Who we are / Siapa kami / Wer wir sind

Teks ini di dalam bahasa Indonesia

Auf Deutsch

My name is Etty Prihantini Theresia. I am an Indonesian  living in Frankfurt, Germany since 2011. Hearing about the news and devastation in Sulawesi, Indonesia, brought me back to my the experience and impressions working in Banda Aceh for the recontruction program after the Indian Ocean Tsunami 2004 and my personal encounter with the Jogja earthquake in May 2006.

I created this blog to serve as a limited donation and fundraising platform.  The idea is to both donate time, skills and money to a cause, in this case emergency response for the earthquakes and tsunami survivors in Sulawesi, Indonesia.

This is a person-to-person action. 

What does that mean? Nobody who is involved in this action represents any organization. Due to my previous work with an NGO in Banda Aceh, I still cultivate contacts with former colleagues, among others who are working and living in and near the affected areas. They, in turn, have their own networks of colleagues, former classmates, etc. Talking with some friends in Frankfurt and Europe, they also know personally people with a strong connection to the affected areas, some as a group of friends, alumnae of the same university, members of the same religious organizations, etc.

Through these personal, various networks, these people are already moving on the ground, gathering donations inside and outside Indonesia, and moving towards the disaster struck area. We are hoping, that with their local knowledge of the people and area, they can identify and access locations and survivors currently still cut off from any assistance. And without the overhead cost of an official organization, we are hoping that every cent that goes into the donation will get to someone, somewhere. Maybe we can only help a baby, then that's a baby helped. Maybe we just have enough funding to buy a tent for a family, then it's a family helped. We cannot save the world, and that is one of the first things you get to learn when you have worked with an NGO, but we can make a small change for the better, and that still counts.

You might ask, what about the accountability? That is where these personal contacts come in.  Lacking proper monitoring and evaluation system, we honestly don't know what is the exact name and address of the recipient of our donation. Is there a risk of corruption? Of course. But that is why we are seeking contacts with people we know personally, with people we TRUST personally. We are hoping that they only work with the people they trust, and that these chain of trust and personal commitment will reach those who need it the most, the survivors. We can give you the detailed bank transaction, we can forward you the photos and reports from the ground that we get from our friends and volunteers, but more than anything, we will have to ask you to trust our friends. We will ask you, to trust us.

And for that trust, we would like to thank you.