Women disaster survivors in Central Sulawesi are now becoming more resilient and capable in overseeing the reconstruction of their houses.

The life of Marlina, 42 years old, changed drastically when an earthquake hit her house in Soulowe Village, Sigi Regency. The house of the Kindergarten (TK) honorary teacher is one of more than 60 thousand houses that were destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami in Central Sulawesi in 2018.

“The land split from behind to the middle of the house. The ground collapsed in the middle of the house. As it is not safe, we cannot live in our house anymore,” she said softly remembering the tragedy.

Until now, she and her extended family are still living in refugee tents. No less than 11 people from Marlina’s family, her sister, and her parents are gathered there. They are part of the 170,000 people who lost their homes as a result of the disaster.

However, a bright spot presented itself in this situation. The government has listed her family as recipients of stimulant funds to build houses. In addition, together with its partners, Yayasan CARE Peduli (YCP) provided training for Reconstruction Pioneer Moms.

In the training, women survivors of disasters learn about good construction and earthquake resistance. They now know the criteria for quality building materials, the size of the steel that meets the standards, as well as the proper composition of the concrete mixture.

Marlina said the men in her village often wondered why women received training on reconstruction. “We just offered our understanding that if women are given the same opportunity as men to understand how to build earthquake safe houses, we can share them with construction workers. They eventually accepted that women can do it too,” she explained excitedly.

The mother of three continued her story, “In the past, when we built a house, we hardly paid attention and left it completely to the workers. Even though the house is a place where our loved ones will live in. After being trained, we can monitor the workers who work so that our house is safe, strong, and nice. In fact, I once shared knowledge from training on the composition of concrete mixtures to the worker, and he was satisfied with my explanation. “

In short, according to Fatni, 44, who is also a resident of Soulowe, “We no longer can be fooled by the workers now.”

Together with Marlina, she has attended the Reconstruction Pioneer Moms training. In the past, when her house was being built, Fatni only provided food for the workers.

When her new house is going to be built, she will be able to take a more active role to ensure that her house is of higher quality and resistant to earthquakes. 

Furthermore, she is committed to spreading her knowledge to other women around her. Women in the neighbouring village, Desa Karawana, had expressed their desire to participate in learning to be the pioneers of reconstruction.

Apart from attending the training, Fatni has also received two other interventions from YCP and its partners. Namely, emergency tents and communal bathroom facilities. Both were admittedly very useful because their houses, including the bathroom, collapsed in the earthquake.

After the disaster, she and her two daughters had to bathe in the river. Bathing in open spaces and lack of hygiene made Fatni and other refugees very uncomfortable.

“Several months later, YCP built a four-door bathroom. Finally we were able to take a shower in a closed room, ”said the honorarium teacher for the Karya Pertiwi Early Childhood Education (PAUD).

The bathroom used by Fatni is part of the 494 gender sensitive sanitation facilities built by YCP to serve 6,459 disaster survivors in Central Sulawesi. YCP also provides access to clean drinking water for 17,833 people, distributes 2,040 water filters and 5,550 hygiene kits. No less than 43,263 people also obtained knowledge about hygiene and health. 

Other assistance facilitated by YCP was the distribution of hygiene kits and non-food items for 28,471 people, as well as materials to repair shelters for 1,888 families. In addition, 6,444 survivors were supported by a cash transfer program as a substitute for their work in post-disaster management. 

Learning from the experience of the earthquake, Fatni is of the opinion that all women must be resilient. However, that resilience must be learned.

“We have to learn and study to be resilient. Just wanting to be resilient without having the knowledge means nothing,” she said.

Marlina has the same opinion. Women need to be resilient because they must be ready to face all unexpected changes, including natural disasters.

After the emergency response phase passed, YCP continued to work in Central Sulawesi to restore the livelihoods of disaster survivors, especially women. YCP’s experience shows that the post-disaster recovery phase provides opportunities for women to change the structural inequalities they previously faced. Evidence and studies state that when women have an income, the family and society will also feel the benefits because women allocate most of their income for food, health and education.

YCP will also support micro, small and medium enterprises that contribute to disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation and mitigation. At least 5,400 families are targeted to benefit from this support.

Central Sulawesi Recovery

Objective: Restore the livelihoods of earthquake and tsunami disaster survivors in Central Sulawesi

Duration: 2018-2020

Location: Donggala Regency, Sigi Regency, Palu City

Number of beneficiaries as of September 2019: 60,454 people

Partners: PKPU, Bina Swadaya, Solidaritas Perempuan, Dompet Dhuafa, IBU Foundation, Penabulu Foundation, Karsa Institute

Funding support: Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Global Affairs Canada (GAC), Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Samenwerkende Hulporganisaties (SHO), Dutch Relief Alliance (DRA), Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC), Aktion Deutschland Hilft (ADH), Humanitarian Coalition, GATES Foundation, Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, UNICEF