Hands On Disaster Response is now All Hands Volunteers

Before we get to Marc’s 120 Day Report I wanted to take a moment to thank Marc personally for his big heart and strong back. He has worked so very hard in the last year in both Mississippi and Yogyakarta. I valued his help, guidance and friendship in Biloxi and I want to personally thank him for all the great things he did in Indonesia. Thank you for helping to create another successful Hands On project Marc!

Micro Financing
Right at the end of our time in Sawit one of our alums from Biloxi, Nick Taranto, arrived. Nick is working as an ETA (English teaching assistant) in Indonesia and brought some people to the village that are establishing micro-financing programs throughout the country. The idea is to have a co-operative type of bank that is self managed and allows the community to draw small loans for livelihood development. Providing start up money and given a relatively small amount of seed money, the project could help many people in the village. It is all very much in the preliminary stages at this point but there is possibility that we will have an ongoing presence in Sawit in the form of this program. We are very excited about the prospect of helping to bring this to the village and will keep you posted with the progress.

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What a fabulous 30 day period we have had! The volunteer numbers swelled to 18 at the highest point and we have maintained double digits for weeks. Even better is the international face this effort is displaying. Countries represented include volunteers from Korea, South Africa, Malta, Switzerland, Italy, France, Canada, Ireland, United Kingdom, Australia, and the USA. You had better act fast if you desire to represent your country, state, or city. We will be here until 30 September, 2006 so book your ticket now and come be a “rock star” volunteer in Sawit.

60 Days in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

GREAT NEWS – We have decided to stay in Indonesia until 1 October, 2006. If you were not able to come and help us yet….this is your opportunity. The rainy season in this area typically starts around October and we should be present in the community to help with the final push to get everyone ready for that seasonal change. (more…)

Welcome to the first summary report from our Indonesian Earthquake Relief Effort!

The situation here is amazing! We have this little house in the middle of a very hard hit village. We are currently helping the very proactive residents clear the “ruins” from the footprint of their home. The reward has been great – just as we finish the clearing and they have an adequate space they start hauling in bamboo, fresh cut from neighboring stands, and begin to erect their version of transitional shelter! They lash the bamboo together and then put a tarp over the top and have something that will provide shelter while they re-build their house around it. The work at present can be physically demanding, but we are starting to find other projects to become active in (in true HandsOn fashion!). (more…)

Calling All Volunteers! HODR wants you! Marc and TC have been working hard and would love to have some fresh company and additional hands. We have 5 or so Hands On Alumni planning to make it out there in the next few weeks, but we’d love to have you join them. Please refer to the FAQ & Volunteer Information section for more details about volunteering in Indonesia.

We need your help in Indonesia. We have an up and running volunteer center situated halfway between the cities of Yogyakarta and Bantul in Central Java, Indonesia. Now we need your support in volunteering or donations to help keep the project running. For more information on this project, please visit FAQ & Volunteer Information.

Indonesia Photo Gallery

Overview

This is a very preliminary report. TC and I will continue to seek information and provide facts over the upcoming days.

Our hotel (Ishiro) is in an unaffected area of Yogyakarta (pronounced Jogjakarta – or Joeg ja for short). We found this college town to be virtually fully functioning with only random pockets of damage. All services needed can be found here. Supplies, accommodations, food water, shopping, internet, transportation are all offered. We have been told that it might be difficult to find hotel accommodations, but haven’t found that to be the case. We have been paying 160,000 rupiah (1usd = 8900Rp) for a room with 2 beds, aircon, and private hot water shower, including a simple breakfast. We will be moving tomorrow to a beautiful private home that occasionally lets rooms to college students (none currently rented). We will have a fan room with 2 beds, private bath, laundry service, cleaning every 3 days, breakfast and dinner provided for 95,000 Rp. PER MONTH. (more…)

HODR Operations Director Mac Young and Volunteer TC (Always has to be first) Kida are on their way to Indonesia to assess what HODR might be able to do to help with the earthquake relief efforts. We expect to hear a report back from them in the next 72 hours.