Oxfam GB in Indonesia In Action

I was awaken by the irritatingly noisy sound of my alarm o’clock on that bright Sunday morning. I set it up at 6AM and it was already 6.15AM now. I guess it had been ringing for sometime waking up the whole house until finally, transmitted into my subliminal stage and woke me up.I hurriedly went to get ready as I promised Rina, my charming Oxfam colleague from Yogyakarta, to pick her up as we planned to go to an event in Rawa Buaya (directly translated as ‘Crocodile Swamp’ as historically, there might be crocodiles in the area which was why it was named after the animal). It is a place where Bina Masyarakat Peduli (BMP), one of Oxfam-supported local organisation, organised an emergency drill for Jakarta-based volunteers to train them in managing emergency situations such as when disasters struck.

 At 7AM sharp, I was already in a cab and headed to Kemang area where she stayed. I can’t wait to see her again. We get along very well as we share the same passion in our work. We both also enjoy a day when we can have good food over a great music or film. Most of all, we both share the same dream that one day we can shrink from size 14 to 4 and but still be able to do and enjoy what we have right now as we do not want to trade it for anything else.  Then life would just be picture perfect! It is what we call positive thinking!

By the time I arrived, she was already standing in front of the lobby with two big suitcases. She jumped into the taxi and gave direction to the taxi driver ,”Rawa Buaya in Cengkareng, Sir!.”

 We arrived at 8 am in Rawa Buaya, Cengkareng. According to the local people, Rawa Buaya often get heavy flood. People in that area are familiar with flood. It always happens from time to time.  Hakim of BMP welcomed us. He introduced us to the local authorities and other organisations, who often co-supported our various events, such as RAPI, TAGANA, PMI and also Social department. Meanwhile, Rina was busy distributing her namecard and repeating the same statement ,”Good morning, I am Rina, Oxfam’s Communication Officer from Yogyakarta office.” 

The event was officially opened with a simple ceremony. The sub-district head of Cengkareng gave an opening speech. He spoke highly about the emergency drill activity organised by BMP with the support of Oxfam. He also encouraged the volunteers to share this passion to help others.  However, he regretted that the organiser forgot to invite the media who would be able to play an important role in disseminating information to a much wider audience.

Under the heat of the morning sun, the local leaders took their turns to deliver their speeches. All of them continued to praise the event and expressed their appreciations on the willingness of the volunteers to help others.  While all the speeches were being delivered, I could not stop thinking about the volunteers and their works. I, personally, always admire people who do something without being paid and sometimes it is not even in their dream job. I said to myself, no wonder Oxfam highly respect their volunteers around the world. Many things can not be done and achieved without them. If this time, Oxfam and local NGOs would like to organise an event to expand the skill and knowledge of volunteers on disaster preparedness, I could not agreed more.

During the ceremony, Rina as the representative of Oxfam Jogjakarta, handed out Oxfam contributions  to the head of the local NGOs and they passed it onto the volunteers. I took Rina’s pictures when she gave the inputs to the local organisation. She looked happy and proud! Somehow, I saw this connection between Rina and the volunteers in their spirit and enthusiasm to help others. 

After the ceremony ended, the volunteers then were divided into 7 (seven groups), i.e. transportation group, evacuation group, communication group, logistic group, temporary shelter group, medical group and security group. These groups worked together to perform flood emergency drill. I saw the simulation performed by the transportation group and evacuation group. It took place by the Cengkareng River. They all looked quite proactive and hands-on!

At midday, every one had a break. I finally got a chance to speak with Hakim from BMP, Oxfam’s partner organisation.  He said that he had high hopes that Oxfam and BMP would continue to work together in the future in developing communities which were well-prepared when disasters struck. Therefore, we need to continue to improve their knowledge on Disaster Risk Reduction to keep the risk to a minimum. 

Johnny Marlein Siahaan, Secretary General of Tagana, organised some additional events related to emergency drill which took place in other parts of Jakarta, especially in areas which were mostly hit by flood during rainy season.  The purpose of the flood emergency drill was to create a disaster risk reduction-based community. Johnny said that Indonesia was no longer a supermarket for disaster, but it was a hypermarket of disaster.

The event came to a close in the afternoon. After saying goodbye to everyone, Rina and I looked out for a cab. We walked from Cengkareng’s riverbank up to the main road. While we were walking, we observed and discussed the conditions of the surrounding areas. I told Rina how I wished that the government would put extra attention in this slum area. I wanted the government to free Rawa Buaya from the waste. I blamed the government because of the poverty that I witnessed in Rawa Buaya. Suddenly, Rina turned to me and said, “I think it is about time for you to realise that you should have stopped putting the blame on others. I also regretted what I saw. But, at least we have done something today.”  

I went quiet.  Deep down, I know she was right.  I should stop looking at a problem by blaming what others have done.  Instead, I should start by thinking what I can do to make a difference to set an example in the hope to encourage others to do the same.  I can contribute by continuing what I am doing now in my capacity as an Oxfam Communication Officer.  It is already a step forward.  And I hope one day, I can achieve many more steps forward and help others to achieve theirs.