INILAHCOM, Jakarta – PT Gelora Mandiri Membangun (GMM), Korindo Group’s business unit, distributed aid in the form of clean water, heavy equipment, and transportation in order to smoothen the access and food accommodation for disaster victims in South Halmahera, North Maluku.
Last July, an earthquake of magnitude 7.2 on the Richter Scale struck Halmahera Regency, North Maluku. 13 people were killed and tens of thousands of people lost their homes and forced to take shelter.
Moreover, a number of public facilities, infrastructure, buildings, particularly people’s homes have suffered heavy damage. The loss is estimated to reach Rp300 billion. Until today, it is reported there are still residents staying in the shelter.
A concerning state following the earthquake was also felt by PT Gelora Mandiri Membangun (GMM), an oil palm business unit of Korindo Group with operations located in Gane Village, South Halmahera. Home and office buildings of PT GMM suffered a quite serious damage. However, this sadness does not stop the company’s good will to distribute the most needed assistance by the citizens. Aid in the form of clean water and various supports in infrastructure repair keeps being supplied to various regions, particularly Gane Village, which was affected by the disaster.
The distribution of clean water, road cleaning and repair of cracks and ruins has become GMM’s main focus. This is in line with the stance from the National Agency for Disaster Countermeasure (BNPB) which stated that what people need at the moment is clean water.
GMM has distributed at least 256 tons of clean water for the earthquake victims. The clean water distribution is hoped to be able to help people in meeting their everyday needs, such as drinking, cooking, and sanitary needs.
Not only that, PT GMM also distributed heavy equipment and raw materials for buildings. Heavy equipment and transportation tools such as excavator, pick-up car, and dump truck were deployed in order to accelerate the opening of road access and accommodate food distribution in the shelter.
To support the building of infrastructure, as many as 1,000 sheets of plywood and 200 sheets of tarps were also donated directly by GMM to many villages in South Halmahera Regency.
The material aid is expected to be able to help to build a temporary shelter for residents who lost their homes due to the disaster. Until today, GMM has sent aid to at least eight earthquake-affected villages. These villages are Gane Dalam Village, Gane Village, Yamli Village, Sekely Village, Kurunga Village, Yomen Village, Jibubu Village, and Awis Village.
People in Gane felt very much helped with the assistance and attention provided by the company. “Luckily, there was GMM. The aid was quickly distributed and could be used immediately. Thank you, GMM for the concern towards us, the disaster victims,” said the Chief of Gane Luar Village, Ramli Bakir.
According to plan, the aid provided to the earthquake victims in Halmahera will continue. The distribution of basic aid needed by people in the shelters will keep going until September 2019. “We will distribute food, such as rice, instant noodles, sugar, and tea to fulfill the urgent needs for food,” said Yahya, the Supervisor of Corporate Social Contributions (CSC) from PT GMM in the statement released to the media in Jakarta, Tuesday (13/8/2019).
GMM’s Contribution Among People in Gane
The presence of the private sector in remote areas becomes vital for the sake of development and helping to improve people’s welfare. The same goes to the presence of GMM among the community in Gane, which keeps providing contribution. GMM’s presence in the area is able to increase people’s desire for economic productivity and build infrastructure by opening access to roads and markets.
The company’s contribution has always been felt by the surrounding community, especially in the fields of infrastructure, economy, and education. “In the old days, access from one village to another was quite difficult,” said the Chief of Gane Village.
But now, access of roads to eight villages can be used by the citizens. Public facilities, health facilities, to education facilities that couldn’t be used in the past, are now available to be used easily in near locations.
Even in the midst of difficulties and sadness following the earthquake, GMM continues to provide assistance to the people. This proved that the presence of investors has given real benefits for the stability of people’s lives. Moreover, with Indonesia’s Nawa Cita program to build Indonesia from the periphery, the presence of the private sector holds an important role in the remote areas. “Therefore, we are committed to keep creating a synergy with the people and the government in order to realize a more developed Gane,” said Mahdi M. Nur, the Manager of CSC of PT GMM. [tar]
Source : inilah.com
