Eleven Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia’s (USIM) Science and Technology Faculty students and two lecturers embarked on an international humanitarian mission to Palu, a city in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, which was devastated by a series of natural disasters last year.
Organised under the Global Islamic Student Outreach programme (GISO), the project, called “Humanity in Palu: Kembara Kasih Perantau”, was conducted in response to the tragedy that struck Palu in September.
Palu was hit by an earthquake, tsunami and soil liquefaction — a phenomenon where the soil loses strength post-earthquake — affecting more than 4,000 people.
Prior to the trip, the students reviewed, collected information and evaluated the needs of the people in the disaster area.
The students visited three shelters, namely Shelter Lere, Huntara Masjid Agung Darussalam and Huntara Posko Tondo. They conducted various activities with the local communities.
The mission included two educational and religious talks, held at Pesantren Anwarul Quran and Masjid Institusi Agama Islam Negeri in Palu.
The students encouraged local families to share their experience.
USIM student Nurul Jannah Md Noor said: “Listening to their experience after the disaster was such a memorable and humbling moment for me.
“Even though some of them have lost their family members and were overwhelmed with grief, they still could share the happiness with us. They were happy to join the activities we had organised.”
Programme secretary and USIM food biotechnology student Musfirah Muzamil, 21, said the team had to overcome several challenges, such as the lack of manpower.
“At first, our team had only five members. It was hard to find students who wanted to join our humanitarian mission. However, we eventually gathered 11 students.
“Our initial plan was to conduct the programme in early April, but due to insufficient budget, we postponed it to July.
“Several days before our departure date, we were shocked by the news of an earthquake in Maluku, Indonesia. This almost caused our programme to come to a halt.”
Assistant programme director and USIM food biotechnology student Asmaa’ Mohd Satar said despite the small number of participants, they had trouble meeting up.
“It was hard as we are from different courses. We started planning the programme since last December, but it was difficult to have all the members at the same place at one time.”
To source for donations, the students used several means, such as media promotion.
Nurul Jannah said: “We promoted our programme through the radio channel Ikim FM. We did a recording for the radio’s ‘Kami Prihatin’ session. The feedback from listeners was positive and through this avenue, we found donors to support programme.”
The students’ visit was met by mixed reactions from the local communities.
Noting the warm welcome they received at Shelter Lere, Asmaa’ said: “The community at the shelter were excited to meet us, especially the children, which made me happy. They were nice and kind, so it was hard for us to leave.
“At Shelter Masjid Darussalam, they were welcoming but some expressed their disappointment that we did not bring a lot of donations.
Nurul Jannah said: “We really sympathised with the condition that the communities were living in. We felt sorry for the lack of donation, which might not fully cover their needs.”
Programme director Ahmad Taqiyuddin Mohd Anas said: “It was an unforgettable experience to be volunteers of this programme.
“We hope to continue this humanitarian mission to Palu annually and carry out this mission in other countries. We pray that our journey would be blessed.”
In total, RM40,000 in donations were collected in cooperation with the Aksi Insan Nusantara Foundation, a local non-governmental body in Indonesia, and the Malaysian Relief Agency in Palu.
The fund raised led to the building of a mosque and houses, as well as provided the communities with basic necessities, such as 22 water tanks, 200 food packages, hygiene kits and clothes.