Dear friend,
My name is Ms. Rita, I am serving as the treasurer of the Lestari Indah group. The Lestari Indah group is a cluster that conducts businesses by selling tempeh to increase cash for members of the group, so that the cluster cash can continuously grow and then be used as a savings and loan business by its members.
I am 40 years old; I have a husband who is 43 and two children, a boy who is 19 and a girl who is 10. Currently I am also a housewife. My husband’s job is a farmer or gardener.
I come from the west coast, the Tongolbibi Village. I’ve lived here in Simoro village since 2011. I came here first to join my parents, and secondly to get a better life.
It was challenging to adapt to life in Simoro village at first. And then also working with the environment was challenging. At first, we saw that the soil was better here, more fertile. But, as time goes by, from year to year, it turns out that the current soil is not the same as when I first came.
At first, we really didn’t know why, but we slowly came to realize it might be from weather factors, or climate change. The weather is uncertain. Sometimes it rains, sometimes it rains all the time, sometimes it’s hot. The weather is so unpredictable.
We also experienced disaster in 2018. During 2018 there were indeed many victims, including my own parents-in-law. At that time, we really lacked knowledge about how to do first aid, so the first thing we did was to save family first. When the earthquake happened, I couldn’t get out of the house, only my first child ran out during the quake. Then he came in and pulled me out because I really couldn’t get out of the building.
Life has changed since the earthquake. First from an economic point of view. Secondly from a trauma point of view — my children were half dead from fear. Like too much fear. Not daring to go to school, not being able to socialize with friends, that’s trauma. You don’t recover.
Before the disaster, we had very little knowledge about what to do, in the case of health issues. But after the disaster, many NGOs came in to impart knowledge to us. What is very useful for us is the knowledge of making tempeh. Because originally, we did not know how to make it.
Church World Service in Indonesia (CWS) helps us with knowledge, equipment and raw material assistance as well as raw Soybean materials. We really hope that CWS will continue in the future. And always guide us, maybe in the future there will be more businesses that are not just tempeh production. We hope there will be more businesses that we can develop for the ladies. To sustain our income.
Thank God I’m so happy. We have great hopes.
Many thanks,
Rita
*Names have been changed to protect identity
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Local Partner Profile: Church World Service, Indonesia
Church World Service in Indonesia supports the Disaster Resilience through Enhanced Adaptive Measures (DREAM 2 Project). This project works to strengthen community resilience against the impacts of climate change, employing three main areas of change; promoting community-based disaster risk management, facilitating community action that is designed to increase community resilience, and providing support to a cross section of community members so that they can develop shared goals and undertake activities that will help them become more resilient in the face of climate change. This includes finding ways to work with people to help them adapt to climate change and the challenges that brings with it for now and the future.
Your partnership is making a huge difference!
Last month, Act for Peace Partners like you came together and raised $42,740.62 to support people uprooted by conflict and disaster around the world.
Please pray:
- For all those who have been affected by either conflict or disaster; for anyone who has had to leave the place they call home in search of a safe, happy life.
- For the many communities around the world that are being affected by the impacts of climate change — including natural disasters and unpredictable weather patterns.
- For our inspirational support staff in Indonesia who work tirelessly with people to ensure that everyone has a safe environment to belong, and sustainable futures for their families.
