© Transpiosa Riomandha / Handicap International
Handicap International has launched an evaluation mission in communities and camps housing tens of thousands of people displaced since the eruption of volcano Merapi on Tuesday 26th October.
Several tens of thousands of people have been forced to evacuate their homes following the eruption Volcano Merapi, one of the most active in the world. The volcano, located close to the city of Yogyakarta on the island of Java, first erupted on Tuesday 26 October 2010. The authorities have ordered the evacuation of everyone living within a 7km radius of the crater. The rural population have fled their homes and taken refuge in camps. Uncertainty remains over the future activity of the volcano and the length and scale of the crisis.
Handicap International’s teams present in Indonesia immediately set about evaluating the needs of families exposed to the crisis and the most vulnerable in particular. In a crisis situation, it is important that vulnerable people benefit from the same services as the rest of the population, and their specific needs must be taken into account.
“We have been able to visit several camps today (Wednesday),” explains Johann Matti, who led the evaluation mission. “People are mainly located in schools, town halls and even in tents. During the day, we’ve mainly seen elderly people, women and children, as the men have returned home to work the land and take care of their cattle. Since the population is moving around, it’s hard to evaluate their needs. We have also noticed that in the province of Yogyakarta, where most of the aid is concentrated, the conditions for distributing aid are relatively good. On the other hand, the most exposed populations are concentrated in the neighbouring province of Central Java, which is receiving less media attention. The situation there is much more precarious. Our efforts over the next few days are going to concentrate on this more rural and less accessible province, where Handicap International is already performing activities.”
Handicap International is developing inclusive risk reduction projects in Indonesia. The aim of these projects is to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities and the vulnerable both as stakeholders and beneficiaries. Following this eruption, Handicap International will focus its operations on awareness and inclusive risk reduction activities in exposed communities and camps for displaced persons.
Initially, our team will concentrate its activities within a 15km radius of the crater in three districts and a dozen villages on alert in the Province of Central Java. Handicap International will work in partnership with local disabled people’s associations, local NGOs and government stakeholders to ensure the needs of the most vulnerable are taken into account. The nature of our response to this crisis will necessarily reflect further developments in the level of volcanic activity.
