Survivors of 2018 Earthquake and Tsunami in Donggala Build Businesses
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6 January 2022 17:37 WIB
ULFA Asri, Raodatul and many members of the Usaha Bersama Group are actually accustomed to doing business, although on a small scale. Before the 2018 disasters, these women only worked to fulfill their family’s needs. For example, Raodatul sold groceries on daily basis, Ulfa sold fritters and fresh drinks, another member, Lisnur, sold vegetables.
But the earthquake and tsunami had destroyed their assets and threw them to point zero. Slowly, Raodatul, Ulfa and the neighbors rose up. Still living in emergency shelters, some of them began to seek fortune. Raodatul sold cooked water. “After the disaster, finding clean water is extremely difficult,” said Raodatul. Ulfa also started to sell fritters.
Eventually, they received help from the Care Peduli Foundation and the Penabulu Foundation. “In the beginning, we tended to emergency response. Then only the longer-term recovery,” said Bonaria Siahaan, Chief Executive Officer of Care Peduli Foundation. “It’s important for the recovery of their livelihoods.”
In June 2019, after an assessment, the livelihoods recovery program—with funds from Aktion Deutschland Hilft and other organizations—was designed in accordance with the people’s needs and conditions. The aid recipients were chosen based on the most vulnerable to the effect of disaster, i.e. women.
There were also young people. “We choose the most vulnerable villages that have not received aid from other institutions,” said Tri Yonanita, the person in charge of the field from Satupena, when contacted on December 29, 2021.
Hilda Rumambi, program manager of Care Peduli, explained that they provided the aid in several forms. There was Rp107 million aid for each group, there was also direct aid to individuals in the form of capital assistance of Rp7 million and also food resilience aid of Rp855,000 for gardening. “This is a layered strategy.
Members of Usaha Bersama Group in their kiosk in Tompe, Sirenja, Donggala, Central Sulawesi, December 15, 2021.
If the individual business is unsuccessful, there is still a joint business. When both fail, at least there is still food resilience,” Tri Yonanita explained. The aid was disbursed in three stages since the start of 2021.
As many as 18 business groups, 15 women groups and three youth groups, were formed in the village of Tompe and Lompio in Sirenja. Meanwhile, in Kulawi subdistrict, Sigi Regency, 11 women groups and seven youth groups were also established. Every group consisted of 15 people.
They were guided to develop a business proposal by considering potential, capability and the market. They were given entrepreneurship training, in addition to training on disaster risk management and nutrition. “It’s simple business development. What the market looks like, how the marketing is,” Bona Siahaan said. “So it does not only restore the livelihoods but also build its sustainability.” They taught details like bookkeeping and financial management, as well as digital knowledge. “How to market in social media,” Hilda said.
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