SurfAid Teams Up with RRI Radio
Padang, Friday 27 November 2009

SurfAid International's Tampek Mangadu program team has collaborated with RRI radio station to create a series of school education sessions in regard to psychosocial activities, psycho-education and relaxation techniques.

The sessions are being conducted in various elementary schools throughout Padang city.

The first session took place at Padang Pasir's 05 elementary school on Wednesday 18 November and the entire session's proceedings were aired nationally, serving as a great way to raise awareness about the psychological and social effects of a disaster and how best to deal with such circumstances.

A Community Celebrates Life and the Future
Padang, Friday 20 November

Set against a backdrop of fallen walls, collapsed roofs and destroyed homes, the SurfAid Tampek Mangadu program's special event for the community of Cendana Banuaran provided a welcome relief from the continued struggle of sifting through the countless mounds of rubble that now constitute the small village in Padang, West Sumatra.

Tampek Mangadu translates as "a shoulder to lean on" or, more officially, Strengthening Resilience in Communities. 

The event was designed so that the groups within the community could come together and lend their skills towards a fun and cultural event that would reinforce cultural values, social networks, community identity and of course result in a fun and happy day. The men of the village worked into the prior night and early morning of the event day to help erect tents and prepare logistics, the local women's group lent their cooking skills and provided a delicious spread of traditional food for hundreds of people, while the young men's group provided the arms and hands required to move tables, chairs and a small mountain of gear.

SurfAid Delivers School Tents to Siberut
Tuepejat, Mentawai Islands. Monday November 9, 2009

SurfAid International has completed the delivery of 11 school tents to five schools affected by the 7.9 magnitude earthquake in Siberut Selatan (South Siberut), the northernmost Mentawai Islands. The tents will provide temporary classrooms for nearly 1500 students.

Siberut Island was 100km from the epicenter of the September 30 earthquake and the structural damage was less severe than that on the Western Sumatran mainland - Padang City was 45 km from the epicenter.

The tents were distributed in coordination with the Mentawai District Government, the Camat (head) of Siberut Selatan, and the local department of education. Community volunteers joined the SurfAid field team in the site selection and erection of the school tents.

The locations included three schools in Muara Siberut and two in Madobag village. One tent had been previously delivered by the American Air Force and is being used as an emergency response post by the sub-district government.