First week in Indo

Hi there,

After the first full week in Indonesia, things feel like they are starting to make sense. The main goal for the project this week was to get a full understanding of the program, which we are to evaluate. This means field visits, interviews and lots of documents to read. Basically, this program has various goals around disaster preparedness and mitigation of risk. In 8 villages near the city of Padang, community members, local government and the private sector stakeholders get together to discuss the risks they face. Obviously, earthquake is a looming threat, however these villages also face flood, landslide, forest fire and volcanic eruption! After prioritizing the risks, the villagers, school children, government officials and local businesses are offered training in everything from first aid and disaster preparedness to facilitating community participation. They are then asked what small infrastructure project would be most helpful to the village. Most villages chose to construct a tsunami evacuation route, while another built a community relocation building built to withstand earthquakes.

So the next two weeks are to figure out, just how we will be able to quantify the benefits of the program, in financial terms, using the earthquake of 2009 as a basis for the potential impacts of hazards faced by these villages. If any of you have any bright ideas… please let me know!

As for more personal news, we have managed to meet some great people in the past week. From university students to NGO workers, security guards, storeowners and really chatty taxi drivers, people here are all very friendly. We’ve been watching a lot of world cup soccer, had an inaugural karaoke night and made a day trip to a nearby mountain village. I have also started a language course three days a week and should be starting a membership at a local gym… although I don’t know how I will manage a good workout in the oppressive heat.

The first field visit was to a village named Salido, which is right in the path of any tsunami, has landslide potential and frequent flooding. The small village has built an evacuation route to the hills in the event of a tsunami. They say that villagers would have about 12 minutes to get to high ground after an earthquake and unfortunately, most will not be warned of an impending tsunami as the ‘early warning’ system takes about half an hour on average to disseminate tsunami information, hence the imperative on awareness, preparedness and self-survival.

Along the way, we passed by a wedding ceremony with a beautifully dressed bride, with her 5lb headpiece and tiny wooden shoes, walking the streets to inform the village of her impending ceremony. Following the bride is a pushcart filled with her dowry of bolts of fancy material, jewelry and other possessions, and a plethora of family, friends and a band belting out traditional Indonesian wedding music. Many people are getting married these days as Ramadan, the month of fasting, begins on August 12^th, not the time to have a celebration… unless you really want to save on the catering bill!

OK, another week ahead. I hope that everyone is happy and healthy! Also, I am unable to check my blog from work, so please email me if you have any comments teron.3moore@gmail.com. I love hearing from everyone!

Until next time,

Teron