By
Chris J. Tapnio (Philippine Rural Development Project )
Ma. Charisma T. Malenab (University of the Philippines Los Banos, Philippines)
Sayantan Das (Dum Dum Motijheel College, Kolkata, India)
Jun, Yamaguchi (University of Tokyo, Japan)
How would you feel if you were standing just several kilometers away from the one the most active volcanoes on Earth? Perhaps this was the recurring question in the minds of all the participants of the 2018 Summer Course in Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction as we rode on a bus and traveled near the foot of Mount Merapi.
True to its name, Merapi or the Mountain of Fire (also called fire mountain), last erupted on October 2010 and it continued until early December of the same year. The aftermath was heartbreaking – 353 killed, almost 70,000 residents evacuated, properties and infrastructure lost. It was truly a disaster.
Which is why the atmosphere was filled with both excitement and anxiety. Excitement because we all wanted to have a first-hand look at the area not just out of curiosity, but to learn more on volcanic disaster risk management. Anxiety because we are literally standing on a ticking time-bomb!
But there was a ray of hope that day. On our way to Merapi, we had a chance to visit one of the “rock stars” of disaster risk and reduction management in Asia- Dr. Puji Pujiono. As the senior adviser of Pujiono center, he presented his experiences in crafting DRRM policies in different places, from New York to Geneva, Philippines to India.
The Pujiono Center, established by Disaster Management practitioners, is a non-profit knowledge organization whose main aim is to promote evidence and science-based policy making disaster and climate risk reduction. They do this by providing credible information for disaster policy-making through high-quality knowledge management.
As Dr. Pujiono introduced himself to his learning house, he playfully made us aware that even if earthquake occurs, the 80-year old house will not collapse as it is scientifically made with good quality timbers and stands on a strong foundation. In the next one hour, he took us through to his journey as an expert of different disaster management and humanitarian affairs program under United Nations in various countries. He explained about various conjectures related with disaster management and the actual scenarios faced at the ground zero.
At the beginning Mr. Angoro gave us an overview of Pujiono Center. After that Dr. Pujiono explained the history of disaster management policy in the world since Cold War while introducing his career and activities in UN organizations. He is a passionate and energetic person and I was attracted to his efforts for the society. He explained that the architecture of the center was renovated old traditional Javanese-style house and its carvings of windows are handmade by local people. In this engaging session at the E-Pujiono Learning Centre, we came across a dynamic personality, Ms. Anggiasari Puji Aryati, a true DRR crusader in her own right. Despite being a person with disability, she devoted herself as a campaigner of disability and gender inclusion in development and DRR concepts. She provided professional technical support for the same to different programs in Indonesia and South-East Asia.
Next presentation was on the “Sister village program” between hazardous villages and supporting villages at the foot of Mt. Merapi since 2013 by Mr. Winarato, Mr. Eko and Mr. Yuliant. They explained us their experiences and difficulties in finding their sister villages in the program.
Dr. Pujiono’s then facilitated a group activity which revolved around disaster response, recovery, preparation, rehabilitation, mitigation, and risk reduction. It seemed like a simple activity but Dr. Pujiono challenged everyone. In that simple exercise, Dr. Pujiono asked us not to focus on the processes needed to achieve the goals, but more on being pro-active and results-based. In the end, after the brainstorming, we all realized that it made sense.
These information are extremely important for those who want to promote development amidst the presence of disasters. The concept of sister village was also shared to us. This concept is quite interesting as one village would be the source of support of another village. The former being usually closer to Mount Merapi.
We were very thankful for the inspiration Dr. Pujiono gave us as we made our way towards Merapi. First stop was the Merapi Volcano Museum where we had a glimpse of the impacts created by the volcanic eruption to the people, the environment, and the economy. It was sad to see people covered in ash, properties destroyed, lives lost. But the museum also featured the advances made through the years not only in monitoring the volcanic activity but also mechanisms in reducing and managing risks.
Dr. Sandy Wibowo also accompanied the group throughout the museum tour and explained additional details on the complexities of volcanic eruptions. In fact, he was even there during the field visit, readily assisting everyone, and answering queries from the group.
The day ended with everyone getting wet, literally! As if to lighten our mood but also squeezing the adrenaline in us, we all had the chance to ride the 4×4 Merapi jeep adventure in the river! It was one of the highlight of the field activity. We laughed, we shouted, some even cried in excitement.
And as always, it was truly a day filled with learning and fun! It was very exciting and fruitful time for me. This visit will be one of the most unforgettable memories in this summer course.