The weather in West Sumatra was unpredictable during our training activities with the community in the Mentawai Islands, but the ASB team and the community-based disaster management team kept going strong. The training activities, which took place in January this year, consisted of three topics: search and rescue, first aid, logistics and emergency shelter. Similar to the previous training run in Pesisir Selatan District, this activity was organised in collaboration with the National Search and Rescue Body (Basarnas), Indonesian Red Cross and the Disaster-ready Team (managed by the Indonesian Ministry of Social Welfare). Supported by the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this activity reached more than 400 members of community-based disaster management teams in 16 sub-villages in Goiso’oinan, Tuapeijat and Sipora Jaya Village.
The ASB team is now preparing to start infrastructure development activities, including evacuation shelters, evacuation routes and bridges. These activities will be implemented in 7 sub-villages in the Mentawai Islands and Pesisir Selatan District. The infrastructure will be developed based on the needs and characteristics of each sub-village. For this reason, the ASB team has arranged a working group in each subvillage who will be responsible to implement and monitor the infrastructure development. The working group consists of representatives of all groups in the community, including women, older people, persons with disabilities and village authorities. The infrastructure development aims to support the availability of emergency facilities which are accessible for all, including persons with disabilities.
