VZCZCXRO9858
OO RUEHDT RUEHPB
DE RUEHJA #1898/01 3210402
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 170402Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3842
INFO RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 8025
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1132
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 8912
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 001898
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EAP, CA
STATE FOR USAID
USAID FOR DCHA/OFDA CCHAN, ACONVERY, RTHAYER
USAID FOR ANE KROSEN
BANGKOK FOR ADWYER
NSC FOR CPRATT
USUN FOR DMERCADO
GENEVA FOR NKYLOH
PACOM POLAD/J3/J5
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV CASC ECON EAID SENV ID PHUM AEMR ASEC CASC
MARR, PREL, PINR, AMGT, EAID, AQ, LA, RP, TN, VM, WS
SUBJECT: INDONESIA EARTHQUAKE HUMANITARIAN UPDATE #16: USAID/OFDA
FIELD VISIT TO NFI DISTRIBUTIONS
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Summary
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1. From October 31 - November 7, USAID/OFDA Field Officers
(FO) visited programs being implemented by CHF, World Vision, Save
the Children/US (SC/US), American Red Cross (ARC), CARE, and
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and attended shelter and general
cluster coordination meetings. The NGOs are implementing shelter
programs, distributing non-food items, such as hygiene kits,
household kits, and tool kits. The field officers found no urgent
humanitarian needs. All programs are running smoothly and the
beneficiary population is appreciative of the assistance.
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CHF
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2. On 31 October, an OFDA Field Officer visited a CHF
transitional shelter project site near Sincincin in the Lingkung
area of Padang Pariaman District. CHF is constructing about a dozen
transitional shelters in the village visited.
3. CHF uses a combination of village leader input,
beneficiary interviews, and independent assessments to identify
recipients. Recipients are intended to be the most vulnerable,
including female-headed households, the disabled, elderly and others
without the resources to rebuild. Skilled builders assist in the
construction of these shelters, and their design serves as a model
of a well-constructed transitional shelter for others in the
village.
4. CHF has a staging area in the village where builders
pre-fabricate coconut wood frames for delivery to the selected home
sites. CHF has made agreements with several suppliers to ensure
there is enough wood for their project district wide. They have
also made agreements for supplies of bamboo for places where bamboo
frames would be more appropriate.
5. The Field Officer observed two transitional shelters under
construction. Both were framed in coconut wood frames provided by
CHF. One had a low brick wall made of bricks recovered from the
destroyed home and using cement concrete mortar rather than lime.
The owner said that he would build his permanent home mostly from
wood because wood was more earthquake resistant than brick. He will
use recovered metal roofing on both the transitional and permanent
home. While the FO was present, the family completed the walls
using donated tarp material.
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World Vision
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6. On 3 November, USAID/OFDA FOs visited V Koto Kampung Dalam
in Padang Pariaman, one of the four areas selected by World Vision
for shelter toolkit distribution. Over the course of the program,
World Vision will distribute 10,250 shelter kits. The distribution
site was in the market area, but it was not market day. As with all
of USAID/OFDA program, the recipients are identified by community
leaders based on need. The recovery kit consists of a hand trowel,
saw, hammer, spade, crowbar, and measurement tape. Each household
will receive a shelter toolkit, while five households will share one
wheelbarrow. Although some beneficiaries have started removing
debris from their collapsed homes, they were very happy to receive
the toolkits. In addition, recipients stated that they would use
some of the items to work on their farms.
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Save the Children/UK
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7. On 4 November, USAID/OFDA FOs visited SC/US's warehouse in
Pariaman and an NFI distribution in Lubuk Alung. SC/US is
distributing household kits, hygiene kits, and shelter toolkits.
Approximately 6,200 families will receive the hygiene and household
kits, while five families will share one shelter tool kit.
8. Unlike other communities the FOs visited, the clean up and
JAKARTA 00001898 002 OF 003
Summary
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recovery efforts are lagging in Lubuk Alung. Most of the
beneficiaries in Lubuk Alung are living in tents donated by various
organizations. Families that did not receive tents are staying with
host families. The tents are frequently overcrowded. Very few
residents have begun building transitional structures. The village
elder stated that people in this community are focused on food and
livelihoods. He said they make roughly 50,000 Rupiah a day as farm
laborers and cannot afford to rebuild. The elder said they are
waiting for someone to rebuild for them. The situation in this
village stands in stark contrast to the initiative and effective
self-recovery efforts of affected populations seen in every other
area visited.
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ARC
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9. On November 5, USAID/OFDA FOs traveled to Kampung Dalam
and Ruyung in Pariaman District with representatives of the American
Red Cross (ARC) and local Red Cross society (PMI) to meet recipients
of USAID NFI kits. In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake,
ARC and the PMI focused on delivering USAID/OFDA commodities to the
most vulnerable populations located in remote villages. These
commodities were delivered by U.S. Navy helicopters. To ensure
orderly distributions, PMI prepositioned personnel to manage the
arrival and distribution of the supplies.
10. We visited a site where beneficiaries were receiving a
mixture of commodities from various organizations, including
USAID/OFDA. The distribution was orderly and recipients were
appreciative of the assistance. They received shelter kits to be
used to remove rubble and begin building transitional shelters.
11. USAID/OFDA FOs will visit the PMI water production site in
Koto Padang on Tuesday, November 10. This will be the main source
for the 10,000 liters/day that PMI will start distributing during
the week of 8 November.
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CARE
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12. On November 6, USAID FOs visited Lambeh sub-village in
Pariaman District. CARE was doing the final distribution of shelter
recovery kits to 323 households. The kits consist of a shovel,
wire, saw, hammer, machete, nails, bucket, bag, chisel, and work
glove. Approximately 95% of the homes were destroyed in this area.
CARE has distributed hygiene kits, NFI kits, and tarpaulins. There
is a 5% gap in coverage in this area, so CARE is working with Japan
Emergency (JEM) and others to cover the gap. Other NGOs working in
this area include Medecins sans Frontieres-Spain (MSF-Spain), Muslim
Aid, and Action by Churches Together (ACT).
13. The village leader worked with CARE to identify beneficiaries
from the village, focusing on the most vulnerable households, such
as female-headed households and the elderly. The beneficiaries
received a shovel, nails, hammer, saw, etc. Many people in this
area have cleared some of the rubble from the earthquake, but the
additional tools will help with the clean up. Some residents have
spontaneously begun construction of transitional shelters in
Lambeh.
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CRS
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14. On November 7, USAID/FOs visited Geragalian village in Agam
District. CRS's partner BuildChange is conducting trainings on
earthquake resistant building techniques. Twenty-one households
attended the training in advance of the initial cash distribution
for transitional shelter materials.
15. CRS and USAID FOs walked through the village. Most houses
are heavily damaged and have been deemed uninhabitable by assessors.
JAKARTA 00001898 003 OF 003
Summary
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A few houses were assessed as only moderately damaged; however the
FO noticed there was significant structural damage. Many walls were
propped up with large sticks and some walls inside the home were
damaged or crumbling.
16. CRS has established a hotline to address any issues that may
arise while implementing the program. People can call the number if
they are in need of non-food items, technical assistance for
transitional shelter reconstruction, or complaints about the
distribution of assistance. To date, they have not had any
complaints about the program.
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Closure of USAID Field Office
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17. On November 11, the USAID/OFDA field office will close and
management of the programs will be turned over to OFDA's regional
office in Bangkok. USAID/OFDA FOs were able to visit all partners.
Progress continues and the NGOs are not experiencing any delays in
implementation. In fact, many have completed or will complete their
NFI distributions over the next week. From that point forward, they
will focus on supporting transitional shelter construction. Over the
coming months, OFDA Regional Advisors will make periodic monitoring
visits to West Sumatra.
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Comments
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18. While the assistance of the international community has made
a positive impact on the recovery phase, the Indonesian people
affected have made the greatest impact. With or without assistance,
they have cleared rubble, built temporary shelters, in a few cases,
began rebuilding permanent homes. In addition, the sense of
community is strong as they are helping neighbors who are unable to
clear the rubble by chipping in as a whole to help their one
another. The experiences that Indonesians and NGOs have gained from
the numerous disasters that affect Indonesia have also made an
impact on the relief and recover operation.
Hume#