In September of last year, hundreds of thousands of hotspots blazing on Kalimantan, the island that is well known as the lung of the world. However, in the same month this year, Kalimantan island experienced its worst flooding in decades, sinking hundreds of villages and cutting many road accesses. The madness of climate is affecting the life of Kalimantan's people, and this is the story of how Kalimantan youth join hand in hand together to help our brothers and sisters in Flood Relief Effort.
On the 3rd of September, for the first time we worked on the flood relief mission for the Katingan Regency in Central Kalimantan. This five-day mission was led by Sumarni Laman, 24 years old Dayak Youth. She was responsible for the coordination with the regional disaster management agency (BPBD) and village government apparatus, as well as delegated tasks for Youth Act volunteers. In this mission, we successfully distributed more than 700 good packages and also provided free medical services for the villagers.
"It was one of the toughest journeys that I ever had. We have to drive slowly through fast-flowing floodwater carrying tons of logistics. And then we must continue our journey using boats since many of the villages became isolated because of the deep water. We also often get hit by rainstorms on our way to villages", explained Sumarni Laman when she recalled her experience at the time. "It was also very heartbreaking to see many elders and little kids suffering because of the water. I still remember when we walked through neck-deep water to give food packages to the villagers, many elders still stayed at their because they didn't have a place to run away.”
“It's the first big flood after 40 years in our district,” said Mr. Yansen, a Dayak elder and head of district Petak Bahandang in Katingan Regency, to our team when we came to their village. “We have lost many of our forests because of forest fires and deforestation alongside the rivers. Therefore, when heavy rain pouring, it makes the river quickly overflow.”
Our second mission was to Lamandau and Seruyan Regency on the 24-28th of September. This 5-day flood relief effort was coordinated by Anastasia Dita, a Dayak Ma’anyan youth. She rallied four youth organizations to take part in this mission to Bahaur village, Beruta village, Mentawa village, and Bunut villages. These villages flooded for days, and the water level has reached 1 meter. She and her team also faced many challenges to come to these areas. They often had to push their car on a muddy road in palm company concession. They have given around 400 food packages consisting of rice, baby food, baby oil, and instant food to villagers.
"How can I do nothing when my brothers and sisters are suffering because of this flood", said Akhmad Fikri Syifa, our team leader for the last mission in East Kota Waringin regency. He has just graduated from high school and has dedicated himself to join our mission since the beginning. Fikri along with 4 of his friends, departed from Sampit city by renting a car. On the same night, the Youth Act team together with the Tagana Palangkaraya Team also drove to the village carrying 2,5 tons of goods and food packages.
It also took a lot of effort to reach our 4 destination villages, namely Subungsu village, Merah village, Burung Miri village, and Tumbang Koling village. We had to go through winding, potholed, muddy, and even fast-flowing roads. Frequently we have to stop and sort out the logistics and carry it by walking through a road that was cut off.
Thanks to our generous donors, we raised 38.657.800 IDR in total from September 12 to October 3rd. There were also some supplies such as clothes, blanker and medicine. Through a bumpy road and many challenges, we have shared more than 1,600 good packages for 14 villages in 4 regencies in central Kalimantan. From this mission, we learn how to give even in difficult situations and work together to tacking a problem.
Note:
Various Youth organizations from around Kalimantan island- East Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and Central Kalimantan- came together to take action in this flood relief effort.
- Thank you for your hard work Gusti Anta Suryadinata from East Kalimantan
- Thank you for your dedication Mario, Aditya, Manuel, Falentino, Agustinus, and Mariano from South Kalimantan
- Thank you to Youth Act Kalimantan, PKY Clean Action, Pramuka DKR Mentaya Hilir Selatan, Pramuka Peduli Kwaran Pulau Hanaut, Pramuka Katingan, Aksi Tanggap Bencana KOBAR, Dandang, Cemott, Pretty, Ita, Ema, David, Yubi, Maria, Andang, Gusti, Rama from Central Kalimantan
- Thank you for all donors who make this effort possible