Welcome to << MK:BLoG >> - v.10 - |
posted : Saturday, February 12, 2011
title : Visit to Mengelang Day 1
Yesterday (12th February 2011) my group left in the early morning, heading near Mount Merapi, the infamous volcano that erupted in October last year, claiming a number of lives and disrupting the lives of thousands. Although we didn’t really know what to expect or how to help, this trip will be an attempt to provide aid, assistance and help in any way we can to the displaced victims of the volcano eruption.
The group we were joining is called “Posko Mengalang Perduli”, a local welfare group of volunteers who have dedicated their time to aid and provide assistance and trauma healing for victims of the natural disaster which has displaced thousands So at about 10.30am, we Left Dharmaputra, heading to a Toy store nearby and IndoGrosir pasar perkulakan (wholesale market) to buy toys and sweets and snacks for the kids in the shelter house. Soon we were back on the road, before long we were heading out into Sleman, and then Tempei before turning off the main road into the villages.        After an hour on the road, we reached the shelter (old bank building) and were introduced to other members of PMP. The shelter used to be an old bank building and facilities are rudimentary, there are two large tanks for water, stoves are still fueled with logs of wood and the toilet is nothing more than a concrete partition built around a hole in the ground.      After an hour on the road, we reached the shelter (old bank building) and were introduced to other members of PMP. The shelter used to be an old bank building and facilities are rudimentary, there are two large tanks for water, stoves are still fueled with logs of wood and the toilet is nothing more than a concrete partition built around a hole in the ground.Together with PMP, we will be spending two days here at Magelang, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in one of the few outskirt villages badly affected by the natural disaster, with many homes destroyed and the lives of many families disrupted.  A primitive well  Local drawing water from the well  Helping to carry the water..     Wood-stoked stove..      Lunch with PMP                           Playground-trained youth special forces.   =P    Destroyed village Coordinates on Google Earth Then we trekked a short distance out to the river centre into the outer village to survey the damage. Most of the villages around this area are far enough from the volcano not to have been directly affected by the lava flow, but mother nature wasn’t going to let of so easily, the destruction was mainly caused by the loose ash flowing from the mountain and coagulating and mixing with the river water to form a deadly amalgamation of thick ash-laded mud and sludge. The ash-choked river bulged it’s banks during heavy rain and surged into the nearby villages. It was a scene of absolute destruction, this village wasn’t directly affected by the eruption at all, but because the houses were closer to the mud river, the force of the torrential mud had absolutely torn away or completely submerged houses. Roofs of some submerged houses were still visible, but some had its roofs torn off completely. There was furniture strewn all over the place half buried in mud that had now solidified. The ground that I am walking now is 2 metres higher than the original ground level of this area. But due to floods from heavy rain, the destructive mud and ash from the eruption had torn through a large swath of land, sweeping through and destroying everything in its path. And this is not even lava! It’s just mud, ash and the force of rushing water. What used to be large paddy fields and forests of trees is now a barren wasteland. To make matters worse, the locals can’t clean up, make repairs or even do anything either except monitor the situation helplessly, because now that the ground has risen by a few meters, every time there is heavy rain, water levels will rise again to treacherous levels, threatening other houses not so badly affected yet.                A half-buried house  Complete destruction of the village                Whole swath of land destroyed by mud and ash-water.     Boulders and ashes washed down by the rain.    This area used to be a forested area.   The river that cut the swath of destruction.     This is actually a two-story house. Only the 2nd floor is visible.         MK standing on the roof. |
