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| The Maharesigana Team of UMM and the Disaster Management Center are helping the Cianjur earthquake victims. (Photo: Istimewa) |
The Cianjur earthquake garnered public attention throughout Indonesia, including the University of Muhammadiyah Malang parties, which delegated the Maharesigana team (Translated: Student Volunteer for Natural Disaster Preparedness) leaving on 28th November. The psychosocial team also accompanied them to recover people's mental health, including children.
Rindya Fery Indrawan, M. P., the Head of Maharesigana Volunteer of UMM, explained that they are also collaborating with the Muhammadiyah Disaster Management Center (MDMC). His team was delegated to stand by one of the MDMC's natural disaster posts in Cariuk Village, specifically in Mangunkerta, Cianjur.
He said, "We delegated twenty Maharesigana members and seven psychosocial teams to give a set of help, whether material or moral. Also, we provided a psychosocial service, built an emergency shelter house, and gave urgent education."
In terms of crucial education, the volunteers taught in schools in Cariuk. Indra explained that the team from UMM were currently around the epicentre when the earthquake occurred. He even claimed that he felt the signs of a small-scale earthquake.
Cariuk is near the earthquake epicentre, so many buildings and houses were destroyed. Indra even mentioned that there was one collapsed school due to the earthquake. He uttered, "Twenty-seven victims passed away, which traumatised children. They did not even want to return home because of fear."
Therefore, the psychosocial team healed and supported the natural disaster survivors' mental condition to remove their trauma and minimise their anxiety. Indra asserted that the team would always be ready in 24 hours when needed.
The people are still nestled in a temporary shelter house either collectively or communally. Some even build a tent around their home to be near their residence. Fortunately, water sources are not quite far from the location. The food is also abundant since it comes from distributed donations from many parties.
Despite this, Indra still claimed that other challenges still surrounded him. One of them is frequent power outages, which hinder communication. Besides, the access to distribute the donations to the victims is far since the spot is in Mount Pangrango.
Lastly, he expected his team's effort to positively impact the Cianjur earthquake victims, especially in terms of psychosocial and mental health support and donations to the people who need them. (imh/wil)
