HANDS ON DISASTER RESPONSE
PROJECT SUNGAI GERINGGING, CLOSING REPORT
After a successful five and a half months in West Sumatra, Hands On Disaster Response’s Project Sungai Geringging (PSG) has finished. During our period of intervention HODR welcomed 227 volunteers from 29 different countries along with a strong number of volunteers from all around Indonesia. Together we worked to clear the footprint of destroyed homes, taught earthquake safety in schools, built transitional shelters, taught English, built footpaths to community water systems, and worked to help communities collect rainwater – a variety of programs designed to help our neighbours recover from the earthquakes which struck on 30 September and 1 October, 2009. The following is a recap of the work completed over the last weeks of PSG and a few words of thanks.
Transitional Shelters
The wooden frame for the final shelter was built in record time. It took an all-hands push during the final days to complete the rendering, but shelter number 10 was finished in record time. On April 2nd, when Ibu Suma and her family moved in they turned a HODR t-shelter into their home.
HODR is proud to have provided a dignified t-shelter for its beneficiaries throughout Project Sungai Geringging. Targeting the most vulnerable, a total of ten transitional shelters were built in our host community of Tanjung Alai. Utilizing locally milled lumber and complimenting the frame with earthquake-resistant construction techniques, the shelters provide dry safe space for families as they begin the next step to recovery and rebuilding. Throughout the community people can be found building additions, finishing their floors, moving furniture and hanging pictures in these shelters. In more than one family home a proud place was set up to display photos of the volunteers who worked on their new home.
100+ Sites
During the course of PSG we completed salvage/cleanup on 102 houses and deconstruction work on 89 houses. We celebrated the milestone 100th house, the deconstruction and salvage of Ibu Elfida’s home, in the last week of March. At the start of PSG it was clear we would need specific skills to safely and effectively deconstruct partially and totally damaged buildings by hand. The mantra for the volunteer crews was ‘safety and salvage,’ safety being paramount for the volunteers and salvage (of reusable materials) for the beneficiaries. The deconstruction phase (“safe-ing”) of a house was followed by teams of volunteers separating salvageable material from rubble. The materials we helped salvage amounted to the equivalent of thousands of dollars per house.
Back to School
The Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) earthquake-safety training program in schools started in January in response to the behaviour of children witnessed during a strong aftershock. It has now been delivered to more than 25 schools across the district. HODR volunteers also added a first aid component to the DRR training and ten schools benefited from this educational process as well.
The Cultural Experience
A major part of volunteering with HODR is the unique way in which you’re able to connect with the community. Certainly in Indonesia this has been no different, and we have been taken under the wing of many local people and officials. The Minangkabau culture on this part of the island, pre-dating but heavily influenced by Islam, provided a prominent and engaging cultural backdrop.
HODR worked closely with local and regional leaders over the course of our project. It was with their ongoing support that we were able to help the people of Padang Pariaman. With this backdrop, it was a privilege to be invited into the home of the Bupati (Regent) of Padang Pariaman district for a celebration held in our honour. We were provided with a festival of traditional food and dancing, a short moving play interpreting the moment of the earthquake, and certificates of appreciation. Everyone was also presented with a traditional horsehair hat and invited to take part in the more modern Indonesian tradition- Karaoke!
Terima Kasih!
At the end of every HODR project we host a special event for our local community, to thank the many people whom we have helped and have helped us along the way. Over one hundred people came to celebrate the completion of Project Sungai Geringging on our final Saturday, with local food and music and of course lots of children to entertain!
One of the last events to take place is the distribution of our remaining household equipment and numerous tools we collect during the project. Our focus was to contribute to the families who we had not been able to help with other programs during PSG.
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I would like to thank the 227 volunteers who have given their time and energy throughout the project. Your efforts along with the generous donations from the HODR Family allowed us to help the people of Padang Pariaman recover from the earthquakes.
In part, the transitional shelter project success came from individual volunteers who stepped up to the many challenges and roles, dedicating their energy to perfecting each task and passing on their skills to incoming volunteers. The pride and energy that went into making each shelter a home has been a touching part of the project for many of the volunteers involved.
Vital to every project is the knowledge and experience provided by our local staff. With that in mind, everyone at Project Sungai Geringging would like to say ‘terima kasih banyak’ to staff members Rina, Hamdan, Rosnani and Iwan for working so hard with us throughout the project.
Rina our translator was extremely energetic, she always brought fun to our day. Hamdan, our lively driver and local sourcer-extraordinaire, played an important role in the field. Our housekeeper Rosnani rose to the challenge of feeding and fueling an ever increasing amount of volunteers and worked tirelessly with her son Iwan (Andy, to his closest friends!) to keep at least some of the dust and mud out of our clothes.
I’d like to say a particular thank you to Marc Young and Stefanie Chang, who launched PSG, but were called to Haiti in January to initiate Project Leogane. Project Sungai Geringging has been an unparalleled experience thanks to the efforts of these two people. Following their departure, the support and encouragement of volunteers Nate Harrold, TC Kida and Jess Van Ness, along with my other personal heroes, helped guide this project to a successful and dynamic close.
Every person who has connected with Project Sungai Geringging, whether as a volunteer, a staff member, a donor, or a supporter back at home deserves a huge thank you from myself and everyone at Hands On Disaster Response.
Henri Fawcett
HODR Project Coordinator
Project Sungai Geringging
Check out Photos & Video from Project Sungai Geringging!
For all updates from the project, please visit our Project Page.
We were on rubble site called Ferdinand. The home was approx 40′ long by 20′ wide. The earthquake left the house in shambles. It totally collapsed except for one corner where the roof was leaning on a pillar. The roof was approx 9″ thick, reinforced with a web of rebar inside. Our crew took on the challenge of getting the roof down safely so we could remove the rubble off site. Armed with sunscreen, three sledge hammers, three wheelbarrows, and five shovels, fifteen of us busted down a 1500+ square foot roof in less than 7 hours. I had never seen such a display of passion and strength in a group of people. We kept pumping each other up and
challenging one another to work even harder. As each person took turns on the sledge, the bond got stronger. The men and women left it all out there. I have seen a lot in my life but never a better display of character than our team showed that day. 
volunteers on this remote Indonesian community has been immense. PSG came to a close this past Friday. Stay tuned to www.HODR.org for the PSG Final Report and one more photo set, coming soon!
HODR project is based was 90% destroyed. In the face of such overwhelming destruction, progress is being made. In the first two months of the project, more than 100 volunteers have plugged into myriad of clean-up and community recovery programs including rubble removal, supporting local field hospitals, running children’s programs at an Internally Displaced Persons camp, and providing warehousing capacity for other NGOs. We are truly engaged in the community, and with your support we are making a direct difference.
volunteers are using their construction skills to help families in the rebuilding process get back into their homes. In support of our rebuild efforts, the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation, AEGON Insurance and the Cedar Rapids Home Builders Association have provided generous funding for project expenses and rebuilding materials, ensuring that general donations to HODR continue to be focused toward direct disaster response efforts, such as those in Haiti.
APRIL 2010 – Last week HODR launched the Rhode Island Recovery Coordination Center (RI RCC) in response to a request from RI Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster and the RI Emergency Management Agency, following the recent historic flooding. Over the coming weeks we will have a small team running the RI RCC, a central hub for inter-agency coordination statewide, to help connect residents affected by the flooding with assistance. With the strong presence of local volunteers there is not a current need for a HODR volunteer project, but we are pleased to be able to provide coordinative services to help our neighboring state.
