Zahra, 55, is living with her daughter, five grandchildren and 78-year-old mother in a temporary shelter in the village of Ambung Kapur in Koto Sungai Sirak District. The family’s house was completely destroyed in the Sumatra earthquake and since then they have been living under a piece of corrugated metal that leaks when it rains.
Losing everything
On the day of the earthquake, Zahra was travelling with her family to visit her brother. Suddenly the ground started to shake and the mountain sides started to slip away burying their car. Thankfully they managed to escape but had to walk for eight hours back to their village where they found their home was no more than a pile of rubble, indistinguishable from its neighbours.
Before the earthquake, Zahra used to support her family by making and selling food and sewing clothes. But her precious sewing machine and baking equipment has all been buried under her house. Zahra is still traumatised by her experiences and feels helpless about not being able to provide her family with food or support.
Clean water at last
One of the most serious problems facing the community was the lack of safe drinking water. The village had been provided with a water system by Islamic Relief last year but this stopped working because there was no electricity to run the generator and the local river was cut off by the landslides. There is now electricity to operate the water scheme intermittently, providing people with some clean water.
Zahra said, “The lack of water was the biggest problem facing this village but Islamic Relief acted quickly to mend the water scheme and informed us that we could take clean water from the centre place of the community, in front of the mosque. We are so happy to have clean water again but there are other villages that are still facing problems.”
Tent school for children
“The local school was also destroyed in the earthquake and all lessons had to stop,” said Zahra. “But Islamic Relief provided a large tent which now serves as a school for 198 students including my grandchildren who can go there to play and learn. I really appreciate this initiative and hope that it will help my grandchildren overcome their trauma.”
More help is needed
Now Zahra is looking to the future and the need for a new house for her family. She said, “I am afraid of staying in this temporary shelter for too long and am worried that the conditions will make my family ill. I hope that soon Islamic Relief can help us again by providing us with a new home.”