Contributor: Iswanto JA

Marudin, a local farmer who received tools and seeds from Mercy Corps, thinks the results from the corn harvest are encouraging. Photo: Iswanto JA/Mercy Corps

Indonesia's Mentawai Islands have a very hot and arid climate but, because of high rainfall and minimal pests, it is great for agriculture. When the tsunami hit last October, Mentawai residents ran from the waves with only the clothes on their backs. Most tools and crops were lost.

Through separate but collaborative programmes, Mercy Corps has distributed 559 Farmer Toolkits through funding from USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA). We've also given farmers 565 packs of corn, chilli, eggplant, watermelon, cucumber and green bean seeds — as well as 150,000 cacao seedlings — through the generosity of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

As you enter Kinumbuk, Bulasat village on Pagai Selatan (South Pagai Island), the air becomes cool. Each temporary shelter belonging to a tsunami-displaced family is nearly covered with a leafy and shady corn crop. Not far from the house there are also cacao, pepper, eggplant and cucumber seedlings that are beginning to grow.

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In their old villages — before the earthquake and tsunami hit Indonesia's Mentawai Islands last year — people never had trouble getting fresh water. Their homes were always located close to rivers, because they knew that water is of the utmost importance.

Bright orange water tanks, provided by Mercy Corps through a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, located behind the temporary shelters of a displacement camp in Indonesia's Mentawai Islands. Photo: Iswanto JA/Mercy Corps

Without shade trees, the displacement camps for tsunami survivors in Rua Monga and Bulak Monga are hot and barren. People prefer to get out of their temporary shelter and spend as much time in their farm fields as possible.

Life post-tsunami has been overwhelming for everyone affected. People in Rua Monga and Bulak Monga moved to temporary shelters built by Indonesia's National Disaster — without a reliable water source or lighting, plus the loss of their normal way of life, living conditions have been very difficult.

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The people living in Masokut were very enthusiastic about the installation of a hydraulic pump, which helps getting clean water easier for tsunami-affected families. Photo: Iswanto JA/Mercy Corps

Thanks to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Mercy Corps´ hygiene promotion, livelihood, water and sanitation programmes are improving living conditions for those living in displacement camps on Indonesia's Mentawai Islands, which were struck by a tsunami last October. In the villages of Masokut and Berilou village on the island of Sipora, these programmes are having a positive effect on the community´s health and economic wellbeing.


The head of Masokut village, Rahmat Setiawan, told Mercy Corps that people in his community have started to smile because of the success of the water and sanitation programmes. "Before Mercy Corps' water and sanitation programme, people took water from the small river that is around 100 meters behind the relocation camp. Carrying the bucket without spilling all of the water was difficult and tiring day in and day out. Every day, parents and children must take turns to bring water 100 meters home," said Rahmat.

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Jalukhu is optimistic about education in the Mentawai Islands post-earthquake and tsunami because of a “speck of light” from Mercy Corps. Photo: Iswanto JA/Mercy Corps

Crek... crok... crak! The sound of the manual typewriter echoes throughout the quiet night in the displacement camp. In the 24-square-metre room, the typewriter's rhythms make new music in harmony with cricket and mosquito sounds.

The old typewriter is played by the old man's fingers. He has graying hair but an energetic body and mind. He is the headmaster of the local elementary school, and every night he is always busy typing a report. Mercy Corps visited him at a busy time of year — currently elementary and high schools in Indonesia's tsunami-stricken Mentawai Islands are conducting their final exams.

The old headmaster is 56-year-old Jalukhu, originally from Nias Island. He’s a civil servant convinced that, despite the tragedy of the earthquake and tsunami, the education and prospects of Mentawai's children will soon rise.

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Our emergency response team has been distributing buckets, hygiene items and other supplies to tsunami-affected families living on Indonesia's Mentawai Islands. Photo: Iswanto JA/Mercy Corps

Recently, the Mercy Corps Indonesia emergency response team distributed plastic water buckets in Muntei and Baru-baru sub-villages in Betumonga Village, Pagai Utara. Much of the road is pot-holed, and the bridges that connect the road from Sikakap to the villages were destroyed in the tsunami. Our team used local fishing boats to get to the sub-villages.

As we arrived in the village of Muntei, the rain started falling.

"Wow, this bucket is just perfect…and right on time because of the rain now. We can use this bucket to harvest rain water to use in our homes," said a middle-aged mother while receiving the bucket.

“Mercy Corps, this is the exact bucket we need for water collection. Surak Sabeu (thank you),’" she said.

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