Minister of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA) Bintang Puspayoga visited the evacuation tents set up for victims of the Cianjur earthquake to evaluate their requirements during the post-disaster rehabilitation period.
“Even in the evacuation shelter, we must always keep up the spirit. The state is here to accommodate the victims, including the Muhammadiyah Disaster Management Center (MDMC), volunteers, and regional service,” she said at the Sukamulya village evacuation post in Cugenang sub-district, Cianjur district, West Java, on Thursday.
The minister asked women and children at the evacuation post about their needs. The refugees later conveyed that they needed additional tarpaulins, boots, umbrellas, and raincoats.
Meanwhile, the children’s needs comprised school uniforms, school equipment, toiletries, psychosocial assistance, and a place to play.
“We will take note of the women’s needs through an assessment, then it will be followed up by coordination with related parties because we are not the technical ministry,” the minister said.
After handing over aid in the form of specific aid bags for children and women, Puspayoga directly inspected the debris of houses damaged in the quake.
According to her, the relief tents set up with the assistance of MDMC were better and more comfortable for victims because they were built according to Family Card (KK) data compared to the previous ones, when all families were mixed together in one tent or more.
The minister also directly checked the health of mothers and toddlers at the emergency integrated health post (posyandu), which was located on higher ground than the evacuation site. She helped midwives and cadres weigh a baby’s weight with a simple measuring device.
Puspayoga also checked the examination room for pregnant women, which contained a pillow, a thin mattress, and a blood pressure meter. She said that the examination tents for mothers and children must be separated immediately and equipped with all facilities so that the health monitoring of any child does not get missed.
She also found that the use of the landfills around the evacuation post had not been maximized and some residents still found it difficult to access clean water.
She said that she will immediately follow up on the matter with the relevant ministries.
Based on her findings, she asked both volunteers and related agencies in the field to continue to help the victims and communicate their needs to the local government.
She also asked the Children’s Forum to continue to assist children at the evacuation posts by inviting them to play and tell stories in an effort to provide psychosocial assistance and eliminate fear.
“Regarding their needs for tarpaulins and others, we will distribute assistance to the regional service along with boots, umbrellas, and others later,” she added.
Source: Antara News