20 January 2020

Our First Distribution to Indonesia Flood Survivors

This gallery contains 23 images

Our emergency team is on the ground in Indonesia right now! Check out these heart-warming pictures of your donations making a difference to flood survivors in Banten Province, on the island of Java.

After listening to people's stories on the ground and asking them what was needed, our team went wholesale shopping in Jakarta for school supplies, school uniforms and kids' shoes, and basic kitchen items.

We packed the school bags with stationary and notebooks - Ma sha' Allah, we packed over 500 bags as five generous volunteers gave their time to help out!

While half our team was busy packing up school kits for the children, the other half went wholesale shopping in Jakarta to organise basic hygiene kits. Thanks to your generous donations, we now have 1,000 hygiene kits to distribute!

Containing basics like toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap and laundry detergent, these kits will help people stay clean and healthy during the crisis.

It's Friday 17th January - Jumu'ah Mubarak team! Pictured above, our team is hard at work loading the packed bags, school uniforms and shoes to distribute in Bogor, a two and a half hour drive away.

Our first distribution takes place at the camp in Bogor, which is in the Banten Province. When the floods struck this area, landslides washed away people's home, and they took shelter on top of a mountain in between rice fields.

The mountain paths are super-steep, so local volunteers help us load the school kits you donated onto four-wheel-drive cars that can better manage the terrain. When we get even higher up the mountain, we load them onto motorbikes that can navigate the narrow pathway to the camp.

Alhamdulillah, we're finally here! The children and their parents are super-excited to receive the gifts you sent them!

A grateful mother told us that the donated items arrived just in time for her son to go back to school on Monday after the holidays. She didn't get a chance to save any of his school equipment when the landslides struck, so this gift is super-useful.

Currently, Muslim Hands is the only foreign aid agency helping the displaced people in Bogor. Alhamdulilillah, even though the camp is difficult to access, as landslides have blocked the mountain roads, government aid is being dropped in by helicopter and delivered by moped, but this aid is limited to tarpaulin shelters, food and bottled water. The families tell us they really needed the items you donated!

The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, ‘Paradise has a door which is called ‘Joy’ – only those who bring joy to children will pass through it’. [Dailami]

We pray that Allah rewards you all for bringing joy to these children, Ameen!

Assalamu alaikum, kids! It's time to go now, but we'll be back at the camp in a few days to distribute some kitchen utensils, water filters (the surface water at the camp is contaminated), and hygiene kits (to prevent further diseases in the camp).

Next stop: Mayah Lebak, to give your donations to school kids there!

In Mayah Lebak and Sajira Timur, we distribute more school kits, uniforms and shoes!

It's a long journey - Mayah Lebak is a four hour drive from Bogor, and Sajira Timur is a further 2 hour drive - but alhamdulillah, we finally made it! The children were overjoyed to receive your wonderful gifts after the traumatic experience of the floods.

Ma sha' Allah, these kids look really smart in their new uniforms!

You've really helped out by replacing the uniforms they lost in the flood. A mother said they now have one less thing to worry about as they try to rebuild their lives over the next few weeks.

Parents and children left the distribution happy and more optimistic, alhamdulillah!

The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, ‘Whoever fulfilled the needs of his brother, Allah will fulfil his needs; whoever brought his brother out of a distress, Allah will bring him out of one of the distresses of the Day of Resurrection’. (Bukhari)

On behalf of the team at Muslim Hands and flood survivor from poor communities in Indonesia, we'd like to say a big THANK YOU for your help! We pray Allah rewards you for fulfilling the needs of our Indonesian brothers and sisters and alleviating their distress during this crisis, Ameen.

Check out our team's eyewitness account for more information about the floods from the ground.

Next stop: distributing hygiene kits, kitchen items and water filters. Stay tuned!

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