Sep 21, 2019 – Prestasi Junior loves this time of year as we have an opportunity to work with Prudential volunteers in the locations of communities in need. This year these communities are located in the Regency of Bogor – the most heavily populated Regency in the nation. The communities we are working in are Desa Leuwinutug and Desa Cijayanti. Many households within both of these villages are located next to rivers. During times of heavy rain these rivers flood and cause considerable damage and disruption to adjacent families. This year three floods caused havoc and one child was lost.

Observing the current levels of the rivers it is hard to believe that they could flood and cause major havoc as each is, at least, ten meters from a point that could be considered a danger to inhabitants. However, in the rainy season the volume of water in these river channels increases very quickly and significant loss occurs – more impactful if it happens overnight.

Therefore, a keen partnership has been formed between Prestasi Junior, Prudential Indonesia and the Indonesian Red Cross to implement disaster preparedness and loss mitigatation initiatives. These undertakings are considerable and have, durng just two days of engagement, involved some 180 Prudential volunteers. The effort expended by these volunteers is considerable as they set about planting 400 trees on the riverbank, digging 200 sinkholes, building 4 toilet units (so as vollagers do not use the waterways for ablution), educating locals regarding mergency evacuation procedures and drills, installing flood warning systems, and building a communal waste disposal facility to promote the importance of not discarding waste into the river.

We still have three weeks of volunteering to go but Prestasi Junior is confident that through this comprehensive engagement Prudential and it’s corporate volunteers are contributing to a much safer and healthier environment for the families in Desa Leuwinutug and Desa Cijayanti.