BEKASI, WEST JAVA — On Wednesday (23/1/2024), residents of Pantai Harapanjaya Village, Muaragembong, Bekasi Regency, came together to construct a borehole. This borehole will be used as a source of clean water for the local community. Their enthusiasm was ignited by an initiative led by the Disaster Management Center (DMC) of Dompet Dhuafa.
Through its DMC, Dompet Dhuafa established the borehole at Al Hikmah Musala, Kampung Bulak, Pantai Harapanjaya Village, Muaragembong, Bekasi Regency. This initiative was undertaken as the local villagers had previously been forced to spend a significant amount of money to purchase clean water. They were unable to use river water for their daily activities due to its brackish nature.
The initiative by Dompet Dhuafa was well received by the community, who volunteered to assist with the borehole drilling as an alternative source of clean water. The borehole reaches a depth of 80 meters to avoid surface water or river water that has mixed with seawater.
“The water is not too brackish,” commented a resident while applying water from the borehole to his face.
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Indeed, the brackish condition of the river water compelled the villagers to purchase clean water from vendors. Consequently, the residents of Pantai Harapanjaya Village only used river water for non-consumptive purposes such as washing clothes and bathing, and even for watering plants.
According to the Disaster Risk Assessment for Bekasi Regency for the period 2017—2021, the Muaragembong Subdistrict is identified as a high potential hazard area for natural disasters such as floods, extreme weather, droughts, extreme waves, and abrasion.
The population exposed to the aforementioned natural disasters also falls into a high-risk category.
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Therefore, DMC Dompet Dhuafa decided to intensify the Disaster Prepared and Resilient Area (KTTB) Program in the Muaragembong Subdistrict, in collaboration with the residents. This program involves community planning and management to address disaster threats in their area.
Previously, DMC Dompet Dhuafa, along with partners Indofest and Mangrove Jakarta, carried out Mangrove planting activities in Pantai Bahagia Village. The Mangrove ecosystem in Muaragembong has been degraded. The natural Mangrove Forest area in Muaragembong spans 10,480 hectares. However, the forest cover has significantly diminished, with approximately 93.5 percent being converted into fish ponds and agricultural land by the community.
Mangrove Forests are crucial for preventing coastal erosion by sea waves, and the Mangrove ecosystem is a primary producer in the fishing sector.
As a result, approximately 23 million people in Indonesia’s coastal areas are expected to face the threat of annual sea floods by 2050 due to rising sea levels caused by this century’s climate change.
“There will be several program recommendations for strengthening institutions (Disaster Risk Reduction Forum/FPRB), capacity building for teams, and the construction of disaster preparedness infrastructure (evacuation route signs, assembly points, etc.),” explained Abdul Azis, the PIC of KTTB Muaragembong and a staff member of the Preparedness and Climate Change Adaptation Mitigation at DMC Dompet Dhuafa.
Dear friends, let’s unite in prayer and effort to create a community that is alert and resilient in facing disasters. Only through this can we strive to reduce the impact and damage caused by natural disasters.