The how, when and why of community organisational support: Uplink Yogyakarta in Indonesia

In 2006, an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9 on the Richter scale hit the outskirts of the
Indonesian city of Yogyakarta. The earthquake only lasted 55 seconds, but it destroyed the homes of hundreds and thousands of people and affected many communities in Central Java. This paper describes the work of Uplink Yogyakarta in providing emergency aid in 52 local government areas and subsequently in reconstruction and development. Uplink Yogyakarta concentrated on supporting urban and rural poor communities’ processes rather than imposing its own projects or programmes. It worked with these communities with a very small budget and on a long-term basis to rebuild and reverse the negative social impacts of the municipal government’s post-disaster compensation scheme.

Three cases are described to demonstrate how Uplink Yogyakarta is developing relationships with communities. In one, it helped facilitate the development of a traditional dance group to renew a sense of community and culture. In another, it used the response to the disaster as an entry point for accessing rights to basic services from the local government. In a third, it is developing relationships with communities to help them deal with their immediate problems and prepare them for bigger issues that are likely to affect them in the future. The paper highlights some lessons for external donors, who may find it difficult to know how best to support local organizations when such organizations need support, and also why donors need to change the ways they work with such local organizations. Beyond providing money, an effective role for donors could include linking local organizations so that they can learn from and support each other, as well as linking them with appropriate technical support in order to develop skills and financial self-reliance.