Initiated by Perkumpulan Sada Ahmo (PESADA) with the Support of IIZ/DVV and Aschersleben Municipality (Germany)

The disasters in Nias, i.e. the tsunami on 26 December 2004 and the earthquake on 28 March 2005, has opened the isolated island to external aid beyond religious institutions. Previous to the disasters, Nias only got attention from churches as the population is dominated by Christians.   
PESADA, a local NGO, based in Sidikalang (North Sumatra), observing the large attention given to Aceh, while Nias Island was left behind, started its emergency work for Nias by sending e-mails to all its network members asking for help, including IIZ/DVV as PESADA's main partner in capacity building and funding.
The e-mails provoked lots of responses in various ways, from only asking data, giving advises, offering technical help, linking PESADA with others, up to direct contributions, aid and commitments to help Nias for certain periods.
Among others, IIZ/DVV and the Municipality of Aschersleben in Germany, an institution in Switzerland, Indonesian NGOs and Individual contributions were the main contributors to the rapid response for Nias.

The Initial Response
Through various contributions from the network members, PESADA started the emergency work by rapid needs assessments, particularly concentrating on specific needs of women, children, elderly and sick people; transferring first aid in cash to local churches and NGOs, while giving data to networks outside Nias Island.
The emergency works were followed by recruiting Nias student volunteers in Medan to take care of victims of the earth quake (the 2nd disaster) being treated in several hospitals in Medan, including checking the data of those patients and transferring their profiles to Nias Island.
In the meantime, PESADA developed a social reconstruction plan for Nias Island together with local NGOs, in close and constructive discussion with IIZ/DVV and Aschersleben. The main beneficiaries of the planned programme were women, children and families.

Social and Psychological Reconstruction

The reconstruction activities started in the form of health services, trauma healing for children and women, as well as field observations and discussions with women, community leaders and local institutions. At the same time, an agreement was elaborated with the Municipality of Aschersleben in order to construct two community centers (CCs) in Mandrehe (Central Nias District) and Lahusa (South Nias District). The centers were intended to mainly serve as safe places (shelter) for any kind of disaster. Each of the CCs has 1 semi open hall, 4 rooms, 1 kitchen and 4 bathrooms, complete with deep well and generator. The CC in Mandrehe was finished end of August 2005, while the one in Lahusa was completed end of February 2006. The construction activities took a rather long time since raw materials, particularly wooden materials, and technical skills were very difficult to find.
Since 2006, the centers quickly became activity centers for women in the communities. After community organizing works had been initiated, four women credit unions were organized in four villages around the centers. The CCs were used as a places for health services, group trauma healing, libraries for children and credit union (CU) meetings and courses. In addition, the centers were used by other institutions, e.g., for English courses, health training, gatherings, etc.
All these activities were developed by several full-time staff members of PESADA who opened two small offices in Gunung Sitoli and Teluk Dalam.

Socio-Economic Empowerment Programme

In accordance with PESADA's principles and its empowerment approach, the project in Nias could not be conceptualized as short-term programme. The community centers together with community organizing works had to be followed up. The need for health education and services for women and their families in villages, particularly in the remote areas, and the importance of people’s economic development, forced PESADA to continue the efforts more intensively through its empowerment concept. This means that women and their families are empowered through an improvement of their economic and health conditions, by increasing their critical awareness in their respective positions and their rights as poor and female citizens; and in the end by enabling them to fully participate and control those policies that influence their lives.
Therefore PESADA included representatives from Nias in a three-years strategic planning workshop. As a consequence, the Nias people had been included in the long-term programmeme of PESADA for the empowerment of the communities in seven districts of North Sumatra. This refers to two projects in Nias: The "Women & Families Health Education and Services" funded by the Johanniter (Germany), and the "Livelihood and Women Economic Empowerment" funded by HEKS (Switzerland). With initial and on-going support from IIZ/DVV, both projects are united in one big empowerment programme for Nias, in which the two community centers play an important role as the main centers of activities in the following fields:

Up till now, the project has extended its activities to 11 villages, i.e., 5 villages in Central Nias and 6 villages in South Nias as follows:

     
Up to now, the "Health Education & Services for Women, Children & Families" has served 2.034 persons, mostly women. Through the “Little Doctor” programme in 10 primary schools of both Nias districts, 36 pupils have been trained as representatives of all primary schools to become ”little doctors”. The "Livelihood and Women Economic Empowerment Project" is active in the areas of organic farming, micro business and networking as follows:
1.    Entrepreneurship and business plan courses
2.    Vegetables and short-term farm courses (cabbage, beans, mustard plant, carrot, chilli, corn, etc.)
3.    Two-days sewing courses
4.    One-day courses on home economics
5.    Demonstration plot for vegetables / short-term farming
6.    Compost / organic fertilizer making
7.    One-day training in management and access to funds / micro-credits for members of CUs.
8.    Providing micro-credits through credit unions
9.    Monthly meetings and extension services on various issues and saving / credit activities
10.    Publication of a newsletter in Nias language ("Women’s Voice"/ "Fehede Ndra’Alawe")
11.    Six monthly regional meeting of Women in Small- / Micro Businesses Network for PUK-M in two districts (Gunung Sitoli and Teluk Dalam).

Conclusions

Large-scale changes have taken place in Nias Island since the emergency activities started beginning of 2005.  The empowerment programme through credit unions as a vehicle of community organizing in economics, basic needs and awareness raising, as well as the community centers as places for many educational activities, have contributed a lot to the living standard of Nias women and their families. Generally, it also contributed to the human development in the rural area. PESADA's programme in Nias will be continued by the financial and professional assistance of IIZ/DVV, Johanniter and HEKS.
The project in Nias can become sustainable through the development of credit unions to strong micro-finance institutions and of micro- and small business activities for women and poor families, especially in organic farming as a source of healthy nutrition and food security. This can finally contribute to the improvement of the economic and social position of women and hence to the basis for a resilient community.

Medan, 20 November 2007
Dina Lumbantobing
PESADA Supervisor for Nias Project