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SurfAid on the 7.30 Report, ABC Australia
A six-minute feature on SurfAid has aired on ABC TV’s 7.30 Report, Australia’s foremost current affairs show. You can watch the clip, Surf charity works towards eradicating malaria, online. There is also a transcript on the site.
+ Click here to watch!
Communities Ready for Disaster
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An E-Prep staff member teaches community volunteers how to safely lift an injured person. Photo: Jason Brown
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It is not enough for communities to understand about disaster and the hazards and risks that they face. In order to save lives, vulnerable populations also have to know how to respond during the critical period just after disaster strikes.
In the isolated western islands of Sumatra, the SurfAid International Emergency Preparedness (E-Prep) Program has been doing just this. E-Prep works in partnership with 56 communities in the region (33 villages in Nias Island, North Sumatra, and 23 isolated hamlets in the Mentawai Islands).
The $3 million program, funded by the Australian Government through AusAID’s Australia-Indonesia Partnership, has been working to improve basic community knowledge of natural disaster. E-Prep also provides key community volunteers with the skills necessary to react quickly and decisively in the face of earthquakes, potential tsunami and a range of other identified disasters such as floods, landslides and epidemics.
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Sean Nevett Pledges US$75,000 to SurfAid International
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Rainwater harvesting is one of the components of the Watsan project. Photo: dhearne
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Californian businessman and surfer, Sean Nevett, has pledged US$75,000
to SurfAid International for their Water and Sanitation (Watsan)
project in Nias, off the coast of North Sumatra, Indonesia.
Nevett, an investor from Encinitas, where SurfAid has its USA
office, has been a long-time supporter of the non-profit organisation
and he has now donated approximately US$150,000 to its health programs.
SurfAid CEO Dr Dave Jenkins, who was recently awarded the Surf Industry
Manufacturers Association (SIMA) inaugural Humanitarian of the Year,
has been in California fundraising for the Nias Watsan project.
“This is a very generous contribution from Sean and sets us well on the
way to raising the US$305,000 we need to implement this project which
will affect the quality of life for more than 10,000 people - so for
less than US$30 per person we can help save lives,” Dr Jenkins said.
The March 2005 earthquake that measured 8.7 on the Richter scale
seriously affected Nias water supplies. In conjunction with UNICEF and
NZAID, SurfAid recently completed 99 Watsan facilities in 26 villages
in Sirombu and Teluk Dalam sub-districts, including new water tanks,
tapped spring water systems, new and reconditioned wells, rainwater
harvesting systems and two separate types of latrines.
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Dr Dave Jenkins Honoured As SIMA's inaugural Humanitarian of the Year
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Dr Dave receives his SIMA award from Liquid Nation Ball co-founder, and SurfAid USA board member, Santiago Aguerre
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The Surf Industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA) Humanitarian Fund
has honoured SurfAid CEO and Founder Dr Dave Jenkins as their inaugural
Humanitarian of the Year at the annual Liquid Nation Ball fundraiser in
California, USA.
Surf industry executives and professional surfers
gathered at the oceanfront home of Fernando and Vicky Aguerre in La
Jolla to honour Dr Dave and to help raise approximately $230,000 for 14
surf-related humanitarian organizations, including SurfAid.
“Dr. Dave’s commitment to his work and improving the lives of others is
second to none,” Dick Baker, SIMA Humanitarian Fund president, said.
“He has helped to bring a greater awareness of global humanitarian
issues to the tight-knit surf community. Dr. Dave has shown surfers
that while we are fortunate to enjoy the amazing waves and exotic
locations the world has to offer – such as in the Mentawai Islands – it
is important for surfers to give back to the people who share their
beaches with us. It is an honour to celebrate the efforts and triumphs
of Dr. Dave, and even a greater honour to call him a member of the surf
industry tribe.”
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SurfAid International Delivers Clean Water to Nias Communities
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Carrying
water is a chore exclusively for women and children. In the village of
Hilitobara, this family was carting heavy water loads more than one
kilometre every day up a steep track to their village. SurfAid's Watsan
program is now pumping water to tanks in the village for the first
time, saving them time and valuable energy. Photo: Bob
Barker/RovingEye.com
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SurfAid
International is delivering clean water for the first time to some Nias
communities, off Indonesia’s North Sumatran coast, after completing 99
water projects on the island which was devastated by the March 2005
earthquake.
The earthquake, measuring 8.7 on
the Richter scale, badly affected the water supply on Nias as it lifted
coral reefs on the west and south coasts by one to three metres,
raising the level of many wells above the water table.
Community wells were also destroyed or badly damaged so SurfAid
undertook a joint Watsan (water and sanitation) program with UNICEF and
NZAID, which started in 2007.
“Awesome, though much overused these days, is really the only single
word that can describe the achievements of the Watsan team,” SurfAid
Program Director Alan Rogerson said. “There are now communities who
have clean water for the first time in more than three years, and other
communities who have it for the first time in their history.”
+ Read the full story!
+ UNICEF recruits SurfAid to help implement the Water and Sanitation Program
Read the story in the UNICEF newsletter here!
Malaria Free Mentawai Program Resumes on Sipora Island
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Staff
member Ilarius Sagugubaik dresses up as the anopheles mosquito during
the SurfAid malaria play. Photo: Bob Barker/RovingEye
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SurfAid’s
Malaria Free Mentawai (MFM) program resumes in September with
distribution of specially treated mosquito nets, malaria education and
parasite testing on the island of Sipora.
The
MFM program completed work on the other three Mentawai islands of
Siberut, and North and South Pagai in March, rolling out the program to
nearly 53,000 of the approximate 70,000 population.
Distribution of about 3,500 nets will be targeted at Sioban, Mara,
Matobe, Saurenuk, Berliu and Betumonga, an approximate population of
10,000 people, and is scheduled to be finished by December.
“This will complete our coverage of Sipora, and we should have covered
close to 90 per cent of the Mentawai by the time it ends,” SurfAid
Program Director, Alan Rogerson, said.
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Dr Saiful Sofjan appointed as SurfAid Medical Director
SurfAid is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Saiful Sofjan, from Padang, West Sumatra, as SurfAid’s medical director.
Dr Saiful Sofjan. Photo: Kirk Willcox/ SAI
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Dr
Saiful, who is a medical doctor as well as an expert in health
management, has been working with SurfAid as a consultant since last
year and has now taken up a full-time position.
SurfAid Program Director, Alan Rogerson, said he considers it a great privilege that Dr Saiful has decided to join SurfAid.
“He
has a unique mix of technical skill, hands-on experience and local
knowledge. You can read all about his qualifications and work
experience in his CV, but that will not tell you what you really need
to know,” Rogerson said. “Despite all he has achieved in his career, Dr
Saiful remains driven to reduce suffering among his own people,
especially those living in poverty and isolation.”
Rogerson
said Dr Saiful has the respect of everybody who knows him, from senior
members of government ministries to the SurfAid International Board and
SurfAid staff, to the local people who live in SurfAid’s partner
communities. “He shares SurfAid’s vision and he wants to be a key part
of what SurfAid is trying to achieve.”
From all at SurfAid, welcome Dr Saiful!
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Katiet Centre Gardens Take Shape Amid Challenges
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| Katiet Centre workers Edisi, Matt, Dadang and Filemon plant sweet potato (ubi jalah). |
While building the Quiksilver SurfAid Community Health Training Centre,
site manager Matt King has also been establishing the fruit and
vegetable gardens. He is finding some unique challenges.
“We knew this was a difficult site when we took over the lease of the
land,” Matt said. “It is positioned right on the beach, with a river
skirting the edge, and is obviously very sandy with poor soil.
“But we want to demonstrate to the local community, not just here in
the hamlets surrounding Katiet, but also in the wider Mentawai and Nias
regions, that it is possible to create productive soil to grow healthy
food if you build up the organic matter in the soil through composting.”
The Centre gardens are integrated with the chickens, the composting
toilet, the water management systems and the kitchen so that all wastes
become resources for another element. This is part of the approach to
demonstrate a living system where all parts are linked.
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Program News:
Community Participation Increases
Results from the field data of our Community Based Health Programs
(CBHP) in the Mentawai and Nias suggest an increase in community
participation on all levels – Care Group meetings, household visits,
Representative Village Group (RVG) meetings, health messages delivered
in churches and mosques, and nutrition gardens. This shows recognition
by the community that they have health issues that they need to address.
Posyandu Revitalisation Underway
Our training has focused on posyandu revitalisation (the
community-supported monthly health clinics for pregnant mothers and
children under five, who are assisted by local health centre staff) –
this presents a unique opportunity to build relations with communities
and to start work on sustainability. And our sharing of information re
community health has engendered a greater sense of urgency among
community leaders.
High Malnutrition Rates in the Mentawai
There is a growing sense of community ownership of the Quiksilver
SurfAid Community Health Training Centre at Katiet and it is being used
for a range of Community Based Health Program (CBHP) activities such as
meetings and cooking demonstrations. Further SurfAid research, on top
of last year’s extensive KAP (knowledge, attitude, practice) survey,
has shown a malnutrition rate among children in Katiet of almost 60%
and there have been some deaths reported throughout the Mentawai due to
malnutrition.
E-Prep Disaster Risk Analysis Completed
In our Emergency Preparedness (E-Prep) program, Participatory Disaster
Risk Assessments (PDRA) were completed in all Nias villages. As a
result 100% of our target villages in the Mentawai and Nias have
completed disaster risk analysis.
Earthquake and Tsunami Museum Opens
Indonesia’s first Earthquake and Tsunami Museum was officially opened
in Sirombu, Nias. The museum was a joint initiative of E-Prep staff and
the local community. A local community member donated a small bamboo
house for the museum that includes information on health resilience,
nutrition in disasters, etc.
E-Prep Launches Training Videos
A professional set of disaster preparedness and management training
videos was produced and officially launched. SurfAid and Oxfam GB
jointly funded this project undertaken by IDEP Foundation. The films
are an important training resource and cover first response, community
participation, community analysis and what is community-based disaster
risk management. 5,000 DVDs and 5,000 VCDs will be distributed to
target communities and stakeholders in the Mentawais, Nias and
throughout Indonesia.
SurfAid Field Staff Move To Safer Office
Our Tuapejat staff, which includes our Mentawai field staff when in
town for training, have moved to a safer office high on the hill –
safer in terms of a tsunami hitting town, which is a distinct
possibility according to all the world experts. The staff had to
temporarily abandon the old office, which is nearly at sea level, after
the September earthquakes last year.
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