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Ministry of Social Affairs Establishes 6 Public Kitchens in West Sulawesi

Ministry of Social Affairs Establishes 6 Public Kitchens in West Sulawesi
Writer :
Joko Hariyanto
Editor :
Alek Triyono; David Myoga
Translator :
Karlina Irsalyana

MAMUJU (17 January 2021) - The Ministry of Social Affairs built six field public kitchen posts for victims of the West Sulawesi earthquake. The six public kitchens, two of them from West Sulawesi Province, while one of them from South Sulawesi Province and the other three from Central Sulawesi Province.

The facility is to meet basic needs for earthquake survivors in Majene and Mamuju Districts.

"We distribute all the food to the refugee camps or those who are close to the refugee camps, they can immediately take them (to the nearest kitchen)", explained the Director of Social Protection for Natural Disaster Victims of the Ministry of Social Affairs, M. Safii Nasution, in West Sulawesi, Sunday (17/1) morning.

"One public kitchen car can cook up to 2,000 meals a day. We distribute it 2 times a day. So, (in a day) the total (food distributed) reaches 24,000," said Safii.

According to him, the plan for public kitchen posts is to focus on one point, namely the Office of the Governor of West Sulawesi. This was decided for the distribution and communication in one command. Furthermore, the food will be distributed to 97 refugee posts registered at the Social Office of West Sulawesi Province.

"To facilitate control, the Governor asked all public kitchens to be centralized in one point, namely in his office," added Safii.

Safii said that the situation in West Sulawesi was not yet fully conducive. However, the government made every effort to meet the basic needs of all victims.

Gather Refugees at Stadium

The scattering of evacuation points in several areas in Mamuju and Majene Districts made it difficult to distribute food and other assistance. For this reason, for refugees in Mamuju Regency, the Ministry of Social Affairs together with the West Sulawesi Provincial Government took a policy of gathering them in one location, namely at the Manakarra Stadium, Mamuju.

Meanwhile, in order to avoid the spread of COVID-19 in the evacuation sites, Safii claimed to have sent COVID-19 refugee tents, which are tents equipped with dividers and ventilation in each room.

"We are preparing 10 tents for a while and can be added later, depending on the number of refugees," he said.

In addition, the Ministry of Social Affairs also provides generators to meet the electricity needs of refugees. "We also make sure all electricity needs are met. People can charge their cellphones so they can communicate with their respective families," continued Safii.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Social Service for Central Sulawesi Province, Mumu Suherlan, admitted that he brought three kitchen cars from Central Sulawesi, Donggala and Sigi Provinces to help provide food for earthquake victims in Mamuju Regency, West Sulawesi.

"We departed on Friday morning, at six o'clock, after receiving directions from the Director General of Social Protection and Security, Pepen Nazaruddin, by taking 12 hours from Palu City," explained Mumu.

In addition to deploying those cars, said Mumu, the Central Sulawesi Social Service also mobilized social pillars such as District Social Welfare Workers and Tagana to cook ready-to-eat meals for refugees and volunteers who helped evacuate the earthquake victims.

"We brought 9 TKSK and 40 Tagana from Central Sulawesi. We all mobilized them to help provide food at three car points," added Mumu.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Center for Data and Information and of the National Disaster Management Board, Raditya Jati, informed that the death toll due to the 6.2 magnitude earthquake in West Sulawesi had increased to 56 people.

In addition, there were 637 injured victims in Majene Regency, with details of 12 people being seriously injured, 200 people being moderately injured, and 425 people being slightly injured. Meanwhile, in Mamuju District, 189 people were reported to have suffered serious injuries and were hospitalized.
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