Humanitarian calls have prompted communities to extend aid for flash floods survivors in Bima Regency, West Nusa Tenggara. People were moved to help and support fellow citizens impacted by the disaster.
By
Ismail Zakaria
·4 minutes read
After driving about 40 kilometers from Palibelo, Agus Setiawan (47) and five colleagues arrived at the Monta District office on Thursday (8/4/2021) at 11.00 am local time.
The humanitarian volunteers from the Palibelo Natural Disaster Care Youth Community immediately got off the motorbikes, carrying a white sack and large black plastic bag, containing rice, soap and instant noodles.
“This is a donation from the residents of Palibelo. We feel moved (to help). They are our brothers,” Agus said.
After handing over the items to the shelter camp organizer at the 1068 / Bima Military District Command headquarters, they got back on the bikes and pulled on. There were two other villages in the district to visit and several others in Madapangga District.
As humans with a conscience, we feel the sufferings of our brothers in Bima Regency.
Another volunteer group from Kumbe 48 state elementary school arrived on a pick-up. The teachers distributed clothes, mineral water and snacks.
"As humans with a conscience, we feel the sufferings of our brothers in Bima Regency. In fact, we went through (a condition) like this ourselves in 2017. At that time, our brothers from the district came to help,” the school principal Arifin said.
Aid also came from the villages not effected by the disaster, as initiated by a group of youths from Tenga, Woha District, about 18.8 kilometers from Monta.
The donation was collected from the villagers as well as Bima people living outside the regency, like those in West Manggarai and East Nusa Tenggara, according to the village administration’s treasurer Imam Firdaus.
Students in the city of Bima also raised funds in a number of locations, from road junctions to public refueling stations.
"Until today, more than Rp 3 million has been collected. It will be spent on basic foods to be distributed to them. There are also clothes and medicines to be handed over,” said Yurimas (21), head of Sociology School Students Association, Bima Teaching and Education Academy.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) office in Dompu Regency dispatched a total of 30 personnel to disaster locations, working together with military, police members and firefighters. They cleaned up the flood debris and helped in public kitchens.
Until today, more than Rp 3 million has been collected. It will be spent on basic foods to be distributed to them
Brotherhood
The flash floods hit six districts in Bima Regency on Friday (2/4), killing two people, impacting 29,128 people or 10,185 households and damaging 5,333 houses. The damages were also found in educational, health, religious and other public facilities, as well as hundreds of hectares of agricultural land and over a thousand hectares of fishponds.
The flux of humanitarian aid was proof of the extensive public concern over the enormity of the impact of the disaster in Bima. Assistance came not only from neighboring communities on the island of Sumbawa and Lombok, but also other parts in Indonesia.
Throughout the day, vehicles carrying logistics were seen coming and going through the post-disaster scene.
For the people of Bima, helping each other is their custom as a form of building strong brotherly ties, locally referred to as kalembo ade, meaning “perseverance” and “patience”.
The expression is even more significantly relevant to the current condition.
The expression, according to Imam Firdaus, carries a broad meaning for the Bima people, and in a time of disaster, it carries a message for hopefulness and support for the survivors to remain steadfast and patient, not to feel hopeless in hardship.
Wahidah (42), a survivor in Monta, was touched by people’s care, hoping that the condition would improve soon and the impacted residents could get back on their feet after the floods.
Lieutenant Colonel Teuku Mustafa Kamal, the Bima military command chief who heads of the disaster response task force, said that the disaster mitigation efforts had been running as expected and hoped that the extended aid would ease the burden on the survivors.
In time of disaster, helping hands are important so survivors do not feel neither deserted nor hopeless. Kalembo ade, Bima!