Indonesia, specifically Sumatera, hosts a huge potential for natural disaster. As part of the Pacific Ring of Fire represented by the Bukit Barisan, Sumatera is also situated next to the boundary of two tectonic plates, the Australian and the Eurasian Plates. Natural disaster does not only cause casualties, but also environmental destruction. Disasters can also be the cause of environmental destruction.

YEL’s involvement assisting flood victims of Bohorok back in November 2003 led to the awareness on the necessity of disaster mitigation and, in regards to the dimension of the environmental destruction in Indonesia in general and in Sumatra in particular, the importance of having prepared with post disaster community development programme in addition to relief efforts.

The experience from the flood of Bohorok was a strong reason for YEL to establish an ad-hoc Humanitarian Division in response to the Tsunami of 2004 that devastated huge part of the Province Aceh and the Island of Nias in the Province of North Sumatra. The implementation of YEL’s humanitarian programme was constantly accompanied by environmental awareness campaign addressing the necessity of a sustainable management of the environment.

Construction of Nagan Raya District Hospital
Through the support by and the cooperation with PanEco Switzerland and Caritas Switzerland as well as with the District Government of Nagan Raya in Aceh Province, YEL has participated in the construction of  Nagan Raya District Hospital, which was inaugurated ion 14 August 2008. The construction of the District Hospital was YEL’s concrete involvement in the rehabilitation and reconstruction process in Aceh post Tsunami 2004.
Indeed, the assisting programme to the Nagan Raya District Hospital did not stop after the inauguration of the hospital, but it continued until 2010 through trainings of the paramedics, such as:

• Training in basic nursing;
• Training for ICU treatment and treatment of emergency patients;
• Pedriatic Emergency Training;
• Emergency Room Management Training;
• Basic Surgery Training etc.

Prosthetic Programme
Since February 2005 until the end of the post tsunami rehabilitation and reconstruction phase in Aceh and Nias, YEL has assisted tsunami survivors in collaboration with ASHOKA  through the distribution of prosthetic legs. The prosthetic beneficiaries are also assisted with capital for small and medium businesses to support entrepreneurship and to secure their income.

Milestones of YEL’s Humanitarian Assistance
Since its establishment in 2005, YEL’s Humanitarian Division has been involved in various humanitarian activities:

• Medical assistance to the December 26th  Tsunami survivors in the west coastal areas of Aceh (January – June 2005).
• Prosthetic programme for tsunami survivor starting in February 2005.
• Medical assistance to the survivor of Nias earthquake of March 2005 followed by reconstruction of Child Rehabilitation Centre in Fodo, Nias, all in collaboration with Perdhaki and Caritas Sibolga.
• Construction of Nagan Raya District Hospital accompanied with training of the hospital’s medical staff (2005 – 2009).
• Medical assistance to the flash flood of Besitang, North Sumatra (2006).
• Medical assistance to the survivors of earthquake in Padang Pariaman, West Sumatra (October 2009).
• Emergency assistance to flash flood affected community in Nagan Raya District, Province of Aceh (March 2011).
• Rehabilitation of public water and sanitation facilities in Nagan Raya District, Aceh Province (to be finalized by the end of 2011).

Starting in 2012, YEL’s humanitarian programme will be carried out as an ad-hoc activity instead of under an independent humanitarian division.