About Bukit Lawang

Literally meaning "door to the hills", Bukit Lawang is a small village situated 90 kilometers northwest of Medan, the capital city of North Sumatra, Indonesia. The focal point of village life here is the river running through the heart of it. In November 2003 in the late evening, a massive flood hit the village and killed at least 300 people. Described by witnesses as a tidal wave, the water was approximately 10 meters high, as it came crashing down the hills, wiping out everything in its path.

 

Although illegal logging in the area was initially blamed for the flood, the cause is not known, and many also believe this was just a natural disaster, Mother Nature’s way of revitalising the land. The village is on the edge of the magnificent Gunung Leuser National Park, which is an area of dense rainforest and home to the rare Sumatran orang-utans, as well as the Sumatran tiger and elephant, although sightings of these are also very rare. The people here live basically and the river is still where the women wash clothes, the men fish and the children play all day.

 

For many the trauma of losing family, friends and their homes has taken a long time to come to terms with, and after the tsunami and earthquake, many have been further affected due to having family and friends in nearby Ache. The people face unemployment, and homelessness. It has been a long road to recovery, and an expecially hard task to rebuild a town without financial assistance. The new village is now taking shape, as the people here are resourceful, salvaging what they can, however many are still homeless, and their health is suffering due to poor sanitation.

 

Since the charity was set up and registered in 2004, volunteers have raised thousands in funds, enabling us to buy rice and basic staple foods to feed the hundreds of families who were living in the bus station. We originally set up a small temporary health clinic, renting and refurbishing a building, and employing locals to renovate and employing a doctor, nurse, midwife and a manager. The clinic was run from this small house for two years, seeing more than twenty patients a day for free.

 

We have provided the village with water carriers, purifying tablets, sleeping mats, compost loos and educational materials. We have also held environmental education workshops where people learn about which materials are recyclable (plastic waste is a big problem) and the importance of protecting the jungle.

 

In March 2007 sixteen volunteers from Jersey travelled to Sumatra to build the new health clinic, which is now a permanent home for the Trust. The administrator, doctor, nurse and mid-wife moved into the new clinic in December 2007 and the clinic opened its doors in January 2008. A cleaner and new mid-wife and doctor have joined the team, and the plan is for the clinic to be open twenty four hours a day. The Trust eventually hopes to have ultra-sound facilities for new mothers and an ambulance running to pick people up from the surrounding areas who are too sick to be able to get to the clinic by public transport.

 

Makna nyata "Pintu menuju bukit" Bukit lawang adalah sebuah desa kecil yg terletab 90 kilometer di sebelah barat laut dari medan, Ibu kota Sumatra Utara; Indonesia. Orang di sini pada dasarnya tinggal dan menetap di desa ini dimana sangai melualuinya malam, banjir bandong melando deso tersebut dan menewaskan sedikitnya 300 orang. Para saksi menjelaskar gelomtang, uir tingginya mencapai kira 10 meter begitu ia tiha di bawah bukit, menyapu bersih semua yg diluinya.

 

Bukit lawang terlelak di pinggir taman Nasional Gunung Leuser yg indah. Walaupun penebangan ilegal di bidang awalnya disalahkan untuk banjir, sebab tidak dikenal, dan banyak yang juga percaya ini adalah bencana alami saja, Mother Nature’s jauh memperbarui negeri. Desa di pinggir luar biasa Gunung Leuser National Park, yang adalah bidang padat hutan hujan dan rumah untuk orangutan langka Sumatra anda akan menemukan di Jersey Zoo, serta harimau dan gajah Sumatra, walaupun pengamatan yang ini juga sedang turun secara kilat.Orang-orang butuh untuk memberi makan laluarga mereka dan pohon tua yang sangat berharga di ambil untuk memperoleh uang yang banyak, dan di jual kepada perusakaan di mana mereka akan memtawanya ke barat untuk bakan pembuatan mebel yang unik.

 

Banyak yang trauma atas kehilangan keluarga, teman-teman dan rumah yg masih jelas teringat benak mereka, setelah tsunami dan Gempa bumi yang terjadi di Aceh.  Suasano hati yang selam berhati-hati, menjadi kan kelidupan ini menjadi sulit bagi orang-orang Indonesia saat ini, dan mereka meresa takut akan adanya bencara alam susulan. Orang menjadi pengangguran dan tidak memiliki rumah. Ini adalah tugas yang mustahil untuk membangun kembali sebuah kota tanpa adanya bankuan keuangan. Mambangan lambali desa yang baru lambut laun akan selasi, kerena orang disinibanyal akah, menyelamatban apa yang dapat mereka peroleh, bagai manapan juga masih banyak yang tidak memiliki tempat tinggal, dan tingkat kesehatan yang rendah di kasenakan kemiskinan.