VZCZCXRO9858
OO RUEHDT RUEHPB
DE RUEHJA #1898/01 3210402
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 170402Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3842
INFO RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 8025
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1132
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 8912
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 001898 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP, CA 
STATE FOR USAID 
USAID FOR DCHA/OFDA CCHAN, ACONVERY, RTHAYER 
USAID FOR ANE KROSEN 
BANGKOK FOR ADWYER 
NSC FOR CPRATT 
USUN FOR DMERCADO 
GENEVA FOR NKYLOH 
PACOM POLAD/J3/J5 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV CASC ECON EAID SENV ID PHUM AEMR ASEC CASC
MARR, PREL, PINR, AMGT, EAID, AQ, LA, RP, TN, VM, WS 
 
SUBJECT:  INDONESIA EARTHQUAKE HUMANITARIAN UPDATE #16: USAID/OFDA 
FIELD VISIT TO NFI DISTRIBUTIONS 
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Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.        From October 31 - November 7, USAID/OFDA Field Officers 
(FO) visited programs being implemented by CHF, World Vision, Save 
the Children/US (SC/US), American Red Cross (ARC), CARE, and 
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and attended shelter and general 
cluster coordination meetings.  The NGOs are implementing shelter 
programs, distributing non-food items, such as hygiene kits, 
household kits, and tool kits.  The field officers found no urgent 
humanitarian needs.  All programs are running smoothly and the 
beneficiary population is appreciative of the assistance. 
 
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CHF 
-------------- 
 
¶2.        On 31 October, an OFDA Field Officer visited a CHF 
transitional shelter project site near Sincincin in the Lingkung 
area of Padang Pariaman District.  CHF is constructing about a dozen 
transitional shelters in the village visited. 
¶3.        CHF uses a combination of village leader input, 
beneficiary interviews, and independent assessments to identify 
recipients. Recipients are intended to be the most vulnerable, 
including female-headed households, the disabled, elderly and others 
without the resources to rebuild.  Skilled builders assist in the 
construction of these shelters, and their design serves as a model 
of a well-constructed transitional shelter for others in the 
village. 
¶4.        CHF has a staging area in the village where builders 
pre-fabricate coconut wood frames for delivery to the selected home 
sites.  CHF has made agreements with several suppliers to ensure 
there is enough wood for their project district wide.  They have 
also made agreements for supplies of bamboo for places where bamboo 
frames would be more appropriate. 
¶5.        The Field Officer observed two transitional shelters under 
construction.  Both were framed in coconut wood frames provided by 
CHF.  One had a low brick wall made of bricks recovered from the 
destroyed home and using cement concrete mortar rather than lime. 
The owner said that he would build his permanent home mostly from 
wood because wood was more earthquake resistant than brick.  He will 
use recovered metal roofing on both the transitional and permanent 
home.  While the FO was present, the family completed the walls 
using donated tarp material. 
 
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World Vision 
----------- 
¶6.        On 3 November, USAID/OFDA FOs visited V Koto Kampung Dalam 
in Padang Pariaman, one of the four areas selected by World Vision 
for shelter toolkit distribution.  Over the course of the program, 
World Vision will distribute 10,250 shelter kits.  The distribution 
site was in the market area, but it was not market day.  As with all 
of USAID/OFDA program, the recipients are identified by community 
leaders based on need.  The recovery kit consists of a hand trowel, 
saw, hammer, spade, crowbar, and measurement tape.  Each household 
will receive a shelter toolkit, while five households will share one 
wheelbarrow.  Although some beneficiaries have started removing 
debris from their collapsed homes, they were very happy to receive 
the toolkits.  In addition, recipients stated that they would use 
some of the items to work on their farms. 
 
-------------------- 
Save the Children/UK 
-------------------- 
 
¶7.        On 4 November, USAID/OFDA FOs visited SC/US's warehouse in 
Pariaman and an NFI distribution in Lubuk Alung.  SC/US is 
distributing household kits, hygiene kits, and shelter toolkits. 
Approximately 6,200 families will receive the hygiene and household 
kits, while five families will share one shelter tool kit. 
¶8.        Unlike other communities the FOs visited, the clean up and 
 
JAKARTA 00001898  002 OF 003 
 
Summary 
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recovery efforts are lagging in Lubuk Alung.  Most of the 
beneficiaries in Lubuk Alung are living in tents donated by various 
organizations.  Families that did not receive tents are staying with 
host families.  The tents are frequently overcrowded.  Very few 
residents have begun building transitional structures.  The village 
elder stated that people in this community are focused on food and 
livelihoods.  He said they make roughly 50,000 Rupiah a day as farm 
laborers and cannot afford to rebuild.  The elder said they are 
waiting for someone to rebuild for them.  The situation in this 
village stands in stark contrast to the initiative and effective 
self-recovery efforts of affected populations seen in every other 
area visited. 
 
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ARC 
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¶9.        On November 5, USAID/OFDA FOs traveled to Kampung Dalam 
and Ruyung in Pariaman District with representatives of the American 
Red Cross (ARC) and local Red Cross society (PMI) to meet recipients 
of USAID NFI kits.  In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, 
ARC and the PMI focused on delivering USAID/OFDA commodities to the 
most vulnerable populations located in remote villages.  These 
commodities were delivered by U.S. Navy helicopters.  To ensure 
orderly distributions, PMI prepositioned personnel to manage the 
arrival and distribution of the supplies. 
¶10.    We visited a site where beneficiaries were receiving a 
mixture of commodities from various organizations, including 
USAID/OFDA.  The distribution was orderly and recipients were 
appreciative of the assistance. They received shelter kits to be 
used to remove rubble and begin building transitional shelters. 
¶11.    USAID/OFDA FOs will visit the PMI water production site in 
Koto Padang on Tuesday, November 10.  This will be the main source 
for the 10,000 liters/day that PMI will start distributing during 
the week of 8 November. 
 
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CARE 
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¶12.    On November 6, USAID FOs visited Lambeh sub-village in 
Pariaman District.  CARE was doing the final distribution of shelter 
recovery kits to 323 households.  The kits consist of a shovel, 
wire, saw, hammer, machete, nails, bucket, bag, chisel, and work 
glove.  Approximately 95% of the homes were destroyed in this area. 
CARE has distributed hygiene kits, NFI kits, and tarpaulins.  There 
is a 5% gap in coverage in this area, so CARE is working with Japan 
Emergency (JEM) and others to cover the gap.  Other NGOs working in 
this area include Medecins sans Frontieres-Spain (MSF-Spain), Muslim 
Aid, and Action by Churches Together (ACT). 
¶13.    The village leader worked with CARE to identify beneficiaries 
from the village, focusing on the most vulnerable households, such 
as female-headed households and the elderly.  The beneficiaries 
received a shovel, nails, hammer, saw, etc.  Many people in this 
area have cleared some of the rubble from the earthquake, but the 
additional tools will help with the clean up.  Some residents have 
spontaneously begun construction of transitional shelters in 
Lambeh. 
 
 
 
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CRS 
----- 
¶14.    On November 7, USAID/FOs visited Geragalian village in Agam 
District.  CRS's partner BuildChange is conducting trainings on 
earthquake resistant building techniques.  Twenty-one households 
attended the training in advance of the initial cash distribution 
for transitional shelter materials. 
¶15.    CRS and USAID FOs walked through the village.  Most houses 
are heavily damaged and have been deemed uninhabitable by assessors. 
 
JAKARTA 00001898  003 OF 003 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
 A few houses were assessed as only moderately damaged; however the 
FO noticed there was significant structural damage.  Many walls were 
propped up with large sticks and some walls inside the home were 
damaged or crumbling. 
¶16.    CRS has established a hotline to address any issues that may 
arise while implementing the program.  People can call the number if 
they are in need of non-food items, technical assistance for 
transitional shelter reconstruction, or complaints about the 
distribution of assistance.  To date, they have not had any 
complaints about the program. 
 
----------------------------- 
Closure of USAID Field Office 
------------------------------ 
¶17.    On November 11, the USAID/OFDA field office will close and 
management of the programs will be turned over to OFDA's regional 
office in Bangkok.  USAID/OFDA FOs were able to visit all partners. 
Progress continues and the NGOs are not experiencing any delays in 
implementation.  In fact, many have completed or will complete their 
NFI distributions over the next week.  From that point forward, they 
will focus on supporting transitional shelter construction. Over the 
coming months, OFDA Regional Advisors will make periodic monitoring 
visits to West Sumatra. 
 
 
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Comments 
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¶18.    While the assistance of the international community has made 
a positive impact on the recovery phase, the Indonesian people 
affected have made the greatest impact.  With or without assistance, 
they have cleared rubble, built temporary shelters, in a few cases, 
began rebuilding permanent homes.  In addition, the sense of 
community is strong as they are helping neighbors who are unable to 
clear the rubble by chipping in as a whole to help their one 
another.  The experiences that Indonesians and NGOs have gained from 
the numerous disasters that affect Indonesia have also made an 
impact on the relief and recover operation. 
 
Hume#