Indonesia Disaster Recovery Update

World Hope International (WHI) Director of Rural Development Keith Norris visited Indonesia in July to review WHI’s earthquake recovery work still underway there.

In May 2006, an earthquake of magnitude 6.3 struck the southern coast of Central Java leaving 600,000 homeless. WHI responded immediately by dispatching trucks of emergency supplies and preparing volunteers to help with the rebuilding process. Two months later WHI Rural Development selected a village that had been completely leveled to receive extensive reconstruction assistance, beginning the long process of rebuilding a devastated area.

A contractor specializing in steel frame construction was contracted to quickly erect steel frames and roofs in the village. Sand and cement were given to each family so they could rebuild the walls of their homes using salvaged brick. The people were poor landless day laborers who had no financial resources, so WHI provided food and other supplies for the first three months after the disaster, allowing the people to focus on clearing rubble and rebuilding their homes.

As I visited each home a year later, I heard over and over again expressions of gratitude. I also heard an interesting story of how helping others in time of need brought Muslims and Christians together. Daniel was a Christian who volunteered in the WHI relief team. When local Muslims who had received WHI assistance learned that Daniel and his pregnant wife were living in a shack with a terribly leaky roof, they decided to use some leftover roofing material to replace his roof. A group of the men packed the materials and traveled two hours to put a new roof on Daniel's house in only one day. Now Daniel has a dry house in which to raise his newborn baby and Muslims and Christians have become friends as a result of the tragedy.

There is still much work to be done in Indonesia to rebuild after such extensive devastation. Learn more about WHI Rural Development, or make a contribution to the recovery work in Indonesia and other critically needy locations around the world.