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Help for children after Indonesia quake
SOS Children in Indonesia
Spread across an archipelago of thousands of islands between Asia and Australia, Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population. Conflict and violence, along with many natural disasters have harmed, traumatised and displaced many hundreds of thousands of women and children. Indonesia's population is concentrated in urban areas, putting great strain on the capacity of cities to provide housing and social services.
In addition to displacement, children in Indonesia face many other challenges. Each year, thousands of women and children fall victim to human trafficking, including being forced or lured into the commercial sex trade. Child labour is also a major issue - there are nearly 3 million children in the labour force, many in dangerous occupations.
The charity SOS Children currently cares for 825 children in Indonesia at its eight Children's Villages throughout the country, and a further 149 youths at its youth houses, where young adults go to prepare for independence. A ninth village is currently being built in Yogyakarta, located south-east of Jakarta, the capital.
SOS Children began working in Indonesia in 1972, building its first Village in Lembang, approximately 10 miles north of Bandung on West Java. SOS Children's Village Lembang has 13 family houses, a nursery school, a primary school catering for more than 600 pupils, two vocational training centres providing courses in computer technology, carpentry and metalwork, a social centre and a medical centre. A youth house in Bandung provides accommodation for older children while they finish their education or vocational training.
In 1984 the charity built a community in Cibubur, on the outskirts of Jakarta. It has 15 family houses and a youth house, as well as a nursery for 75 children (open to children from both the village and the neighbourhood). The older children attend private or state elementary and secondary schools. At the centre of the village is a 'pendopo', a traditional Indonesian assembly hall, which is used for meetings, parties, dancing and even sports events.
Semarang was the site for the next charity village in 1984, in the capital of Central Java, on the north coast of the island. The village has 14 family homes and a youth house for the older boys, as well as a nursery for up to 75 children. In one corner of the village there are a number of ponds which supply the village with fresh fish, and each SOS family has its own vegetable patch. Some of the youngsters also run a small chicken farm.
SOS Children Bali is situated on the main road from Java to the Balinese capital of Denpasar and has 12 family homes. A large orchard provides the village with fresh fruit, and two small ponds supply fresh fish. Children are brought up following Balinese cultural traditions. Sport is very popular at this village and the girls' volleyball team has been very successful. The SOS nursery provides pre-school education for 75 children from the village and the surrounding neighbourhood, and there are three youth houses in Denpasar for adolescents taking their first steps towards independence.
Following the devastating earthquake on the island of Flores in December 1992, SOS Children built a village in Waturia, 9 miles west of the district capital of Maumere. The village, which opened in 1995, has 15 family houses, a youth facility and a nursery. As the island is frequently struck by earthquakes, the village buildings have special earthquake-proof roof constructions and the floors have been raised to provide protection in the event of a tsunami. There are 12 family houses and a youth house for the older boys. Vegetable gardens have been laid out for each house to provide the families with fresh vegetables and fruit trees were also planted. In 1997 the SOS nursery was opened for children from the village and the neighbourhood.
In 1999, heavy fighting in East Timor between government troops and independence fighters led SOS Children to establish an emergency relief programme providing shelter at the SOS Children's Village Flores for a group of 130 children from an orphanage in Dili, the capital of East Timor. The children stayed in the charity's care for the duration of the war.
In 2005 the charity started its SOS Family Strengthening Programmes in the country, which help children at risk of abandonment to stay in the caring environment of their own biological family. To achieve this, SOS Children’s Villages Indonesia works directly with families and communities to empower them to effectively protect and care for their children, in cooperation with local authorities and other service providers. The charity currently assists more than 7,000 people through these programmes.
SOS Children and the Boxing Day tsunami
On the morning of 26 December 2004, a tsunami, caused by an earthquake off the coast of Indonesia, struck the coastal areas of the Indian Ocean. More than 130,000 people died in Indonesia, and even more lost their homes and thousands of children were separated from their parents. The 124-mile coastline between the cities of Banda Aceh and Meulaboh was the worst-affected area and many families fled the peninsula to seek refuge in nearby Medan.
SOS Children was one of the first NGOs to offer support to the survivors in Aceh province after the tsunami struck and continues to provide long-term assistance in the area. Many children were orphaned and the loss of homes, infrastructure and belongings continues to affect communities.
SOS Children is still working to provide communities with the support they need to regain their livelihoods, and has constructed three new SOS Children's Villages in this region. The villages (each with 15 houses) are located in Meulaboh, Medan and Banda Aceh providing up to 450 children with a new family home. Also constructed were three nursery schools, where children from the new villages and the local community receive a basic education, and two mosques, to enable the continuation of traditional cultural and spiritual practices.
The Family Strengthening Programme in action: A new nursery in Medan
Duma Hasibuan runs a play school with assistance from SOS Desa Taruna Indonesia at a small village near Medan. She is a beneficiary of the Family Strengthening Programme of SOS Children's Village Medan. "There are some 30 kids who assemble here in the morning and with the assistance of two teachers I provide them basic lessons through play and dance," says Duma, who uses two rooms of her home as a classroom. There is an open space in front of the house where kids play. A kindergarten teacher from SOS Children's Village Medan comes regularly to provide Duma with basic teaching methods suitable for the small children.
"I thank SOS Children's Villages wholeheartedly for the support they are giving," Duma says. Running the nursery gives her a means to earn a living. Jimu, Duma’s neighbour, is also very happy that Duma has taken the initiative to teach the children of this poor locality. People in this village generally are daily wagers or have small shops and there are no schools in the vicinity. The children have to peddle far to attend the school in other villages or Medan city suburbs.
Local contacts
SOS Desa Taruna Indonesia
JI. Sari Endah 9
Gegerkalong
Bandung 40152 / Indonesia
Tel +62/22/201 28 81
Fax +62/22/201 10 26
e-mail nco@sos.or.id
SOS Desa Taruna Indonesia
JI. Sari Endah 9
Gegerkalong
Bandung 40152 / Indonesia
Tel +62/22/201 28 81
Fax +62/22/201 10 26
e-mail nco@sos.or.id
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