Angels without Wings

Kediri, East Java, Indonesia - Shock, horror, and frightened these are what we probably feel if flood, earthquake, war, or volcano eruption happens around us. When tsunami hit South East Asia in December 2004, people said that it brings out the best and worst side of humanity. Ten years on, I think that principle stays true. In Kediri, I see the great and desperate side of humanity as Kelud erupted almost midnight on February 13, 2014.

World Vision Indonesia deployed two assessment teams immediately. The first one from Surabaya arrived in early on 14 February 2014 and the second team from Jakarta arrived the next day on 00.00 AM. Family kits and masks distribution for evacuees started on 16 February 2014 and lasted for four days.

There were no flights when I departed from Jakarta and all train tickets were sold out. So, I went on a 32 hours road trip with Yahya, our driver who had experience in Pengalengan earthquake disaster response several years ago.

This is my first deployment and I'm eager to learn what is it really like and what to do when disasters happens. Our team leader, Alfred Anakottta, shares the situation, warns us about the danger, and ensures we stay safe. The most challenging thing is the number of evacuation centers. Kelud forced people to leave their home and about 39.000 of them are dispersed in 250 evacuation centers in Kediri. Sadly, the numbers of internal displaced people (IDP) keep changing. No one really knows how many people stay at which shelter.

Imagine what you would do if you arrive in a new area, need to navigate the way to assess a disaster aftermath. You know no one there and unaware which way poses the danger of cold lava and which way is safe. Furthermore, you bring lots of stuffs for the affected families. In this moment, I realized that we cannot do this alone. Partnership, especially with local Kedirians who know the area better than us is important. Thankfully, we met so many angels without wings in Kediri.

The sense of unity is so strong. First, we met two guys who were assigned by the volunteer coordinator in Kediri to help World Vision with family kits distribution. When we chatted with Haris and Irul, we found out that they actually came from Ponorogo, another city a bit farther to the west of Kelud. Both of them are entrepreneurs and had joined in their almamater's Students Mountaineering club. They rode motor bike on Friday evening, Valentine's Day, for three hours to get to Kediri. They said they are ready to help anything they can do.

Before meeting World Vision on Sunday morning, they have been distributing meals from the main evacuation centre to other temporary shelters in several villages. They did that when they hadn't had breakfast at all yet. Haris even had to leave his wife who is pregnant in Ponorogo. After helping us with logistic distribution at 5 PM, they insisted to leave Kediri on the same day at 00.00 PM.

"Why don't you leave earlier, so you can have more time to rest?" I asked them because I'm aware that Irul who also works at the immigration office in Ponorogo needs to report on Monday morning.

Their response shocked us. Both of them said that as long as they can help, they want to maximize the remaining time they have in Kediri.

Haris and Irul are not alone. Many other angels without wings are disguising in Kediri. We met two university freshmen, Wahyu and Gustio, who are willing to help us navigate the way in Kediri. Through their assistance, we spend less time on the road because we go through shortcut ways which only locals will know.

In Siman 1 elementary school which has been set as temporary shelter for Kebon Rejo villagers, we met Endang, a teacher who once worked with Red Cross Indonesia in response to 2007 Kelud's eruption. She is still teaching in the morning, and voluntarily stays after school to manage the logistic and administrative stuffs for the internally displaced people.

She makes sure every logistic flow (in and out) is written in the log book. Under her coordination, the evacuation center and logistic distribution become more organized. Her initiatives and leadership had minimized dispute in logistic distribution.

*Staff Blog by Shintya Kurniawan, World Vision Indonesia Communicator | Edited by Hendro Suwito, Senior Editor Wold Vision Indonesia