A series of earthquakes measuring 7.6, 6.2, and 6.8 on the Richter scale struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra on 30 September and 1 October 2009. It resulted in large number of human causalities and wide-spread destruction of buildings and infrastructure. A total of 135,299 houses were destroyed or heavily damaged.

Transitional Shelter (PHS) Photo By : Ujang/APF

The Government of Indonesia declared that the recovery and reconstruction period would commence in November 2009 and continue until April 2010, with the objective of initiating the recovery process and ensuring that all services were restored. The capacity of the Provincial and district (and sub-district) governments to manage a large scale reconstruction and recovery program is low. On the financial side, legal hurdles stood in the way. Funds available under the Development Plan and Budget of Padang (APBD-P) for 2009 were revised and approved in September. However with the disaster, the revised plan and budget were no longer relevant, and the law does not have a provision to allow a second amendment. Furthermore, provincial and district officials were wary of committing funding for recovery for fear that they may be accused of non compliance of procurement regulations. This radically impacted the government capacity to support the rebuilding of houses, schools and supporting the rehabilitation of livelihoods, particularly those for vulnerable groups such as women, the disabled and the elderly.

Aceh People’s Forum aims to support the people of West Sumatra based on its experience in rehabilitation and reconstruction in Aceh following the December 2004 earthquake and tsunami. By targeting remoter 5 villages in Parit Malintang district, APF aims to increase the inclusion of marginalized and vulnerable groups, and target its activities to ensure that the products and built-in processes (such as community-based monitoring and disaster risk reduction) are sustainable and ‘institutionalized’ at the village level.

The APF project has made good progress during its first phase. Some key achievements include: (1) 52 T-shelters, built from scratch, are ready for occupancy, 14 shelters still require flooring installation, 14 shelters that require doors and windows, and 28 T-shelters remaining to be constructed. Additionally, 101 T-shelters have completed rehabilitation during the first phase of APF activities. 250 T-shelters which were constructed in the first phase now have concrete floors, and 162 are ready to be used. (2) APF has formed Village Development Committees (VDC) in five different villages consisting of up to nine community representatives in each committee. APF office is also open to the communities where they can obtain information on construction standards and ask questions to the staff to help solve problems/address issues in construction. (3) 71 families have completed their livelihoods training, and training for a further 48 is on-going. In order to ensure sustainability, the project has facilitated a contract between the women’s groups and local department stores such as Nagoya and Matahari, where the women’s house ware products are now being sold.

Priority has also been given to vulnerable groups, such as; (1) Disabled people, (2) Women with babies, (3) Elderly, and (4) Pregnant women. Likewise, many children remain traumatized by the earthquake, and APF placed a focus on raising awareness among parents of the importance providing children more structured surroundings, which the T-shelters can provide compared to tents, etc. Furthermore, APF beneficiaries have constituted, in general, more women than men, particularly amongst vulnerable groups. Women have greater role in the family due to the matriarchy system in West Sumatra. Further, as men undertake their daily work (farming, etc), women were more readily available to participate in APF activities. The women often attended the beneficiary meetings hosted by the VDC and APF, which facilitated the strengthening of the ‘ownership’ of the project among the wider community, as well as helping to manage expectations on what the project can achieve.

[Ich/APF]