UNAIR NEWS – After the Ksatria Airlangga Floating Hospital (RSTKA) left for Mamuju-Majene, West Sulawesi to help victims of the earthquake disaster, the Mahagana team (Disaster Response Students) Universitas Airlangga followed suit to support and give their energy as an act of humanity.
The Mahagana team consists of three students, Muhammad Arief Permana, Aquaculture student from the class of 2018, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences (FPK), as the person in charge; Nadya Noor Fahira, Management student from class of 2019, Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB); and Hanna Illi Yani, English Literature student from class of 2019, Faculty of Humanities (FIB). The team was the first shift departing on January 25, 2021.
Arief said, the first shift would be a disaster volunteer for 3 weeks. When contacted by UNAIR NEWS, he said that in the first week, the team joined NU (Nadhatul Ulama) Peduli post in Mamuju with volunteers from Surabaya and conducted a data assessment. In the second week, the team moved closer to RSTKA in Majene to work together and help carry out assessments in Majene.
“Most of the refugees in Majene are people who are affected in the mountains, because the epicenter of the earthquake was in the mountains, not in the sea, ”said Arief.
During the assessment in Majene, the team saw several refugees on the street. They came from coastal communities.
“Even though they are not the ones affected, they are afraid of a tsunami due to the earthquake. We (Mahagana, ed) collect data on what they need and their condition, ” he said.
Then, on the third week, Mahagana volunteers left for Mamuju to build a 14 x 7 m Emergency School Learning Center. Occupational therapy will also be carried out in the form of community empowerment.
“Based on our first assessment in Mamuju, the school there collapsed almost 90 percent. The school roof was destroyed, leaving only the library and teachers’ room,” he said.
Arief then worked with RSTKA in coordination with village heads, school principals, hamlet heads, and the education office to restart teaching and learning activities that had been disrupted. The construction of the Emergency School, inaugurated on Friday, February 19, 2021 was the result of Mahagana’s collaboration with RSTKA and donations.
“What if, for example, we build the learning center again so students could study again,” he said.
The Mahagana team has collaborated with NU Peduli IKKMAPUS, West Sulawesi Volunteer Desk, Mobile Celebes, Walhi, DAU, East Java SRPB, East Java HIPGABI, and Mamuju City Education Office. In the future, the Mahagana team will focus on education, health, and community empowerment.
“Education for children is very important, because during this emergency response period they stopped learning from school, there were no teaching and learning activities, and empowerment was aimed at communities who previously worked and were traumatized, and I hope that slowly the community’s economy will start to improve,” he concluded. (*)
Author: Dimar Herfano
Editor: Feri Fenoria
