This is Ibu Kasmabati and her Mother (70 yrs), amidst the ruins of their family home in Sungai Geringging, Indonesia. On 30 September 2009, the 1st of two earthquakes struck West Sumatra and destroyed the dwelling that had housed their extended family since 1965.
Kasmabati works security and cleaning at the elementary school while her husband, Wan, sells chickens in the local market and works as a day laborer. Kasmabati and Wan’s joint income falls below the average monthly income for the area of $70 USD. Almost all of Kasmabati’s wages go towards uniforms, books, and school supplies for their 3 children, leaving the family with only Wan’s income to rebuild and meet the rest of the family’s needs.
HODR volunteers worked with Wan to deconstruct the home and salvage valuable materials for rebuilding. The trauma of seeing their collapsed home is now over and the rebuilding process begins.
With your donations and support we can help more families like theirs. With $250 we can supply a team of volunteers with tools to deconstruct earthquake-condemned homes, providing a clean slate to rebuild and as many as two-months-wages’ worth of salvaged bricks. With $700 we can support 20 volunteers for one week – that’s more than 1,000 volunteer hours helping families in need! We’re developing a shelter program, and while we’re still hammering out the details, for about $1,500 USD we hope to be able to build a family a transitional shelter, providing a safe place to live during the long process of rebuilding – currently many families are still living in tents.
Please give us millions of dollars so we can keep helping families in need. Okay, I guess we understand if you can’t give millions. But we do hope you’ll do all you can in this season of giving to help us provide safe space and shelter to Kasmabati & Wan, and other families like theirs. Your gift makes a direct impact.
Wishing you and yours all the best this holiday season!!
Thanks for your support!
-The HODR Team
Tags: All Hands, bantuan, disaster, disaster volunteer, earthquake, gempa, Hands On Disaster Response, HODR, Indonesia, padang, padang pariaman, project sungai geringging, relawan, retirement volunteer, sumatera barat, sungai geringging, voluntarism, volunteer, volunteer opportunity, volunteering, voluntourism, west sumatra