ROTARY SHELTERBOX IN ACTION TO RESPOND TO DISASTER AREA

ROTARY SHELTERBOX 

IN ACTION TO RESPOND TO DISASTER AREA

By PDG Rodolfo C Balmater - RC. Jakarta Gambir

Adviser, Yayasan Rotary ShelterBox Indonesia

On 25 October 2010, an earthquake of 7.6 richter  scale hit the Indian Ocean not far from South Sumatra and brought a massive waves which obliterated a part of Island Mentawai and more than 420 people perished and brought destructions to many houses and infrastructure in the Mentawai Island. 

How does Rotary ShelterBox  respond?

Yayasan Rotary ShelterBox Indonesia under the able leadership of Ms Eva Kurniaty contacted the National Disaster Management Agency expressing the willingness to provide quickly more than 300 shelterboxes to the victims. These shelterboxes can be deployed in 24 hours with the support of National Disaster Management Agency and related state-owned enterprises such as Garuda/Merpati to the nearest Airport such as Padang and could be dispatched by available ships to the victims area of Sikakap, Mentawai.

Knowing that 300 shelterboxes are not enough to meet the requirements of the Mentawai victims, Ms Eva Kurniaty alerted  Mr Tom Hendersen, Chairman of the International ShelterBox in London, UK to mobilize 1,000 shelterboxes for Indonesia. And as of todate, 400 shelterboxes reached Cengkareng Airport and ready for delivery to Padang City .

In addition to the above actions, there are nine (9) ShelterBox Response Team (SRT)  who quickly flew to Jakarta to help deployed the shelterboxes to the victims area. As of todate, these SRT team include 5 persons from United Kingdom, 2 persons from USA,  1 Canadian & 1 Australian. These are professionals who are now in Padang  volunteered their time & efforts to deploy the shelterboxes in the Sikakap area of  Mentawai island.

What is the benefit of Shelterbox to the victims?

The major benefit of Shelterbox is to provide  the victims temporary living facilities with Warmth, Dignity, & Comfort who lost everything in a disaster. What is inside the shelterbox? It provides the victims with mosquito nets, 2 boxes of water purification tablets, enough to treat water for 10 people for six months, 2 colapsible 2 gallon water containers, 4 waterproof ground sheets with blanket lining, 50-feet nylon rope, multifuel stove, 10 thermal blankets or sleeping bags, 2 cooking pots & utensils, children’s school supplies, dishes & eating utensils, etc. The shelterbox, indeed, contains all the necessary facilities to provide comfort to the victims.

What is the action plan of Yayasan Rotary ShelterBox  Indonesia?

Under the leadership of Ms Eva Kurniaty, a fund raising activity is put in place to generate money so that shelterboxes are ready on hand in Indonesia to respond quickly  to victims of disasters. Given the adequate facilities as described above, each shelterbox cost around US$ 1,000. In fact in the last 5 years, Indonesia has received under  the leadership of Mr Tom Henderson of United Kingdom, for free more than 10,000  ShelterBoxes deployed to Banda Aceh Tsunami in 2004, earthquake in Jogjakarta in 2005, earthquake in Pangandaran, West Java in 2006,  Padang , West Sumatra in 2008, Sumba in 2009 and today in Mentawai.

The fund raising golf activities on 24 November 2010 has generated major supports from the following donors:

Donations US$10,000 & above

(a)    PT Telkom & Medika

(b)   PT Kapal Api

(c)    Wing Chai Realty Developer

(d)   Nyra of Mr Sofian Susantio

Donations US$1,000 & above

(a)    PT Sumber Bintang Rejeki

(b)   PT Slamet  Rahardjo

(c)    PT Medco

(d)   M150 & Isotonik

(e)   Credo Developer , Singapore

The other donors come from Rotary Clubs such as RC Tangerang, RC Jakarta Sentral, RC Jakarta Metropolitan, RC Jakarta Gambir, RC Jakarta Cilandak, RC Jakarta  Prapatan, RC Pekalongan, RC Surabaya Kaliasin, RC Surabaya, RC Surabaya Selatan, RC Surabaya Rungkut, RC Batam, RC Surabaya Jembatan Merah, RC Jakarta Sunter Centennial, & countless individuals such as Rtn Ali Cheko, Rtn Slamet Hartono friends, Razul &  Lionardi family.

As of today, Yayasan Rotary ShelterBox has accumulated donations nearly Rp 1 billion or equivalent to US$100,000. This fund will provide nearly 100 pieces of shelterbox for deployment with dispatch to the disaster area under the coordination with government’s National Disaster Management Agency. 

As of  8 November 2010 afternoon, ships are loading 324 shelterboxes in Padang Port for delivery & deployment to Sikakap Area , hardest hit by the tsunami last 25 October. In this effort, Rotary can contribute to addressing the needs of humanity----victims of disaster.  Certainly this effort is a God-given gift to all of us to lend a hand to the poor people who lost everything they treasured in life.

Hopefully, ShelterBox International can contribute ,even in a small way,  uplifting the needs of the victims. 

This is the spirit of Rotary’s Motto: SERVICE-ABOVE SELF.

ShelterBox Appeal for urgent donation to Mentawai-ANY AMOUNT IS FINE

ShelterBox Appeal for urgent donation to Mentawai-ANY AMOUNT IS FINE

Fellow Rotarians;

The scenes of death and destruction in Indonesia almost paint a picture of a near apocalypse. Scattered dead bodies of humans and animals, destroyed homes reveal human beings powerlessness against the forces of nature.

                              

Indonesia is fighting with two disasters tsunami and volcano eruption, at a time. Last week, Indonesia's Mentawai Islands shocked by an earthquake of magnitude 7.7 and triggered a tsunami. Indonesia is located along the Pacific Ring of Fire, which is one of the most seismically and volcanically volatile areas in the world.

The remoteness of the Mentawai islands has proven the main difficulty in getting aid to victims of the October 26 tsunami. Over thirty coastal villages of remote Indonesian archipelago were either destroyed or severely damaged by the tsunami. The latest official death toll stands at 431 but the exact number of casualties in the most isolated villages remains unknown.

Tragically, most of them have lost their homes and have nowhere to go except to wait for government aid in makeshift camps. Bodies have been recovered from the tsunami and earthquake hit areas.

The earthquake and ensuing tsunami destroyed about 500 homes and damaged about 200 others.

A massive storm has moved into the Mentawai region making tsunami relief work even more difficult - and life more miserable for the local villagers who are living in makeshift shelters. The delays were due to unfriendly weather.

The storm is forecast to last up to four days and is creating hazardous ocean conditions - for both the 150-kilometre crossing from Padang and access to the isolated villages.

An update from SRT member Jodie E Hurt who is in Padang, Sumatra: 'It's been a long few days in meetings and trying to coordinate the delivery of aid to the Mentawai Islands. Logistically, it is a nightmare and a storm is seriously affecting help reaching the people who have suffered so much and continue to do so. We're working hard to... ensure the delivery of ShelterBoxes as soon as possible.'

Jodie E Hurt: long few days in meetings and trying to coordinate the delivery of aid to get to the island of Mentawai...logistically a nightmare and storm seriously effecting help reaching the people who have suffered so much and continue to do so....unbelievably frustrating but team are working hard to ensure the delivery of ShelterBoxes  asap...

We need your support now to help the people of the Mentawai islands.

BANK TRANSFER, ANY AMOUNT IS FINE:

Yayasan Perkumpulan Rotary Se-Indonesia, QQ ShelterBox Indonesia

BANK NAME: Bank CIMB Niaga

ACCT NAME: Yayasan Perkumpulan Rotary Se-Indonesia, QQ ShelterBox Indonesia

ACCT #: 085-01-01381-00-5

SWIFT CODE: BNIAIDJA

CURRENCY: IDR

BANK ADDRESS: Bank CIMB Niaga-Sudirman Branch

                                  Graha Niaga, Jl.Jend.Sudirman Kav.58– Senayan

                                  Jakarta 12910, Indonesia

REFERENCE: ShelterBox-HELP to MENTAWAI

Thank you for your time and consideration of this proposal, and please contact me for any details or the latest developments on this important relief aids.

Sincerely,

John H.G. Soe

Deputy District Governor 2010 -2011, www.rotaryd3400.org 

Public Relations for ShelterBox Indonesia, www.shelterbox.org

"Better Late than Never"

"Better Late than Never"

by AG. Andreas Sindudharma

President Vicky since few months ago has requested me to contribute in writing article that can inspire us as Rotarians. I have to say that it was easier said than done because I don’t think I have good capability in inspiring my fellow Rotarians in Gambir. I have to say due to my current profession it is really tough to find spare time for myself let alone to contribute to the club and my community. I almost came to the point that I am quite ashamed to myself on my track record as Rotarian.

Since last week I was touched and disturbed by many problems in our lives. All happened the same day : Tsunami in Mentawai, Merapi eruption and terrible flood n jam in Jakarta. During the flood in Jakarta some of us exchanging chat via BBM, how many of us trapped in terrible jam in various places of Jakarta. Even though it was painful to us, I thought people of Mentawai and Merapi must have more loss to deal with than us. My mind tried to think how to help them while doing nothing, sometimes frustrated that many Rotarians have gone to the field carrying supplies for refugees, collecting money and communicating. What about me ?

It so happened by the end of the week I recalled someone from RC Jakarta Gambir who stay in Mentawai – Dr. Dave Jenkins. A former Gambir member that did many things in Mentawai. Gambir once helped his cause in Mentawai, supplying Mosquito Nets yet sadly after that our relationship just vanished. I looked for his contact number and it’s still there. I texted him, checking whether it’s still his active number and whether he’s still in Mentawai. He immediately called me - not replying SMS but called – and telling he’s in good shape, SurfAid was appointed as the leading coordinator to assist Mentawai  by the Indonesian Government etc. I offered him that I maybe can help. I was not sure what I could help but at least I know somebody well in Mentawai. Then I checked with DG Al Purwa, anything that Rotary would like to do in Mentawai and DG responded asking me to check with AG Eva or AG Paul Getty. I contacted Eva and there she was : excitedly responding my information about somebody trusted that can help her distribute the Shelter Boxes to Mentawai. She already had 1,000 ShelterBoxes in Padang but had no idea how to distribute them to Mentawai. She was very relieved that Shelter Box team can be connected with trusted and capable partner like SurfAid International as she wrote later in the mailing list : What a great news that ex Rotarian and Rotarian are in a big action in Padang and Mentawai.

Moreover in my office every Monday morning is a big meeting that most of the insurance agents gathered, probably around 300 people. I requested a chance to offer a simple announcement that let’s do some charity and I belong to Rotary organization that can help channel the money directly. Just less than 2 minutes talk in front of those 300 agents and in two hours time almost Rp. 12 Mio collected and transferred almost 6 mio each to Mentawai via SurfAid and Merapi via Rotary Peduli Merapi.

I couldn’t help to hide my excitement & thankfulness. At last I did something I was proud of. Not because of doing big thing or with big amount of money, nor that I sacrificed a lot of my time to do something important. But I managed to exploit the best Rotary resource but least mentioned : The Network. Rotary is network of people with various capabilities and interests. Yet each Rotarian is also has his/ her own network. What I do is just connecting my network and the Rotary network. As simple as that, spontaneous yet fruitful.

This made me think and reflect : if I focused on my disadvantages like time, money and capability to help other people I wouldn’t not be able to do anything. But if I focus on what I can do, I will be still able to help others. Like old saying mentioned so many times : there’s always an opportunity in every challenge.

Hope I can do better in the next future and hope my friends find this worth reading. I just did what I can do, no further pretention J