Hold On to Your Hope

“We use the tools to clean the house. From the outside, it looks like nothing happened to the house. However, the condition within is appalling,” uttered Susi Fitriani, one of the survivors of the Cianjur earthquake, when she was asked about the utility of ESK and WCK distributed by Habitat to her.

Susi is a housewife who lives in Kampung Cisalak, Sukajaya Village, Cugenang Sub-district, Cianjur. That day, the 34 years-old woman was in her mother’s house with her mother and her child, who was asleep. Meanwhile, her husband was at work, and her other child went to school. Susi was about to heat the water after she finished her prayer when, suddenly, she could feel a great earthquake.

Despite the difficulty, she immediately carried her sleeping child and ran outside. “It’s tough to get outside of the house. When my mother told me that Alasa was asleep on the bed, I took her with me quickly before running to turn the stove and water pump off.” Susi said.

Fortunately, Susi was unharmed. She could move quickly to save her child. It could be dangerous if she were a minute late. “We were unharmed. I quickly carried my child out of our house. Five minutes late, it could be way worse. I’m grateful that we survived.”

Susi grew up in Kampung Cisalak. But only then she encountered an earthquake that could make her house collapse. “My house collapsed. The bedroom, living room, roof, and kitchen were all gone,” Susi couldn’t save her belongings. However, to Susi, their life was more crucial. “Life is more important; my belongings are the least of my concern now.”

After escaping to the field, Susi and her family had to survive there for three months. She couldn’t go back to her house. She even had to move to various evacuation centers three times, “At the beginning of the earthquake, we couldn’t go home for three months. We lived in a communal shelter for one month, then moved to the one in the back of this center before moving to the other one. So, it has been our third time moving around.”

Habitat’s arrival helped to alleviate Susi’s burden. She received a package of ESK and WCK from Habitat and BCA Life. The tools were helpful in cleaning the ruins of her house. “We use the tools to clean the interior part of the house. From the outside, it looks like nothing happened to the house. However, the condition within is appalling.” Furthermore, she utilized the tools to carry old bricks outside.

“I’m happy, Alhamdulillah, for the donated tools. Thank you, Habitat and BCA Life, who have donated the tools to help me clean the ruins. Without Habitat, we wouldn’t know what to do.” She closed.

Despite her condition, Susi still holds on to her strength and keeps her head high. She always tries to be there for her children, who were traumatized by the earthquake. “My heart goes out to my children. I always told them to be strong and patient.” Susi understands that she’s not alone in this adversity; hope still exists in spite of the challenges.