There are currently over 60 emergency staff deployed to affected areas of Indonesia, including the decimated city of Banda Aceh and surrounding villages. Their efforts are reaching over 100,000 displaced and vulnerable Indonesians.
A Mercy Corps team was among the first humanitarian workers to gain entry into Banda Aceh, an area of Indonesia that's been closed off to the world for years due to civil war. Aceh Province has very limited communications and infrastructure, making relief efforts especially challenging. Mercy Corps efforts in Aceh are focusing on shelter, water purification, sanitation and delivery of essential items, as well as continually evaluating the greatest needs of survivors.
Mercy Corps is making special efforts to address the long-term needs of children, the most vulnerable in the tsunami-affected area. On January 26 - one month after the tsunami - Mercy Corps helped students in Banda Aceh return to 15 local schools. This "back to school" success was made possible by community mobilization and the hard work of local citizens employed in "cash-for-work" programs.
Mercy Corps' cash-for-work programs pay local workers a fair daily wage to help clean up debris and repair critical infrastructure. This approach is helping accelerate economic recovery among Indonesian families, as well as providing a valuable service in rebuilding tsunami-damaged areas. "At this point, no one but Mercy Corps is focusing on jump-starting the economy," said emergency team leader Nigel Pont.
This innovative program was recently profiled in The New York Times.
One participant in the cash-for-work program said "I appreciate the rice we're getting from some organizations. With the cash Mercy Corps is providing, though, I'm going to the market to buy the vegetables and meat my family needs to be healthy."
Within three months, Mercy Corps plans to employ 6,000 people in cash-for-work programs that will continue to clean up and restore communities. The organization is also working to facilitate the stable return of at least 1,000 displaced families to several villages by providing shelter materials and ensuring a clean water supply.
Banda Aceh - Over 30 staff members are currently deployed to Banda Aceh and its surrounding areas.
Mercy Corps' psychosocial expert in Indonesia is focusing on education, noting that the familiarity of the school routine will offer critical stability and emotional relief to local children.
Over 1,400 local workers are employed by Mercy Corps' cash-for-work program. They are currently concentrating on clearing debris and repairing infrastructure.
Local workers are building over 1,000 pallets from recycled and reclaimed wood. These pallets will be used in food and supply warehouses in the area.
On January 14, Mercy Corps employed over 650 people in its cash-for-work program. According to one local man, by participating in the program he "can find friends and when you work, you get an income."
As of January 11, there are 280 cash-for-work participants working on various clean-up and recovery projects in 7 villages around Banda Aceh.
Mercy Corps has distributed "family kits" (including a stove, buckets, clothing, hygienic supplies, kitchen items and bedding materials) to over 10,000 displaced families.
On January 6, 95 individuals in Aceh Besar were given basic tools and are being paid to clean up their village. In less than a day, they cleared the access road into the city. As a result of clearing the access road, many families came back today to collect belongings and clear rubble.
On January 6, Mercy Corps distributed rice and protein biscuits to 51,449 individuals in 7 sub-districts of Aceh Besar.
On January 5, Mercy Corps distributed 2 weeks' worth of rice rations to 5,000 people - 300 tons of rice in all.
On January 2, Mercy Corps facilitated the delivery of materials donated by Indonesia Peduli (a group of humanitarian organizations and companies). The donation was put on a US government airlift to Banda Aceh. It included 1,416 bottles and boxes of children's milk, 264 bottles of water, 19 boxes of babies milk and 1668 boxes of babies biscuits.
In Banda Aceh, Mercy Corps has distributed hygienic items to over 1,300 people.
Meulaboh - Mercy Corps is one of the few aid agencies to reach the decimated town of Meulaboh. It is estimated that there are well over 90,000 displaced people in the surrounding area. Mercy Corps is distributing critical aid to the local community. There are approximately 20 Mercy Corps staff in Meulaboh.
Over 200 local workers are participating in the cash-for-work program, cleaning debris, preparing schools for re-opening and helping restore over 79 fishing vessels and equipment. This program will provide local families with much-needed daily wages and help rebuild the area's critical fishing industry.
Mercy Corps has airlifted over five tons of salted fish to Meulaboh, providing a critical source of protein to local families.
Mercy Corps is getting aid to Meulaboh with regularly scheduled flights from Medan and the use of three patrol boats from the Indonesian government.
Few roads into and around Meulaboh are open and passable, making mobility around the area extremely difficult. However, Mercy Corps has set up camps in the area. At this point, the conditions are abysmal, with very little sanitation and shelter. Estimates put the total number of displaced people around Meulaboh at over 90,000. Field reports from just one of the area's camps estimate that the number of people there is 12,000 - 6,000 of which are children. Due to extremely poor conditions in the camps, there is a growing concern of cholera and other diseases.
Padang, the Nias Islands and other areas
Staff has delivered food and other essentials to over 5,000 families in Padang and the Nias Islands.
Mercy Corps used airplanes and boats to speed critical supplies to survivors on islands and in other remote areas.
In cooperation with communities and local organizations, Mercy Corps is currently focused on long-term recovery programs designed to rebuild and revitalize tsunami-stricken communities. Plans are underway to provide technical support to over 100 local businesses in order to bring about long-term employment and economic recovery.