I had the opportunity to volunteer in the affected areas, and that’s thanks to The World Is Our Village, a Non Profit Organization founded in Canada set up by my younger brother, Ali Manek. Our Village raised nearly Dh 5000 and sent me to work in the villages with the goal of using the funds in the most effective and responsible ways possible.
I can best describe Indonesia as a country that is full of warmth and smiles. Right from my arrival in Yogyakarta I felt welcomed and comfortable. A local volunteer Fajar Kurniawan, who has worked with Our Village in the past, picked me up and was my guide and mentor for the remainder of the trip.
When we arrived in the village surrounding Mt. Merapi, I was informed that there had been very little support given to those affected. Government support was slow, the United Nations had come and gone, and private donors were spread very thin as a result of the many other natural disasters around the world in that year.
Arriving in the villages was gut wrenching and heart-warming at the same time. I witnessed first hand the destruction to villages; the lives that had been torn away and the pain and sorrow amongst the refugees who were forced into makeshift campsites and abandoned schools.
I also witnessed a community of overburdened people working together to help each other through the difficulties. I was working with volunteers from the nearby city who had no connection to the villagers at all – yet they spent every hour serving the people. I was honoured to be apart of their recovery process.
We worked in the rural villages daily, focusing on the ones who received no support from outsiders. Working with a team of dedicated volunteers (mainly university students from the city) we would go to the refugee camps to help out as much as possible. We bought goats and other food supplies for the shelters and I had the chance to meet some wonderful people.
I met an old lady who sat me down and with tears in her eyes and explained how she lost her house and her two cows – her whole way of life, in a matter of hours. Others told me about how their crops could never grow on this land coated with lava.
But there were also signs of recovery. Houses were being reconstructed and we used some of the donations to purchase roofs and cement for homes. We also purchased food for nearby shelters and on several occasions assisted in the shelters, and spent time providing school supplies. I also got to visit Fajar’s friend’s house (one of the few standing houses because it was made out of brick).
Just when things appeared to be getting better, they deteriorated fast…We were approximately 15km from the volcano itself and out of nowhere it started raining, hard! The nearby river started to overflow and panic set in; the volcano’s activity caused massive heating of the water and the riverbanks were no match for the rain. Pretty soon we found ourselves flooded with hot mud!
The men in the house quickly went outside, with rubber boots and masks because of the amount of smoke. In just a few minutes, one of only two standing houses turned into an emergency shelter. I tweeted (via @ourvillage1) throughout the evening and gave people around the world a window into the struggle of this brave little village.
Soon this village, which had finally shown signs of progression and recovery, was starting to be swept away, and for a second time in only a matter of months was fighting for its survival. I watched an old man, sitting alone, crying about his losses. We helped a six-month pregnant woman to refuge after she lost all her possessions. It was a heartbreaking experience.
After a night full of intensity and fear, I asked Fajar to take me outside for a better look at what had happened. To my surprise, the mud was still scorching hot, lava rocks were massive after tumbling through the mud and destroying everything in their path. I saw clothes, shoes, and toys all lying in the debris, and we tried not to be overwhelmed by the incalculable losses of life. We focused on cleaning up in daylight as many other local volunteers came to assist. What a disaster!
I want to say ‘maturnuwun’ (thank you in the local Javanese language) to all the wonderful people I met and spent time with. Volunteering in Indonesia was one of the most incredible and meaningful experiences of my life!
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