by Teresita P. Usapdin in Pidie District,
Aceh, Indonesia
At 28, Jenny Kwok is a typical young
professional full of life and enthusiasm. Wearing sneakers, she hops from
one barracks to another - checking water wells, latrines, piping systems
and waste dump sites - a blueprint and pencil in her hand and a camera
on her shoulder.
Jenny is a volunteer environmental engineer from Hong Kong Red Cross. She came to Indonesia in June 2005 to lend a hand to grief-stricken families displaced by the 26 December 2004 tsunami.
At Pidie district in Aceh province, where she does her rounds, Jenny finds new meaning in her work as she mingles every day with the residents sheltered at the temporary living centres (TLCs), gaining valuable insights from the way they are coping with the hardship that fate has brought.
Garbed in her usual long-sleeve shirt, a scarf on her neck and large dark glasses beneath her wide sun visor, Jenny, along with her six-person team from Indonesia Red Cross (Palang Merah Indonesia-PMI), works with zest under the scorching daytime heat. She looks into every nook and corner of the TLCs, crawls under the barracks if she has to, to make sure there are good and efficient outlets for drainage and waste disposal.
Jenny also ensures that all septic tanks will eventually be replaced by concrete and solid materials to be de-sludged every three months to prevent waste water leakage that could contaminate the soil. She marks where more latrines and washing facilities should be built to better serve the needs of every household.
Jenny also briefs the people about the importance of waste management, including the separation and treatment of organic and inorganic rubbish.
"We call her Miss Energy because she never gets tired," says Mega Handayani, one of the PMI staff working with Jenny. "And she's always smiling, so sometimes it's hard to imagine she's doing an extremely tough job."
Hong Kong Red Cross is working hand in hand with the French Red Cross, PMI and with the coordination of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to improve water and sanitation in 18 TLCs in Pidie district, benefiting some 11,000 families.
Jenny believes that, more than improving sanitation in the TLCs, the Red Cross is bringing back the dignity of the displaced families by providing a safe and decent environment for a healthier and happier life.
Jenny, who left a job in Hong Kong to do this difficult volunteer work, said she is thankful she chose to come to Indonesia against the advice of her friends who cited the inconvenience and the risk she would have to face in the disaster areas.
"Coming here and being able to do something for the tsunami-affected families is the best decision I have made in my life. I never felt so challenged and so fulfilled," Jenny said, snapping a shot of the children washing their hands for lunch.
Jenny said she gets her inspiration from the villagers. "Their resilience amazes me. I wonder how people with weaker community ties would survive the tragedy they went through," Jenny says as she takes a bite of the rice cake offered her by the villagers. "And they are so warm and friendly."
Jenny also credits her performance to her colleague Mr. Kuan, a water and sanitation engineer, whose years of experience in the field has guided her in her work. She likewise appreciates the full cooperation and support of her PMI team members who are providing her with lots of information and advice, making her work easy and better organized.
"I may not be earning a pile of money, but I am certainly enriching myself with experience that money can't buy," she added. "This is an absolutely profitable mission for me, in that sense."
Like Jenny, Frederic Gros is a water and sanitation engineer delegate from the French Red Cross (FRC) who finds working for displaced families in TLCs a rewarding experience.
"Being able to provide safe drinking water for thousands of families every day is a special job for me. I feel very useful. And I like the feeling," says 27-year old Frederic, smiling as he puts on his Red Cross vest and prepares for another long day of field work.
Since a week after the tsunami struck last December 26, the French Red Cross Water and Sanitation Emergency Response Unit has been working to increase its production to 290,000 litres of drinking water per day for 23,000 families in 42 different sites in Pidie district.
The FRC provides water either by filling water tanks in some TLCs or supplying it by truck in nearby villages.
"Water for life. I am really glad we can do something for people to survive," Frederic reaches for a bottle of water to take with him in the field, and explains that water and environment are closely interrelated. "Good environment produces good water and bad environment produces bad water. That is why I am interested in both the environment and the water issue."
While Frederic said he loves his work and sympathizes with the displaced families, he admitted that he misses the life back home in France, especially the wine and cheese.
"But it's ok, in a disaster area where the best things in life are people smiling and children playing, a glass of safe drinking water can taste just as sweet as wine."