classroom.
  • Mentawai - porch carePeople injured by the Mentawai tsunami receive care in the porch of a local YEU health centre.
  • Mentawai - families visitingFamilies visit patients injured by the tsunami who receive care in a local church hall.
  • Merapi - unloading goodsYEU staff unload relief goods in Kemalang, Central Java, destined for people displaced by the tsunami.
  • Merapi - disaster infoYEU staff give displaced people advice on coping in the wake of the volcano eruption.

A 13 hour boat trip from Padang to the tsunami-hit Pagai islands was more than twice as long as the journey normally takes.

But for staff from ACT member Church World Service staff, the tedious journey was worth it. The team has arrived on the islands with tonnes of relief aid.

However, Ikhsan Mentong, CWS team leader in West Sumatra, said survivors still badly needed more food, clean water, shelters, mats, clothing, blankets, and medical teams and supplies. Sadly, body bags are among the goods islanders need.

The death toll of the 3m tsunami is now 408, with searchers struggling through bad weather and with lack of transport. Worst-hit areas are only accessible by boat.

A shortage of doctors is compounding the recovery in the Pagai islands. “There were eighty badly injured people who were being taken care of in the Puskesmas (a community health centre) on the North Pagai Island but there was only one doctor available,” Ikhsan reported by phone.

Mentawai Christian Protestant Church has provided space to treat the sick, yet it is still not enough. CWS is sending a warehouse tent to serve as a health centre.

CWS is looking after the youngest islanders, sending baby kits of clothing, blankets and nappies. CWS continues assessing the needs of tsunami survivors in Mentawai Islands, with the other ACT Alliance members, YEU and YTBI.