RAINS CAME DOWN AND FLOODS CAME UP

It has been raining almost constantly with severe lightning storms in Jakarta since January 4^th one day after our friends the Beamans left.  We don’t usually watch local news so the first awareness that we had that there was any flooding in Jakarta was last Wednesday, Jan, 16^th.  We had a meeting scheduled at our office with two different groups.  One group had arrived and the other party  texted us and told us that she had already spent 2 hours in a taxi and still was a long ways from the office.  After waiting for another 2 hours the third party never arrived and we postponed the meeting.  When we went home later that evening we turned on the news and were astonished at what we saw.  Pictures of streets that were flooded and people being evacuated from their homes were abundant on the television news.   Where we lived there was heavy rain but no flooding.  It was strange to feel that we were so unaware of what was going on in the very city we lived in.

Thursday Russell decided to go and try to find out the needs of the people that had been evacuated from their homes.  He was unable to get a taxi. We have no access to a car, and a bajai would not take him.  After 30 minutes in the rain trying unsuccessfully to get appropriate transportation he hopped on to the back of an “ojek” or motorcycle taxi.  The driver took some back roads to avoid the flooding and was able to get Russell to a building right across from one flooded area. Russell was able to talk to the “camat” or man in charge of the area.  There were almost a 1,000 people housed in this particular building.  The camat said they desperately needed food for the people.  Friday on the news we heard that over 23,000 people had been displaced from their homes.  Over 16 people had died, either from electrocution or drowning.   We quickly put together some supplies purchased with humanitarian funds from our church and headed towards the East Jakarta Sports Complex where some of the refugees from the flooding had been housed.  We brought with us 3 tons of rice, 10,000 packets of mie (or noodles),  a substantial amount of baby milk, 1,050 hygiene kits which included towel, soap, shampoo,  4 toothbrushes, toothpaste, and a blanket.  These hygiene kits had been made previously by members of our church so that we would be prepared for an emergency such as this.

It took a long time to travel through the flooded roads of Jakarta despite the fact that the area is only a few miles from our home.  We saw many areas with water that was waist high.  Many children were splashing and playing in the water as if it were a swimming pool.  My fear as a nurse is that if sewage is mixed with the water soon disease will be rampant.  Children were along the sides of roads with buckets asking for money for the “banjir” or flood.  There were adults lazily floating along  in the water in inner tubes, others were trying to wash out their flooded businesses.  We saw many businesses with the doors shut and water half way up the doors. 

We unloaded at two locations.  At the first we unloaded some hygiene kits and a small amount of food. At the second we unloaded the remainder of the food and then made a second trip for more hygiene kits. As we arrived at the sports complex the people housed inside seemed very intrigued with the fact that we had come to help.  The missionaries who came along to help us were dressed in white shirts and ties, so we kind of stood out.  Most of the people inside had nothing with them.  One woman had just a small plastic grocery bag that I saw her rummaging through.  There was a table was off to the side with three women handing out medications to people that were sick.  Most of the medications on the table were antibiotics.  The people in the sports arena were mostly women and children. I assume the men were out taking care of their homes, or trying to work.  The missionaries and about 15 members from our church unloaded the supplies.  The Camat and the other people we dealt with were very grateful.  Many of the people housed inside wanted their picture taken. They would yell at me “hey sister” or “Elder Healy”.  I am not sure how they thought my name was Elder Healy.  Perhaps they saw Russell talking with the Camat, pretty much I respond to anything here so a lot of families got their picture taken and got to look at themselves afterwards on my digital camera.

More supplies will be ordered and delivered in the coming days, so keep abreast.  If you are coming to visit Jakarta anytime soon remember it is a BYOB town (bring your own boat).

HOMES UNDERWATER

PICTURES TAKEN BY RUSSELL

RUSSELL'S RECEIPT FROM DRIVER-ONLY WAY TO GET TO FLOODED AREA

VIEW FROM CAR WINDOW

NOTICE RAFT ON TOP OF VAN

HIS INNER TUBE NEEDS A LITTLE INFLATING

LEON AND FATHER USING MUSCLES

ARI FROM OFFICE

CHILDREN IN FIRST LOCATION-THESE KIDS HAD BEEN GIVEN SOMETHING TO DO, SECOND LOCATION THE CHILDREN HAD NOTHING

HAVING FUN, BUT WATER IS PROBABLY MIXED WITH SEWAGE

SOME OF THE SUPPLIES DONATED BY OUR CHURCH

ELDER SUBANDRIYO, CAMAT SYOFIAN AND EILEEN, HANDING OVER GOODS

ELDER DALILLI TALKING WITH HOMELESS

CHRIS AND RUSSELL CARRYING RICE, CHRIS DONATED KIDNEY TO SISTER STEFFIE IN AUGUST

EVACUEES FROM FLOOD

HOMELESS BUT HAPPY

MEDICATION STATION

THIS LADY LOOKED SAD AND HOPELESS

THIS FAMILY REALLY WANTED THEIR PICTURE TAKEN, THE CHILD IN YELLOW KEPT DOING A DONKEY KICK WHILE I TRIED TO TAKE A PICTURE

WELL PREPARED BUT OVER ANXIOUS

HOMELESS PROUD MOMMY-BABY 1 MONTH

RACHEL AND LEON-TWO MEMBERS HERE TO HELP

THEY WANTED TO BE IN THE PICTURE SOMEHOW!

I THOUGHT THERE WERE ONLY 4 MISSIONARIES, WE ADDED ONE STRONG GUY THAT HELPED!

TATOK-NO BIG DEAL LIFTING, SECOND ROUND OF DELIVERING HYGIENE KITS

WOW, WE JUST ARRIVED, FLOODING, NO ELECTRICITY, ALL IN 3 DAYS. ELDER AND SISTER LISK,
OUR NEW NEIGHBORS