Erynn Carter's blog

The Mentawai Islands, hit by yesterday's tsunami, lie 100 miles off the western coast of Sumatra, on the eastern edge of the Indian Ocean.

Today was a busy day spent doing logistics for our emergency response to the tsunami that just hit Indonesia's Mentawai Islands. Almost 300 people have died, more than 400 are missing and estimates are that at least 4,000 people are displaced.

Wawan, our team leader, has departed from the city of Padang (on the country's Sumatra Island) to Mentawai. The boat he is on will dock at Sikakap on the island of North Pagai sometime after midnight Wednesday. On Thursday, he will connect with non-governmental organizations he knows well. We will possibly be working with these organizations on response to the tsunami. Wawan will also make arrangements for the storage and distribution of critical supplies to affected families.

The government has arranged for a boat from Jakarta to the city of Sikakap, Mentawai this evening. We are deploying two Indonesia Response Team members, who will travel with 500 jerry cans and 500 tarpaulins on the government boat. We will also send one more staff member on Thursday to help with coordination and distribution.

The United Nations has started to coordinate the response, and Indonesia's Vice-President is scheduled to make a trip to devastated areas, and so there is definite focus on the tsunami's aftermath and its effect on families.

We will keep you informed on our response to this emergency.

Read more ▸

Leatherman donated several dozen of its Blast multitools to our emergency-response team. They don't leave home without it. Photo: Matthew De Galan/Mercy Corps

About two years ago I found myself in the Democratic Republic of the Congo monitoring a distribution of humanitarian supplies to families who'd been displaced from their homes by fighting. I was monitoring the mosquito net site. Each person was to receive only one net. And as logistics go, the nets were packaged with super strong binding that couldn't be torn. Between three different distribution points (one each for nets, blankets and biscuits) we had one razor blade, which was being run back and forth between the different sites to undo the tight bindings for the supplies.

But then — voila — I remembered my Leatherman.

Shortly before that trip, Leatherman Tool Group had generously donated a set of their all-in-one Blast multitools through our Material Aid department for me and my colleagues on the Global Emergency Operations team. The Blast has 16 tools — wire stripper, pliers, knife, saw, screwdriver, etc. — in one compact package. I'd put mine in my pocket. (My colleagues Richard and Mugur carry the tool in its case on their belts.)

Here's my group of distributors! The red strings are the ones cut with the Leatherman. Photo: Erynn Carter/Mercy Corps

That day in Congo, I used the tool's "420HC Clip Point Knife" to extract the mosquito nets all day long. So we didn't have to run the razor blade all over the place, which, of course, led to a more efficient use of that time and smoother operations for the whole distribution. And at every distribution afterwards, I was asked if I brought my sharp knife!

Leatherman donated more than enough for our team, so I was able to leave mine behind with a colleague in Congo.

We're offering the same handy tool I used then — right down to the engraved Mercy Corps logo! — as part of a special Father's Day Mercy Kit.

Everyone on our emergency team carries one of these tools, and we love them!

Read more ▸