Saturday, July 15, 2006 Carrying on the work Watching these strong men and women follow our group exercises to release anger and fear, we are reminded of the original reason we came to Java. If we had one thing in mind when we organized this mission, it was for our work to be continued by local community groups, teachers and parents. To that end, I wrote two different manuals -- translated into Indonesian -- for use long after we have returned to our homes on the other side of the world. The Javanese people received us here with open hearts and minds, eager to learn from us and carry on our work. The approaches we shared, together with the dedication and resilience of the people to make things better for children who were affected by these events, should make a huge difference in the coming months. In camp after camp, parents gathered to hear how they could make the lives of their children happier, more peaceful and secure. We taught in stifling hot relief camp tents, but we left after a few hours; these people will live under these difficult conditions for many months to come. A future post covers a project to assemble inexpensive, earthquake housing for these villagers. Below are the two manuals I wrote that are now available as downloads, so that others might benefit from our experiences. We welcome feedback more than silent approval, criticism as much as compliments, and most of all, donations that are still needed to make these teachings available to a wider audience. These manuals have been formatted in four "panels" of only one page, front and back. They can be reproduced and widely distributed, but we need to pay for the paper and printing. These are the Indonesian translations. If you'd like copies in another language, please contact us. Click Here to Download Parents and Teachers Manual "Helping Children Work Through Trauma" Click Here to Download Trainers Manual for Playgroup Exercises # posted by William Spear : 10:39 AM  2 comments   Tuesday, July 11, 2006 One picture is worth a thousand words. This is by Joko, a 9 year old from Tembi. His first picture depicted the volcano, Mt. Merapi, exploding and sending lava down the sides. His second, a sweet, simple house with a path. A little girl named Kiki whose first face (hers) tells the whole story. She is also alone in the first. The second picture has everyone in the family smiling. Hestu, a sweet girl from Tembi, drew an amazing picture of destruction. Her picture of the future used the same boulders that came out the volcano to make a path to the front door of her new house. These are by Indah, a girl who showed herself alone in the first picture and with the whole family in the future. Ningsih, the most lovely 8 year old in Tembi, drew a scene of chaos and destruction which changed to order and calm. (Nice day for a picnic back in the left corner, too! # posted by William Spear : 1:45 AM     Monday, July 10, 2006 Visualize the future We asked a few children in one of our playgroups to draw pictures of the day of the earthquake. After they did, we asked them to speak with us a little about what they experienced. After they shared, we then asked them to visualize the future and make another picture of what they wanted the future to look like. We then spoke about the new image, and how to keep it in their minds through simple visualization. This is just one example, from a little girl named Sisa. We gathered more than 100 pictures in these exercises, and hers is just one example. Art therapy like this is of less use when kids just draw -- they need to interact and express their feelings, and if possible visualize what might be possible for their future (as one example) to integrate a positive image into their minds. I'll post more of these pictures soon, but I loved what she did with the faces in this one. Sisa is about 9 years old, lost her whole house and everything she owned. Her family will rebuild a new house and live together again soon. # posted by William Spear : 7:13 AM     Saturday, July 08, 2006 Susila Dharma Training More than 25 men and women from Susila Dharma crammed into a 10 X 12 room to learn our approach of working with children after crisis. The hot concrete floor, covered with a thin red and white patterned plastic film, proved to be no discernible hardship for the smiling faces of these eager volunteers. SDI focuses on people and relationships in the shared belief that with the appropriate conditions, people are able to reach their full potential - individually, socially, economically and spiritually. At the heart of Susila Dharma is the belief in our common humanity, and that this can be the prime motivator for people to take action to better their communities. All SDI member activities are locally initiated, community-based and autonomous. Members form collaborative partnerships; they share common values of mutual respect, love and compassion; and they honor local knowledge and cultural diversity. People benefit without any distinction by race, ethnicity, gender, religion, language, age and/or socio-economic background. We were honored to work with SDI. Each had his or her own reality of hardship and personal challenge. One exercise focused on "resourcing" -- Rony's way to guide victims to recognize what they did themselves in crisis and what resources they drew upon to overcome difficulty. Through this and other games like the ones Micah led these village children through, these young volunteers will be able to encourage children to see that each has deep resilience and innate wisdom in the middle of any crisis. Using the expressive arts, dancing, songs and guided imagery, children and adults are beginning to refocus their life force on building a brighter future and returning to routine -- so important in recovery. Hard evidence of these abilities stared us right in the face when we first drove into the area where we met the SDI group. Practically overnight, small food markets have begun popping up along village streets. Rubble is cleared away to make room for straw mats which are spread out, displaying cabbages, oranges, white radishes, potatoes and beans. Since the distribution of cooking utensils and kerosene stoves, a few villages are showing signs of real stability as they face the long months ahead before the rains arrive in October. # posted by William Spear : 8:25 PM     Friday, July 07, 2006 Update on Current Situation - A Reality Check The damage and losses sustained rank this earthquake among the most costly natural disasters in the developing world over the past ten years. A comprehensive analysis by a team of Indonesian Government and international experts estimate the total amount of damage and losses caused by the earthquake at US$ 3.1 billion. Total damage and losses are significantly higher than those caused by the tsunami in Sri Lanka, India and Thailand and are similar in scale to the earthquakes in Gujarat (2001) and in Pakistan (2005). As of this moment, the death toll from this earthquake stands at 5,778. The number of seriously injured stands at 37,883. 139,859 homes have been completely destroyed. 468,149 additional houses have suffered earthquake damage which require significant repair. All statistics come from the National Coordinating Board for the Management of Disaster which is the most authoritative source available. Taking into account emergency shelter materials already provided and in the pipeline, a total of 47,722 extra tarpaulins are sill required. Approximately 200-260 primary schools are still in need of receiving basic teaching and learning materials for the new school year which begins in a very short time. According to the Bantul district government, 223,117 families (779,287 people) are still in need of emergency shelters. As of 25 June, the local government and organizations have provided 360 school tents. 1,648 additional school tents (6X14m) are needed to provide cover where schools were destroyed or heavily damaged. As of 6 July (40 days after the earthquake), 214,149 households have still not received any form of emergency shelter assistance. The Child Protection Working Group identified that to date a total of 120 safe spaces for children, with 55 in Bantul and 57 in Klaten, have been established by international and national NGOs. The Psychosocial/Mental Health Working Group reports 144 mental health referral cases (65 male and 79 female) have been identified since the earthquake, with 42 new cases directly resulting from the disaster, and 102 cases of relapse as a result of stress from the earthquake. # posted by William Spear : 5:42 AM     Thursday, July 06, 2006 A little further down a dry, dusty road Once we finished our work at Purwosari, we headed further up into the mountains to another small hamlet, this one with an even smaller school and fewer children. Their old building was only partially damaged, so Rony was able to lead them in some drawing exercises, having them make a picture of things that helped them get through the first few days. Kids drew pictures of a mosque, trees, and friends -- saying that prayer, nature and sharing feelings were important as resources. Eventually, we went outside to play in the cement covered "yard" where the sun was as hot as any day since we arrived. We were joined here by two volunteers who we've been training, a Scottish woman from Aberdeen named Valerie (Auntie Val) and a local Jogya chap named Apuk who will continue with these mountain village children long after we depart. Jumping, singing and giggling was a strange prelude to what we learned next. As we drove away, we noticed how parched the ground was. Our driver explained that this particular village had suffered a drought of sorts, because their wells had been contaminated and the season was especially dry. As a result, some of the men in the village have found it necessary to sell their cow to survive. What did they need? Water. We all wonder -- where are the major relief organizations in all this, where is the government, where is the international aid?? In all these days, we have seen only a few tents from UNICEF, the UK, and Spain, and all these were close to the main roads. I suspected as much, and it was for this reason that I made the effort to come here. The news of this earthquake disappeared from site far too soon. In the epicenter and the mountains, everyone we have seen has told us there has been virtually no support. OK -- it is just too massive a disaster to expect that every corner will be touched by foreign aid, but that there has been so little help coming here is more and more evident in our exchanges with local elders. With so many families and children in need, I can only be grateful for the generous support of our friends who have made our own efforts possible. Thank you again for those who have donated, and to others who will -- through these images -- be moved to be a part of what we are doing here. The Javanese people have received us with open hearts. # posted by William Spear : 5:52 PM     One cow, some rice and a bamboo hut On the other side of the world from where we live, there's a village. It is a tiny hamlet in the mountains south of Jogyakarta. It is in the subdistrict of Banyunmeneng in the region called Gunungkidul. This region is in the special province known as Jogyakarta, in Central Java. Go on, see if you can find this one on your map -- go searching for it. Trust me, you are not likely to find it. How do you spell relief? R-E-M-O-T-E. Very. As we made the one hour drive (in our Land Rover) from base camp in Prelet, another sub-district, we went higher and higher into the mountains. Eventually, all we saw was terraced hillsides of rice, cassava, banana and coconut trees. Then, in a nearly dried up watering hole, a few villagers were washing their cows. We had arrived in Purwosari. About 50 children were gathered in the school yard, now covered by a tent since the classrooms were damaged and unsafe to occupy. A volunteer teacher from Bali was leading the group in an English lesson while adults sat by and watched. In another hour, when we left, the village would gather to acknowledge the 12 year olds in a small graduation ceremony. We danced, played, sang songs and laughed. Micah did some magic, and Rony spoke with a few of the elders. Before we left, I posed with a few boys who smiled and waved for the camera as almost every child in these villages would. As we drove away, on toward another village 6 kilometers away, we got one view of the valley around us. It's not possible to explain the simplicity of life in Purwosari, even after an earthquake that all but wiped out the entire region. The government is so overwhelmed that this area will not see help for months. But somehow, life goes on in this small school, some volunteers have gotten them water, some food to hold them over until the roads are cleared. That, and the love of elders and family is all that is left, and all that ever was really important here. But now, after only a few hours on a misty morning, there are 50 more smiles, and a bit more hope for the future. Coming to this area hit by the earthquake, we are humbled, inspired and nearly exhausted, but it is these children who refresh us -- not the other way around. Simple families, devout and honorable Muslims, genuine brothers and sisters all. There is no argument, no conflict here, no tension. Each family has exactly what they need. One cow, some rice, and a bamboo hut. And love. Not every face was a happy one. # posted by William Spear : 5:16 AM     Wednesday, July 05, 2006 Inspiring Volunteers One of the most amazing things we have witnessed in the past few days on our way to the site of this quake is the number of local volunteers who seem to be helping their countrymen. This morning we were on the road by 6:15 AM for the drive into Pleret, the Omogiri Region that was 95% flattened, and we saw again how these volunteers actually get to the neighborhoods that are so badly damaged. Scores of young men -- sometimes as many as 100 -- cram into open back trucks and stand for almost two hours from their villages in the north to volunteer their services as an inspiration and psychological lift for victims. This example of all for one, good karma and fortunate blessings is everywhere we turn. We have seen 12 or 14 trucks like this one, and amazingly, when we returned this evening at 6 PM, we saw them returning, too. This means that their day began at 4AM when they left home, and will not end until 8PM when they return. No pay, no wages, no special recognition here -- just the hard work, commitment and honor of service for those in need. Truly inspiring. Keep in mind that it is 90 degrees in the sun out there, that the ride is bumpy and loud, exhaust fumes everywhere, and that there are some in the center as well as along the sides and back. This trip of more than two hours each way is a journey from the heart. # posted by William Spear : 4:44 AM