Natural Disaster Preparedness

Indonesia is a country troubled by cyclical natural disasters. In key districts, the population lives with the fear of the seemingly inevitable outcomes of these disasters. Government agencies do their best, but community resilience requires community members themselves to respond in the first instance, and to prepare well in advance, mitigating the worst effects. The Scouts of Indonesia – Gerakan Pramuka – are trying to help – and have historically trained in Disaster preparedness and response, and have acted when the time was right – in every disaster for decades, Scouts are there supporting Indonesian state bodies and the Red Cross by providing skilled and motivated scouts – right where they are needed - in those vulnerable communities.

Now, thanks to Messengers of peace, the 22 million Scouts in Pramuke are undertaking their greatest challenge to date: a National Survey of community vulnerabilities in each of the 200,000 communities in which they are based. By mapping out the worst effected areas and identifying potential threats and vulnerabilities during different disasters (volcanoes, typhoons, floods, landslides, tsunamis, inter-ethnic tensions ….) the Scouts will be able to tailor their response method and relief actions. As the leading multi-faith organisation in the country this process and the subsequent actions of Scouts is a vital community service.