The Wakil Bupati (Vice Regent) of the Mentawai, Yudas Sabaggalet, at the inauguration and first test run of the new radio station, Radio Sasaraina, in Tua Pejat which is now broadcasting E-Prep programs. Photo: Kirk Willcox/SAI
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In late April/early May, a team from AusAID – the Australian Government’s Agency for International Development – conducted a mid-program review of SurfAid’s three-year, $3.15 million Emergency Preparedness (E-Prep) Program in the Mentawai and Nias islands that AusAID funds as part of the Australia-Indonesia Partnership.The AusAID team consisted of Senior Program Manager (Disaster Mitigation) Mark Travers, Senior Public Affairs Officer, AusAID Indonesia Group, Mia Salim, and independent consultant Cathy Deane.Two media - Gavin Fang, the Jakarta-based correspondent for ABC TV Australia, and Aufrida Wismi, from Indonesia’s national newspaper Kompas, also came along to cover the Mentawai leg of the review.Under the guidance of E-Prep Program Manager Jason Brown, the field trips were organised by Mentawai manager Ray Mathias (in the Mentawai) and Assistant Program Manager Joseph Viandrito in Nias.The five-day Mentawai schedule was conducted using the charter boat D’bora as a mothership with SurfAid’s Sibex in support. Traditional dugout longboats were also used to access isolated villages up rivers. The team was able to cover the four-day Nias leg by four-wheel-drive vehicles.The E-Prep program, which targets 55 coastal villages (22 villages in the Mentawai Islands and 33 villages in Nias), began in October 2006 and focuses on three objectives:
1) Raising community awareness
2) Building the capacity of the community and developing contingency plans; and
3) Disaster mitigation.Despite the regular occurrence of earthquakes in the region, the program asks the communities to identify for themselves the natural disasters that threaten them based on their own experiences, and include:
A highlight of the trip was the inauguration of the new radio station Sasaraina FM in Tua Pejat, which SurfAid has jointly funded with the Mentawai Government. The station is broadcasting E-Prep programs to help prepare the isolated, vulnerable communities in case of a disaster.A two-way radio link has also been set up in the village of Betumonga, which was seriously damaged by the two major September 2007 earthquakes, measuring 8.4 and 7.9 on the Richter scale.Other trip highlights were village celebrations of community E-Prep members receiving their special orange vests highlighting their roles in helping their fellow-villagers prepare for an emergency. “The trip was a great opportunity for our donor AusAID to see what has been achieved by the E-Prep Program over the past 18 months in terms of community participation and community disaster preparedness,” E-Prep Program Manager Jason Brown said. “At the same time, having such an experienced program evaluator on the review team means that the E-Prep Program expects to receive positive feedback that will further strengthen the program and ultimately improve the impact on the target communities.”
About AusAID:
THE AUSTRALIAN AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: AusAID
AusAID is the Australian Government agency responsible for managing Australia's overseas aid program. AusAID aims to assist developing countries to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development in line with Australia’s national interest. Australia and Indonesia have been development partners for many years – in areas like education, the development partnership stretches back to the early 1950s. The partnership has grown significantly over the years, shifting and adapting to the changing development needs and the priorities of Indonesia. Australia’s support to Indonesia has tripled in the last three years, with the Australian Government providing an estimated 3,4 trillion rupiah ($458 million) in Overseas Development Assistance to Indonesia in 2007-08.Today, Australia and Indonesia are working in partnership to achieve a prosperous, democratic and safe Indonesia. Australia is assisting the Government of Indonesia to achieve its priorities through sustainable economic growth, investing in people through education and health, strengthening Indonesia's legal and democratic institutions, and improving its response and capacity in handling threats and disasters.