As Indonesia prepares to mark ten years since a massive tsunami devastated the country, government and civil society have recognised the work of Islamic Relief in alleviating poverty and suffering.
Indonesia is one of the most disaster-prone countries on the planet, and whilst progress has been made in reducing poverty, some 43 per cent of its population still live on less than USD $2 per day.
Islamic Relief has been serving Indonesian communities for 14 years, with our work to reduce poverty, provide life-saving aid, and deliver post-disaster relief praised in two recent events.
Contributing to poverty-reduction
In an event held by the Governor of Nusa Tenggara Barat province on 17 December, Islamic Relief joined senior government officials and development partners in the city of Mataram.
During the session, H.E. Governor Dr TGH Zainul Majdi highlighted Islamic Relief’s contribution to the province’s poverty reduction agenda – in particular, our project to give 10,000 poor people in East and West Lombok access to safe water and sanitation facilities.
In recognition of our work, the governor conferred an award of excellence to our area coordinator for Nusa Tenggara Barat province, which is one of the country’s poorest areas. Other international NGOs, UN agencies, and local government officials also took part in the event.
Protecting communities from the impact of disasters
Islamic Relief began working in Nusa Tenggara Barat in 2008. Our wide-ranging projects include empowering women to build lasting livelihoods, and reducing the impact of disasters in West Lombok.
The disaster risk reduction scheme – which is improving protection for communities vulnerable to flooding, tsunamis, and coastal surges – has seen 150 members of the community brought together in a disaster management team.
The specially-trained team works with the leaders of religious buildings, which Islamic Relief has helped prepare to assist communities in the event of a disaster. Preparedness and response planning activities are well underway as the country looks ahead to the ten year anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami.
Islamic Relief also joined community groups, NGOs and government officials in an anniversary event held at the weekend in East Jakarta.
At the commemoration dinner, which was organised by the Aceh Society of Jabodetabek, Islamic Relief received an award in recognition of the extensive emergency aid and post-disaster relief we delivered in response to the 2004 tsunami.
Islamic Relief’s serves five provinces in Indonesia, with development programmes that focus on providing poor families with a sustainable route out of poverty and enabling communities to better protect themselves from disasters.