In response to our changing climate, you help communities implement disaster risk reduction plans and apply climate change adaptation initiatives. You support communities to improve their livelihoods through adaptive farming practices, micro-credit groups to establish small businesses, and better access to water and sanitation. You also help people to claim their rights, especially those with disabilities. One project in Indonesia is supported by the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).

What
Project 1: Disaster Risk Reduction Through Rights Based Empowerment of Communities
Project 2: Rights based empowerment of people with disabilities through community-based rehabilitation

Where
1. North & West Sumatra Provinces
2. Six districts in North Sumatra Province

Who
1. 8,561 people
2. 5,910 people

Partners
1. Center for Disaster Risk Management & Community Development Studies (CDRM&CDS)
2. Panti Karya Hephata, Huria Kristen Batak Protestan (HKBP)
Micro-loan, macro-change!
For this small business on Mentawai Island, chips are changing lives!

Potato chips can be dangerous.
You open a pack with the best of intentions to just have a couple …
… and the next moment the pack is empty, upside-down above your mouth, and you’re violently shaking out the last few crumbs stuck to the bottom.
If that’s ever happened to you, you might be interested to know about the Chip Business you support on Mentawai Island in Indonesia, through ALWS.
Not potato chips though. Sweet potato chips. Taro chips. Banana chips.
You give this ALWS help through our partner CRDM&CDS – part of the Nommensen Lutheran University – to families in the poorest communities.
We’ll let one of the business owners, Dewi Sartika Saleleubaja, explain how your support is helping families transform their lives.
“In the past, we sold our products without packaging. We just put the chips in the plastic without any label, so nobody knows who made the chips. The packaging was not attractive, and we sold just a little.
Now we are having new products.
We put the chips with new packaging and labels so our products look more interesting and eye-catching.
People soon know who made the chips, as well as who supported the production, because we also put the CDRM&CDS and donor’s logos in the label.
Our sales have increased and it will be going up and up in the future.”
You can see the ALWS logo on the chips packet, along with the Australian Government logo, who ‘chip in’ to match your ALWS work in Indonesia.
How your ‘chipping in’ help works
- The front-line team you support identifies the most marginalized families.
- These families join a micro-credit group.
- The group develops a business idea – like selling chips.
- You support them to improve the quality and marketing of their product.
- Profits pay back any loans from the micro-credit group.
- Extra profits improve the lives of families!
What’s exciting is seeing people’s confidence grow … and with it the businesses, and the benefits to families!
ALWS acknowledges the support of the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).
Find out more about...
Project 1: CDRM&CDS
- 2,372 people benefit from 8 village projects on disaster risk reduction and village development
- 773 teachers and students (38 schools) trained in child protection and COVID-19 prevention
- 38 school initiatives provide 1,863 people with WASH materials for COVID-19 protection
- Train 435 people on disability inclusion in disaster risk reduction
- Support 145 people from poor families to implement climate change initiatives
- Train 366 Disaster Risk Reduction group members from 21 villages on COVID-19 prevention measures
- 105 poor families have better access to nutritious food through small vegetable gardens
- Train 33 teachers on disability-inclusive education
- 7 children with disability receive School Packs (uniform, bag, shoes, book, pen & pencil)
- Implement 5 school initiatives to create disability-friendly school premises
- Train 6 Disabled People Organizations on organization management and leadership
- 87 families to construct latrines for their households
- Provide 1,096 people from 274 households with WASH items to help prevent COVID-19
- Provide 40 village-based community health posts with essential equipment and PPE
- 283 households register as members of the Indonesian Government Health Insurance scheme
- Support 7 people with disability and their families to develop their livelihood programs
- 67 people with disability join a credit union.
Project 2: Hephata
- Provide 687 people with disability with 1,000 face masks and access another 2,000 face masks from local government
- Orient 316 people with disability on COVID-19 prevention measures
- Provide 90 people with disability with food (rice, cooking oil and eggs) as part of the COVID-19 response and enable another 450 people with disability to be supported by local government
- Train 75 families of people with disability on rights of people with disability
- Train 85 schoolteachers on the rights of people with disability and pay school fees for 74 children with disability
- Assistive devices to 96 people with disability
- Help 65 people with disability register with Indonesian Government Health Insurance scheme
- Train 40 people with disability on saving and credit management and book-keeping
- Provide 26 people with disability with seed fund to start their livelihood programs – operating a kiosk, rearing livestock and growing vegetables
- Train 39 representatives of Disabled People’s Organisations on rights of people with disability
- 88 people from village governments, private and state companies, trained on disability rights.
Thank you!
Project 1: CDRM&CDS
An independent review of the ALWS-CDRM&CDS partnership conducted in 2020 highlighted the value of practising accompaniment in a long-term partnership.
Accompaniment has enabled respectful mutuality and solidarity, constancy and stability, two-way learning support rather than direction, and the provision of technical capacity building while maintaining adherence to accountability standards.
Proactive communication was important in CDRM&CDS’ response to COVID-19.
Project 2: Hephata
Establishing and maintaining close relationships between PK Hephata, government, other service providers and donors is very important, because it enables people with disability and their families to run their daily lives with dignity, and take measures against the spread of COVID-19 and its impact to keep themselves safe.
Project 1: CDRM&CDS
Local Lutheran churches’ diaconal departments have increased their capacity to implement rights-based livelihoods and disaster risk reduction activities within the communities they serve.
The enhanced livelihood skills, membership of savings and credit organisations, and diversification of livelihoods, strengthened communities’ resilience, sense of solidarity and safety, which helped mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Project 2: Hephata
Project stakeholders (government, community-based organisations, churches, private and state companies) have become more aware and accepting of people with disability and their families through the project interventions. This awareness and acceptance have
contributed to people with disability and their families being able to live their lives with dignity and hope.
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