Caritas Indonesia working to help survivors, rebuild the country

By Francesca Merlo

After having been struck by two earthquakes in the past week, the situation in Indonesia – more specifically on the islands of Lombok and Bali - is drastic. With the death toll continuously rising, along with the number of injured, there is a desperate need for humanitarian aid and intervention.

Caritas Indonesia has been working with and for the people and country, providing humanitarian assistance where possible.

Yohanes Baskoro, Project manager of Caritas Indonesia, spoke to Francesca Merlo about the current situation and how Caritas Indonesia is helping survivors.

Caritas providing support

Baskoro says that Caritas Indonesia is providing medical support for the survivors, and that they are distributing hygiene kits to 188 houses – a task which they hope to have completed within the second week of August.

There are meetings set-up with the authorities of the dioceses, with whom they work very closely. With their help they will soon be deploying the Caritas staff members as well as volunteers, who will be working with the dioceses for 30 days in order to provide assistance and help where possible.

Aid provided regardless of mutual beliefs

Baskoro says that Caritas, a Catholic organisation, has not struggled at all despite Indonesia being a vastly predominant Muslim country, with over 87% of the population identifying as Muslims, making Christians a minority.

In delivering humanitarian aid, especially as “Caritas”, the Church is never mentioned. They aim to help everyone who has been affected in any way by the earthquake, regardless of ethnicity, religion and background.