There were smiles all round during the performances.

January 2012: The dark cloud that once hung above them is in stark contrast to the cheerful faces of thousands of children and adults who started to fill up the Mount Merapi Museum complex in Sleman district in November. It was a momentous day for everyone as Plan’s 10-month Psychosocial Intervention for Merapi Recovery project came to end.

The focus of the project was to provide psychosocial support and protection to 8,000 children, 2,000 young people and 4,000 adults in 10 villages across 3 districts as a continuation of Plan’s emergency response after the eruption of Mount Merapi, a volcano located between Central Java and Yogyakarta that has erupted several times in the past few years .

Moving on

The cheerful smiles all around showed a visible sign that the people were back on their feet, rebuilding their lives. The day was marked with cultural performances including song and dance by the children, as well as the screening of documentaries about the eruption and the recovery process.

Edi Nuryanto, 23, a young man from Wukirsari village, Cangkringan sub-district, Sleman, said the recovery activity most helpful to him after the disaster was psychosocial support through arts.

The majority of young people in Wukirsari diligently practice Jathilan, a kind of folk dance, but all their equipment was destroyed in the eruption. Getting the young people of the community dancing again was a major boost to morale. 

"Through this approach, we could get back on our feet and not sink into despair," he said. 

Dealing with trauma

Yatin, head of Ngargomulyo village, Dukun sub-district, Magelang, said physical assistance during the disaster was urgently needed and that psychosocial support was essential for helping people to deal with what had happend.

"I hope that now Plan's programme has ended here, this kind of assistance will be taken over by the government, because people in disaster-prone areas really need it," he said. 

"This programme has focused on the mental and psychological needs of the people through methods for reducing the anxiety that arises when a disaster happens or after a disaster, as well as ways to overcome the psychological effects it causes," he added.

And so Plan Indonesia bid farewell and with great enthusiasm and spirit, the Merapi community have put their woes behind them.