On Nias they talk about the wet season starting sometime in September and lasting until the end of the year. It would appear that, weather-wise, things are happening a little early in 2009. At the start of last week we didn’t actually make it to Moro’o because of some flash flooding. On Wednesday we made it to site and surveyed the situation:
1. We were working in an area between two bridges called Humene and Katawaena (see photo). Both bridges were underwater on Wednesday. Work has now stopped in this area.

2. We can no longer transport stone beyond Humene Bridge so we are transport material as far as we can(to Ombolata) and stockpiling (which is very inefficient).
3. We are damagaing the road as we go. It is designed for motorbikes and the odd car so struggles with out 16 vehicles doing 10 trips per day in torrential rain especially when things like this happen (see video).

For the project as a whole it is likely we’ll lose at least a week. The prospect of not completing the road is well and truly on the agenda. We are now considering scenarios of how best to manage this situation (unless we come up with something remarkable in the meantime).

My First “Breaking the Fast” Party – Saturday 22 August 2009

Last Saturday was the first day of Ramadan and whilst Nias is predominantly Christian there are many Indonesians amongst our staff who will be fasting for the next month. Not sure what to expect I went along with the same approach to most social outings here, just wait and see. The party was no different to most I’ve been to, there was plenty of food, an old guy who spoke too much, a few embarrassed girls and plenty of shy guys etc etc. What struck me most was the conversation I had with a couple of the Muslims. Not surprisingly they are incredibly similar to most Christians (and I assume Jews but I can’t speak from experience on this one) with one striking difference. The consistency and depth to which they call on and test their own internal fortitude. Be it by not drinking or spending a month every year without food, water or cigarettes during daylight hours. Without question I have a new found respect for this and I have no doubt that many a moderate Muslim lives with a much deeper understanding of their own human spirit than many aethists/Christians I know.

How to walk away?

“Nias has benefitted from the tsunami.” This is the comment of many an expat referring to the fact that the outpouring of money and the development effort for tsunami relief. A substantial part of which was transferred to Nias after the massive earthquake four months later (2005). It is interesting to consider this statement in light of the situation of Eami, one of our drivers who I chatted with today. Eami worked for the French Croix Rouge in Aceh (presumably tsunami disaster relief or subsequent development work) as a driver and mechanic. He has since moved to Nias where there seemed to be more work with NGO’s. He is now working for ACTED as a driver but will finish in two weeks. When he is finished with ACTED he will head back to his family (wife and nine kids) in Teluk Dalam with little prospect of permanent employment (especially not a well-paid job with an NGO). I have no doubt that many houses built and livelihoods creating through the work of NGO’s have been and will be of immeasurable benefit to the people of Nias. But the shadow this benefit casts is the many people whose expertise (as a driver or translator or logistic officer) is based solely on NGO experience. Their skills are arguably transferable but with few jobs and many people those with specific experience get the roles. There is no easy answer to this problem. I have two thoughts on what the right “answer” might be. The first is to do just that, walk away, these guys will swim once thrown in the deep end that is life without NGO’s (and probably not until then). The other is development projects with delivered with patience and a long-term commitment (both of which are in short supply in the Western world . . . case in point: my 3 months here is a blip) that allow transition where independence is allowed to evolve naturally (and this takes time).

Downside of NGO’s [Wednesday 5 August]

We had our donor representative visit today which shed some more light on the apathy that surprised me on arrival (am used to it now but it is no less disappointing). Having worked in this area of Nias for some time and elsewhere in Indonesia post-Tsunami projects he has had plenty of experience with local communities. We are having difficulty getting the two villages where the road is complete to do some maintenance work on a voluntary basis. The logic being that the road is a “gift” from Caritas (the donor) and the communities should receive this gratefully by assisting with its maintenance. The reality is more like pulling teeth. My assumption was that they are lazy and ungrateful. Jean-Cyril (the Donor Rep) challenged this assumption by suggesting that in developing countries where NGO’s operate a culture of receiving develops. It is almost a survival instinct for these people to get as much as they can from the donor with as little effort for themselves as they don’t know when the next project may come along. Whilst this is hard to avoid it does beg the question are we really helping these people? In doing so it appears we are encouraging them to not help themselves, something that will no doubt be to their own detriment in the long-term.

1000 Words

The view from our coffee stop on the way back to Gunung Sitoli from Teluk Dalam.

A traditional North Nias House.

Table Tennis in Ombalata (with traditional house including satellite dish top left).

The gravel quarry at Fabaliwa Oyo (yes this river has crocodiles).

Sunrise from the ACTED Gunung Sitoli Guesthouse (our weekend sanctuary).

The crowd at Sorake.

A local at Sorake (the wave Nias is famous for).

A section of completed road about 1km from Dangagari.

Sunset at Dangagari Thursday 30 July.

Our home during the week – ACTED Dangagari Base.

It's only a little rain

After considering the program last week we decided that it was necessary to get four more vehicles (on top of 12 already here) if we are to have any chance of finishing the project in October. These extra vehicles would be particularly helpful if the dry weather stuck around. As Murphy would have it, the day after the extra vehicles started on site the rain came (today). So this morning was an adventure in wet weather driving (see videos attached – one of the 4WD’s trying to come up the hill on some very slippery clay and getting one of the Mitsubishi L300 Pickups back onto the road). It is a mixed feeling knowing that the weather has such a strong bearing on how the project will go, on one hand it is an excuse for being slow, on the other it is something that even the most meticulous planning cannot eliminate. Having arrived when 4km were done we now have about 7km complete of the 13km . . .