At
28, Jenny Kwok is a typical young professional full of life
and enthusiasm. Wearing sneakers, she hops from one barracks
to another – checking water wells, latrines, piping systems
and waste dump sites – a blueprint and pencil in her hand
and a camera on her shoulder.
Jenny is a volunteer environmental engineer from Hong Kong Red
Cross. She came to Indonesia in June 2005 to lend a hand to
grief-stricken families displaced by the 26 December 2004 tsunami.
At Pidie district in Aceh province, where she does her rounds,
Jenny finds new meaning in her work as she mingles every day
with the residents sheltered at the temporary living centres
(TLCs), gaining valuable insights from the way they are coping
with the hardship that fate has brought.
Garbed in her usual long-sleeve shirt, a scarf on her neck and
large dark glasses beneath her wide sun visor, Jenny, along
with her six-person team from Indonesia Red Cross (Palang Merah
Indonesia-PMI), works with zest under the scorching daytime
heat. She looks into every nook and corner of the TLCs, crawls
under the barracks if she has to, to make sure there are good
and efficient outlets for drainage and waste disposal.
Jenny also ensures that all septic tanks will eventually be
replaced by concrete and solid materials to be de-sludged every
three months to prevent waste water leakage that could contaminate
the soil. She marks where more latrines and washing facilities
should be built to better serve the needs of every household.
Jenny also briefs the people about the importance of waste management,
including the separation and treatment of organic and inorganic
rubbish.
"We call her Miss Energy because she never gets tired,"
says Mega Handayani, one of the PMI staff working with Jenny.
"And she's always smiling, so sometimes it’s hard
to imagine she's doing an extremely tough job."
Hong Kong Red Cross is working hand in hand with the French
Red Cross, PMI and with the coordination of the International
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to improve
water and sanitation in 18 TLCs in Pidie district, benefiting
some 11,000 families.
Jenny believes that, more than improving sanitation in the TLCs,
the Red Cross is bringing back the dignity of the displaced
families by providing a safe and decent environment for a healthier
and happier life.
Jenny, who left a job in Hong Kong to do this difficult volunteer
work, said she is thankful she chose to come to Indonesia against
the advice of her friends who cited the inconvenience and the
risk she would have to face in the disaster areas.
"Coming here and being able to do something for the tsunami-affected
families is the best decision I have made in my life. I never
felt so challenged and so fulfilled," Jenny said, snapping
a shot of the children washing their hands for lunch.
Jenny said she gets her inspiration from the villagers. "Their
resilience amazes me. I wonder how people with weaker community
ties would survive the tragedy they went through," Jenny
says as she takes a bite of the rice cake offered her by the
villagers. "And they are so warm and friendly."
Jenny also credits her performance to her colleague Mr. Kuan,
a water and sanitation engineer, whose years of experience in
the field has guided her in her work. She likewise appreciates
the full cooperation and support of her PMI team members who
are providing her with lots of information and advice, making
her work easy and better organized.
"I may not be earning a pile of money, but I am certainly
enriching myself with experience that money can't buy,"
she added. "This is an absolutely profitable mission for
me, in that sense."
Like Jenny, Frederic Gros is a water and sanitation engineer
delegate from the French Red Cross (FRC) who finds working for
displaced families in TLCs a rewarding experience.
"Being able to provide safe drinking water for thousands
of families every day is a special job for me. I feel very useful.
And I like the feeling," says 27-year old Frederic, smiling
as he puts on his Red Cross vest and prepares for another long
day of field work.
Since a week after the tsunami struck last December 26, the
French Red Cross Water and Sanitation Emergency Response Unit
has been working to increase its production to 290,000 litres
of drinking water per day for 23,000 families in 42 different
sites in Pidie district.
The FRC provides water either by filling water tanks in some
TLCs or supplying it by truck in nearby villages.
"Water for life. I am really glad we can do something for
people to survive," Frederic reaches for a bottle of water
to take with him in the field, and explains that water and environment
are closely interrelated. "Good environment produces good
water and bad environment produces bad water. That is why I
am interested in both the environment and the water issue."
While Frederic said he loves his work and sympathizes with the
displaced families, he admitted that he misses the life back
home in France, especially the wine and cheese.
"But it's ok, in a disaster area where the best things
in life are people smiling and children playing, a glass of
safe drinking water can taste just as sweet as wine."
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Like
other villagers in TLCs, Dewy Susenti uses clean water
provided by French Red Cross for washing and cooking food.
Photo by Virgil Grandfield and Tess Usapdin/International
Federation. (p13034)
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Women
in Pidie weave mats for a living. Photo by Virgil Grandfield
and Tess Usapdin/International Federation. (p13035)
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| Jenny
Kwok from the Hong Kong Red Cross, shows her team how
to create and manage data bases. Photo by Virgil Grandfield
and Tess Usapdin/International Federation. (p13036) |
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