Contributor: Fitria Rinawati

Ibu Tutut (30), Sana'ah (70) and Sekar (6) standing beside their new latrine, in the narrow alley entrance to their house. Photo: Fitria Rinawati/Mercy Corps

The thing I remember most about my recent visit to Pekojan, a poor neighborhood in West Jakarta, was talking to 30-year-old Ibu Tutut, one of the people Mercy Corps is helping here through a USAID-funded program. “We have been wanting so long for a healthy latrine — through four generations of living here — and now we have it," she said. "It is really a precious luxury for us!”

I haven't been able to keep her words from repeating through my mind since then. Her 70-year-old grandmother, whose name is Sa’anah, and her six-year-old daughter Sekar also joined our conversation. “It’s difficult to find a latrine in our neighborhood. There is no land to build it," Ibu Tutut explained. "We are so proud to have it. We're especially proud because it’s not just a latrine that sends waste straight to the river, but it’s a healthy latrine with a septic tank.”

It is an astounding, but true fact that it's still very hard to find latrines with septic tanks in a metropolis city like Jakarta. Sanitation facilities are a major problem in urban slum areas like Pekojan.

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A young child eats a nutritious fruit jelly during the grand opening of our My Child's Café expansion in West Jakarta's impoverished Tegal Alur neighborhood. Photo: Fitria Rinawati/Mercy Corps

“Hi friends! Come to My Child's Café… choose and get various healthy snacks here,” said a catchy jingle that played during over the grand opening of My Child Café and its healthy kitchen in West Jakarta's impoverished Tegal Alur neighborhood. About 750 young children from the area — most of them five years old or younger — attended the event with their mothers. The newest expansion of Mercy Corps' successful My Child’s Café program — or, in the Indonesian language, Kedai Balitaku (KeBal) — was opened by the Deputy Mayor of West Jakarta major.

“This shows good initiative and innovation from Mercy Corps. Now people in slum areas like Tegal Alur have access to healthy food to improve their nutrition and, at the same time, the program provides further opportunity for people in the local community to improve their income through selling this healthy food,” the Deputy Mayor said.

Just a few of the hundreds of children who showed up to the KeBal grand opening in Tegal Alur. Photo: Fitria Rinawati/Mercy Corps

This grand opening in Tegal Alur is an expansion from KeBal's previous pilot project in Tugu Utara, a poor neighborhood in North Jakarta. KeBal provides nutritious and affordable meals and snacks for areas where families cannot often afford to eat heathy food.

And, as the Deputy Mayor mentioned, the program is also encouraging people in the local community to participate in local entrepreneurship opportunities such as operating a food cart or preparing food in a neighborhood kitchen. As of now, three local vendors have signed up to operate carts in Tegal Alur, but there is a need for more vendors in order to fulfill the needs — and already-high demand — of the community for affordable, nutritious ready-made food.

Yuli is one of the new vendors. Before joining the KeBal program, she was working as washing lady and had a very low income. ”I had a very unpredictable income when I was washing clothes but now, as a KeBal vendor, I earn around 40,000 Indonesian rupiah (about US$4.50) per day," the 35-year-old small businesswoman explains. "And, right now, I'm only selling KeBal snacks twice a day for two or three hours at a time — so, if I expand my operations, I could earn an even more steady income. It’s really helpful for my family.”

Traditional dancers at the KeBal grand opening in Tegal Alur. Photo: Fitria Rinawati/Mercy Corps

Sri Supartini — the mother of a four-year-old daughter and a new customer of the KeBal program — said, “ We are so happy that KeBal is here in our neighborhood. Now we can help our daughter grow up healthier through nutritious and affordable food.”

For the grand opening, Mercy Corps distributed more than 2,000 portions of KeBal food to neighborhood families. There were performances by local entertainment troupes, traditional Jaipong and Betawi dances, and other activities that showed the importance of better child nutrition.

So far in Tegal Alur, KeBal is getting rave reviews.

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Ragil with her three-month-old son. She is using exclusive breastfeeding with this baby, after learning about the benefits through Mercy Corps' Healthy Start program. Photo: Fitria Rinawati/Mercy Corps

Although I am saddened by the most recent disasters to hit my native Indonesia, I am excited about the strong energy and compassion that my colleagues are committing to the cause of early and exclusive breastfeeding. Mercy Corps recently sponsored a conference here in Jakarta in which representatives from 15 Asian countries called for an end to excessive promotion of baby formula promotions in favor of more breastfeeding — which has proven to be a healthier alternative for babies and their mothers.

Just here in Indonesia, malnutrition caused by improper use of baby formula is responsible for more than 30,000 deaths each year. This heartbreaking number could go way down if more mothers turned to breastfeeding, which is free and creates a lifelong bond between mother and child.

But unfortunately, as it stands, the practice of exclusive breastfeeding is going down in this region — and more aggressive advertising and promotion of baby formula is one major reason why. One health survey here in Indonesia says that consumption of baby formula has increased from 15 percent in 2003-2004 to 30 percent in 2007. During the same time period, the number of babies who were exclusively breastfed dropped from 40 percent to 30 percent. And the child mortality rate here in Indonesia has reached a crisis point: three percent of babies won't live to reach their first birthday.

This high number can be reduced by teaching more mothers how to breastfeed, reducing the social stigma that many feel and creating groups of breastfeeding mothers that will be able to help others withstand the influence and pressure of baby formula advertisements.

The Healthy Start program is helping mothers and their babies in some of Jakarta's poorest neighborhoods, such as the seaside fishing village of Cilincing. Photo: Thatcher Cook for Mercy Corps

Four years ago, Mercy Corps created a program called Healthy Start to promote the benefits of breastfeeding to Indonesian women. We've trained hundreds of local health officials and midwives on the importance of the practice, and brought thousands of women together to encourage and support each other.

Here's what we've been able to do so far through the Healthy Start program in particularly poor neighborhoods of North Jakarta:

• The percentage of babies put to breast within one hour following birth increased from 18% to 65%
• The percentage of babies 0-5 months who exclusively breastfeed within the last 24 hours increased from 29% to 36%
• The percentage of children between 0-23 months who received food/fluids other than breastmilk within three days after birth decreased from 62% to 35%
• 67 of 108 registered public and private health facilities have made progress toward baby-friendly health facilities

Although we have seen success in turning the tide from excessive use of baby formula back to breastfeeding, we have a long way to go. It all starts with teaching mothers how to breastfeed, giving them ongoing support and creating mother and child groups that will keep the encouragement going.

You can help us save children's lives this holiday season through the gift of breastfeeding classes. Thank you for your support of mothers and their babies here in Indonesia.

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Again it has been a shocking day for me. I was monitoring the updates from the recent disasters of emergency responses and related news. First of all, I was shocked by the news that the death toll from the tsunami that hit the Mentawai Islands rose to more than 340. Other information said it had reached 400, and there could still be hundreds more fatalities, since hundreds are still missing after the deadly waves struck.

Then my initial shock was followed by other news that mentioned the very earthquake that caused the Mentawai Islands tsunami also created volcanic activities in Mount Krakatau and Mount Papandayan in the western part of Java Island, hundreds of miles away. Again, this is the reality of living on the ring of fire, where the fault lines are so prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity.

And because of those realities, there should be even more effort going into strengthening the preparedness for communities that might have to face disasters like this. There are already many lessons that we have learned here in Indonesia from the many disasters we've faced. We will surely learn more from the emergency responses currently being led by national and regional government disaster authorities with whom Mercy Corps Indonesia is actively collaborating to help affected families. I offer sincere wishes of good luck to everyone involved in this response — and that includes many of those I work with, every day.

“I need more than good luck and Godspeed this time,” wrote my colleague once she reached West Sumatera after 35 hours on a ship. She was still another 10 hours or so from reaching the Mentawai Islands. That's how far many emergency responders are going to help bring assistance to tsunami survivors.

And that's not the hard part. Because, as she reaches the Mentawai Islands, she will also deal with shattered communities, grieving families, huge swaths of land that are underwater and houses that lay crumpled on the sand.

The power of this most recent tsunami is undeniable. But so, too, is the power of people traveling from faraway to help survivors. We must always do more not only to respond to the needs of families struck by disaster, but also ensure that — if there is an unfortunate next time — they will be better prepared.

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Today has been a sad day for me. I found out from the news that my old playing and hiking place — Mount Merapi in Jogjakarta, Indonesia — is completely devastated by wedus gembel (burning clouds) and volcanic ashes. Furthermore, one of Mount Merapi’s most famous people, Mbah (Grandfather) Marijan — a man who long had a mystical connection to the mountain — was found dead in his house. He was a respected figure who had always spread traditional wisdom on how to take care of Mount Merapi and its surrounding environment.

Mount Merapi is the most active volcano in Indonesia and has erupted regularly since 1548. Its name means "Mount of Fire." Photo: melihatindonesia

But yet another disaster struck Indonesia yesterday: a tsunami hit the Mentawai Islands off the coast of Sumatra. More sad feelings touched my heart. Twin disasters happening in one of the most seismically-active regions on the planet. This is the reality of living on the ring of fire.

From the Jakarta Post, I read that Tuesday's eruption of Mount Merapi killed at least 18 people, forced thousands to flee down its slopes and spewed burning ash and smoke high into the air on the island of Java. Meanwhile, off the coast of Sumatra — about 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) west of the volcano — rescuers battled rough seas to reach Indonesia's Mentawai islands, where a 10-foot tsunami triggered by an earthquake swept away hundreds of homes. The waves killed at least 113 villagers and up to 500 others are missing.

Mercy Corps Indonesia is responding to the tsunami that hit Mentawai Island. Working together with the government through BPBD (Indonesia's Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Body), we are sending emergency supplies included thousands of tarpaulins and jerry cans.

In this time of grieving and shock, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) came to my mind. It’s been such popular word in response to disasters, and the better coordination, cooperation and synergy from government, organizations and communities are needed to implement better DRR. Together we can make it better and save lives in this volatile region of the world.

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