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country directory indexdeveloping country focus - indonesia |
Use this resource page to learn more
about what we are doing in Indonesia, and how you can help us meet spiritual and
physical hungers…
The world’s most populous Muslim country, this archipelago of over 17,000 islands, 6,000 of which are inhabited, is located between the Asian landmass and Australia. Apart from interior highland regions on the major islands (Java, Borneo, Sumatra, New Guinea), the country is comprised of mostly coastal lowlands. Located along the Ring of Fire, Indonesia is more susceptible than many countries to natural disasters, as demonstrated by its rapid increase in tsunamis—the deadliest of which was the tsunami of December 2004—major flooding and seemingly unstoppable mudflows. Efforts to rebuild Indonesia’s infrastructure and the lives of natural disaster victims are a slow but continuous effort. Major advancements have been made by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center to better equip and educate Indonesia for tsunami protection.
The country has, in recent years, been dealing with a continent-wide financial crisis, the fall of Suharto who ruled for 32 years, bloody inter-ethnic and religious conflict and cataclysmic natural disaster. In addition, the country is adapting to a new President after the first-ever direct presidential elections in the country’s history, which took place in September 2004. Political and religious unrest has catapulted the people of Indonesia into a society of violence, armed conflict, and terrorism. Climate change has also put a strain on the country, affecting agriculture and fishing and as a result has inflated the number of people under the national poverty line.
Food for the Hungry provided relief to Indonesians after the 2004 tsunami, and has remained to implement long-term development programs. |
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explore indonesia on our site
how we are meeting needs in indonesia:
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Tsunami Recovery
Food for the Hungry personnel were on the ground soon after the December 26, 2004, tsunami to coordinate distribution of clean water and critically needed items, including food and clothing. In Indonesia we worked with local partners to provide food packages and medical teams in refugee camps in Aceh province, the area hardest hit and closest to the epicenter of the earthquake.
After playing a major role in the emergency phase, Food for the Hungry has committed significant resources and manpower to helping Indonesians, specifically Sumatrans, rebuild their society. The City of Phoenix has joined with Food for the Hungry to create the "Rising to Help" initiative, a commitment to restore the municipality of Meulaboh, which lost nearly 1/3 of its citizens in the disaster.
The programs being implemented include:
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A cash-for-work program that employs those who lost their livelihoods to clear debris left when the waves washed back to sea. It is impossible to rebuild schools, office buildings and so forth without first clearing the sites. |
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A program that restores the livelihoods of tradesmen turned out of business by the tsunami. FH money is helping return fishermen to their boats; rickshaw drivers to their bicycles; carpenters, bakers, cement workers and other tradesmen to their jobs. |
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A program to help farmers in the coastal communities of Aceh Province rebuild, strengthen and diversify their farming operations. The goal is to reestablish agricultural production in the affected areas through cash-for-work programs, tool and seed distributions and livestock restocking.
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An effort to rehabilitate miles and miles of coastal farmland that were inundated by sea water, thus pushing salt levels in the soil to dangerous levels. |
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A program that improves education, with special emphasis on teaching women and children English. |
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A coordinated project with the PKK (a local government-sanctioned women’s organization) to train and educate women in creating and contributing to a healthy home environment, by providing psychosocial trauma care (for problems brought on by the tsunami), small business investment and training on savings principles, as well as English training. | |
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