IDEP Java Earthquake Response Update No  3

In this update

• About the situation on the ground around Yogya at this time
• About IDEP’s Emergency Response Activities happening now
• IDEP’s Volunteer Emergency Team return from the field  
• Direct reports from local partners network on the ground  
• Lee Downey and Sam Schultz’s team deliver 2 truck loads of aid
• Emergency zone education by IDEPHow you can help… • Volunteers needed at this time
• How to make a donation to keep this effort going


About the situation on the ground around Yogya at this time

images donated by Rama Surya who has been in the field since the disaster occurred

The current official number of people affected by the Java Quake is deceased 6,300, injured 46,000, and homes damaged or destroyed 139,000 – numbers are still continuing to rise.

Large international aid agencies have flocked to the Bantul area in the south of Yogyakarta near the epicenter of the quake. Initial reports of total devastation of homes and loss of life appear to have drawn the bulk of the attention of news crews and the burgeoning relief efforts to the area of Bantul, and officials are stating that aid is flowing into Yogyakarta and in and around Bantul.  

This is not the case for many villages in other less dramatically affected areas that have yet to receive any aid from the large international organizations. In some places like the district of Klaten small groups of  local NGOs and community organizations are banding together to coordinate distribution of what little aid they can get access to.

IDEP is  supporting such local initiatives through our partners on the  ground.
About IDEP’s Emergency Response Activities happening now

IDEP’s Volunteer Emergency Team return from the field
Having completed an initial aid run and their rapid assessment


Desperate people were lining the  sides of the roads asking for help – Ade in coordination meetings in the  field and with Lee

Delivery of 2 tons of aid from Bali - During this trip IDEP’s Volunteer Emergency Team delivered more than 2 tons of urgently needed supplies and medical aid to people in need. They confirmed that most Large NGO efforts were focusing on the hardest hit area in Bantul South of Yogyakarta, and ensured that the aid they brought was distributed to people in need who had not received any support until that time.

Meeting and coordinating with local teams on the ground - IDEP’s Volunteer Emergency Team met with several Indonesian NGOs and grassroots organizations including KPB, KAPPALA and JARNOP who have come together to coordinate efforts in helping this affected  region. They are running coordination from UPN-V University campus in Yogyakarta and have set up a temporary POSKO (coordination post) directly in Klaten. See below for more information.

Coordination of delivery of 6,000 tents and 10,000 hygiene kits from OXFAM - During this trip the team was also able to establish a direct link between OXFAM GB, (where a good friend and past team member of IDEP who lives in the affected area is currently coordinating aid delivery) and the local teams on the ground. As a result, aid from OXFAM was delivered through the field teams to some of the people in most desperate need.

Coordination of delivery of Water and Sanitation (WATSAN) from Action Contre la Faim (ACF) to Klaten - IDEP’s Emergency Volunteer Team also assisted the ACF WATSAN team to link up with our local partners and direct ACF to sites in the Klaten area in need of their assistance. IDEP is very grateful to ACF for  their willingness to coordinate which resulted in a great team effort.

Advising on the next major aid delivery initiative -  IDEP’s Volunteer Emergency Team brought back detailed (hand drawn) maps of these more remote affected areas upon their return. Team leader Ade was able to advise the next major aid initiative, led by Lee Downey and Sam Schultz, and recommend areas for distribution of supplies. Sam and Lee have been working tirelessly over the past week to raise funds, purchase and pack  2 enormous truckloads of supplies, and organize an excellent team of  volunteers who left for the field a 4.30 am yesterday. See below for more information.


Direct reports from local partners network on the ground

KPB, KAPPALA, UPN-V and JARNOP

Food poisoning from contaminated food - Eko Teguh and teams from KPB, KAPPALA, UPN-V and JARNOP reported that distribution of contaminated nasi bungkus (mixed rice meals) to a series of villages in Klaten have caused a serous bout of food poisoning which has affected hundreds of people in the area. While some people were transported to already overcrowded and undersupplied hospitals, hundreds urgently needed Oral Rehydration Salts and antibiotics for treatment. IDEP immediately began purchasing the medications needed.
 
Rains set in and shelter is desperately needed - These teams report that as rains have set in and many people are still without basic shelter there are increasing numbers of displaced people falling ill. They have again requested for support to provide shelters, tents, blankets, lamps, small portable generators and other basic survival needs.

Mobile clinics - In these areas, many people in desperate need have yet to receive any kind of medical treatment. The mobile clinic teams have again requested urgent help with emergency medical supplies and up to 8 more vehicles suitable for use as mobile clinics and delivering supplies.

Mt. Merapi Volcano update - In addition to the enormous challenges already being faced on  the ground, the teams are reporting increased activity of the nearby Mt.  Merapi Volcano. Expert sources say that a major eruption could occur within next 1-2 weeks. This poses a further very serious threat to an already vulnerable population. The team would like to speed up aid efforts and  if possible re-stockithe completely depleted emergency and medical supplies for this extremely high-risk region.

Yayasan IBU /  Rakata

Thanks to support from IDEP donors, 125 Family Aid Buckets were prepared by the Yayasan IBU / Rakata team and immediately delivered to displaced families throughout the area. This team is a highly experienced  emergency response group which partnered with IDEP back in 2005 in the Calang area.IDEP initially supported both of the mobile field teams listed above by sending them each of them Rp  30,000,000 from our emergency funds to purchase emergency supplies. We will  continue to support them by channeling whatever funds, medical supplies and medical volunteers we can obtain for their efforts. PLEASE CONTACT US  IMMEDIATELY.  If you are able to donate funds to help purchase medicines and other supplies please go to our website: www.idepfoundation.org/idep_donate.php

Lee Downey and Sam Schultz’s team deliver 2 truck loads of aid
Including ‘Family Aid Buckets’ and other emergency supplies

Basic Family Aid Buckets contents  – loading and sending off the two trucks

While our assessment team was still in the field, Lee Downey and Sam Schultz, in conjunction with IDEP, were able to collect sufficient funds though cash and in-kind  donations to fill 2 large trucks with supplies for delivery to communities in quake-affected areas. With support from local volunteers, family and friends, they were able make over 100 Family Aid Buckets (1 bucket with supplies for 1 family) purchase food, tools stoves and other  items.

IDEP’s Asian Tsunami partner organization Bumi Sehat emptied out their existing stores of medications and donated 8 large boxes of emergency medical supplies. And upon advice from Indonesian photographer Rama Surya who has been on the ground in the disaster zone since the start of the emergency, David Mendoza (who has been generously supporting the aid effort since it started) was able to purchase several cases of much needed milk which were also loaded onto the trucks. This type of quick action is so very much needed in the early days of an emergency.
 
The 2 trucks left Bali Friday June 2nd to deliver the medical supplies to villages that had yet to receive any assistance. The next morning at 6 am Lee and Sam flew to Yogya to meet up with the trucks on the ground and ensure that the aid is used most effectively. Two of Sam’s key local staff members (a Balinese policeman and one gentleman who is from the quake affected area) are traveling with them to ensure that no looting or thievery  occurs, a major problem in the area at this time.

This wonderful posse also traveled with Bumi Sehat’s Director and Chief Midwife Robin Lim who heads up the Bumi Sehat Community Clinics in Bali and in Samatiga, Aceh. Robin is highly experienced in providing emergency medical assistance and midwifery in the field and is currently working with local medical teams on the ground.

Emergency zone education by  IDEP

As part of IDEP’s Community Based Disaster  Management Capacity Building program, an Emergency Zone Information booklet was developed by IDEP. This easy to understand booklet is  designed to be used by people on the ground in disaster zones. It includes detailed information about what to do in the case of earthquakes, tsunamis, tips for sanitation and avoiding water borne diseases, nutrition, post traumatic stress self-help and the special needs and abilities of women in disaster zones.

IDEP has already distributed several hundred  photocopied versions of the booklet to the field with the Family Aid  Buckets, and we are currently in the processes of printing several thousand more copies, which will be delivered to the quake-affected area by early next week.

How you can help

Please contribute and help make it possible for these efforts to continue

IDEP is urgently seeking cash donations to buy more supplies and load trucks to be sent to Yogya. Your support is vital for these efforts to continue. With sources conservatively estimating that more than 1,000,000 may have been left homeless the final scale and cost of the relief efforts required for the Java Earthquake victims may even outstrip that of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami with some 500,000 people displaced. The United Nations have stated that over US$ 100 million will be needed in just the first six months of relief efforts to the Java Quake.   

IDEP appreciates all of those who have made donations in support of our work to help the victims of the Java Quake and we request that your support continues to flow to these people in need.


To make a donation please go to our website: www.idepfoundation.org/idep_donate.php.  

To donate funds from outside Indonesia a wire transfer is the only option available at this  time. IDEP is working to find sponsors in the US, Canada, and Australia who will accept tax-deductible contributions and offer a solution for on-line donations.

To wire  transfer funds:

Bank Name: BNI
Account Name: Yayasan IDEP
Branch:  Ubud
Address: Jl Raya Ubud,Bali 80571
Swift Code:  BNINIDJADPS
Account No: 0049400253 (Rupiah  Donations)
Account No: 0049400264 (US$  Donations)

If you are wire transferring funds please notify IDEP by filling in our donation registration form  on-line at: www.idepfoundation.org/idep_donate.php indicating the amount, the originating currency (i.e. US  dollars, UK pounds, etc), bank name and city from which the transfer was  made, your name (as you would like to be listed on the donor list), and the  date of the transfer. A receipt will be sent once the funds have arrived. Also, if you wish to earmark the funds for a particular project please indicate that.

Thank You so much to everyone that is making this emergency response initiative possible, and for any support you are able to provide so that we can keep this important support alive on the ground.

Volunteers needed at this time

IDEP currently needs volunteer support for the following:

English speaking volunteers who can man an  information desk at IDEP’s office in Ubud, Bali - The most urgent need  is people who can help in the evenings and on the weekends. If you are able to help please come to IDEP’s office on Jl Hanoman No 42 and register. For  directions on how to get to the office download the map from our website at  www.idepfoundation.org/down_map.html or call the office (0361) 981 504.

Professional fundraisers with existing networks and contacts who can help to raise support for IDEP’s emergency  response efforts on the ground. If you are able to help with this please  contact: drmichael@idepfoundation.org

We will be sending out regular updates about progress on the  ground and these can also be found on our website www.idepfoundation.org/java_quake.html. If you would like to be removed from this mailing list please send a note to : info@idepfoundation.org

(click here to read previous update report#2)


return to home page