May 27th, 2006 will forever be remembered by every yogyakartans as one of the darkest days in history. A devastating 6.2 Richter-scale earthquake happened at 5.54 am struck 15 miles south of the city of Yogyakarta. In less than a minute, the roofs of homes caved in, many on top of sleeping inhabitants, even hotels, historical monuments and government buildings collapsed. As the panicking victims ran into the smouldered streets, many are worried with the possibility of another follow up earthquake which eventually happened repetitively at 06.10 am, 08.15 am, and 11.22 am.
A social affairs ministry official said the death toll had reached 3,505 people while thousand others are injured. As quoted from The Guardian, doctors struggled to care for the injured, hundreds of whom were lying on plastic sheets and even newspapers outside the overcrowded hospital. This natural disaster has led to continuous cases of social life disruption; mass population decline, families falling into poverty rapidly as they lose their possessions, educational stagnancy as schools closes, etc.
Being a university that practices Tri Dharma values; teaching-educating, research, and community service, Universitas Gadjah Mada opened its doors to aid yogyakartans in their post-earthquake recovery process. Students joined in “Student Community Service-Community Empowerment Learning” (SCS-CEL Program) are then appointed as the spearhead of UGM’s post-disaster relief mission focusing in Bantul District as the most damaged area. In the mission, three programs are planned simultaneously to help the victims rebuild and continue their daily life: Damage Assessment, Life-skill Education for Underage Victims, and Semi Permanent Houses Construction.
Assessing the damage done by the massive earthquake is vital to identify physical remains at Piyungan Subdistrict, Bantul District. A total of 180 UGM students were then divided into several work units to, first of all, construct a comprehensive database consisting of names of victim family members, previous address, damaged possessions, etc. The database which was made possible through cooperation with RHK Project Management, and UGM SMEDC (Small and Medium Enterprise Development Center) was then used to plan semi-permanent housing areas, and building reconstructions.
The construction of semi-permanent houses doesn’t come easy. In cooperation with United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and UGM Agricultural Training, Research, and Development Center (KP4), a team of 35 students focused their work at Trimulyo Village, Jetis Subdistrict, Bantul District. At the end of the 2 months program, 125 semi-permanent buildings were constructed. UGM realized that this program was going to be a long run, therefore it was then established as a continuous program for years to come under the name of “SCS-CEL Economic Recovery Program”.
To help “rebuild” the human resources, 90 UGM students also developed a teaching and certification program with the help of Ministry of National Education and Provincial Education Office of Yogyakarta. 50 residents of previously-damaged Sidomulyo and Potorono Village in Bantul District gained new certified professional skills; 10 craftsmen, 10 electricians, 10 mechanics, 10 printing designers, and 10 chefs.
These three programs are symbols of UGM’s commitment towards social welfare development. By joining the SCS-CEL program, students got the chance to give back and answer the people’s call for help. Only through real life practice such as the SCS-CEL, empathy can be translated to real and positive impact for the community.