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ACTNews, BOYOLALI - The intensifying volcanic activities of Mount Merapi
have forced the residents living around the volcano to evacuate. One of the
evacuation sites is in Boyolali’s Selo District. In this evacuation site, the
evacuees include toddlers, children, people with disabilities, pregnant women,
and the elderly.
To assist the
children evacuating to Selo District, Aksi Cepat Tanggap (ACT) and Masyarakat
Relawan Indonesia (MRI) came to the shelter in Tlogolele Village to perform an
initial assessment to make sure of the residents’ needs.
"In Selo,
we conducted an assessment of the residents’ needs. In addition, we are also interacting
with the vulnerable groups which make up the majority of the evacuees,” said
Ardian Sapto from the ACT Solo’s Program Department, Wednesday (11/11).
To further
assist the vulnerable groups, ACT and MRI provided psychosocial assistance to
the children. They have been affected by not only the Merapi volcanic
activities but also by the ongoing pandemic. Their learning activities have
been hampered for almost a year. Now, they have to stay in evacuation sites.
Neigen Achtah
Nur, Secretary of Tlogolele Village who is also the coordinator of the evacuation
site said that they still needed more psychosocial volunteers because the
activities in the evacuation site has been limited as they try to maintain
health protocols. “Currently, in this evacuation site, there are dozens of
children, but there’s no volunteers who play with them," said Neigen.
Apart from
psychosocial support, the evacuees also need food. The evacuees would likely
increase if mount Merapi did erupt. Although everyone is hoping that the
volcano will not erupt, but every party must remain vigilant and alert to
anticipate the worst case scenario. []
