2018 Lombok Earthquake relief
On the 29th of July 2018, Lombok was rocked by a 6.4 magnitude earthquake killing more than a dozen people. A week later, on the 5th of August, the island was devasted by a massive 6.9 quake which left hundreds of dead and people fleeing.
For the third time, on August 19th, another quake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale hit, followed by hundreds of aftershocks. An estimated 563 people died, more than 7,773 were injured and over 417,000 people were displaced.
When we received the news, we were absolutely devastated and began contacting friends to check whether they were okay. After a few nervous hours, we were relieved to hear that our Lombok family was physically unharmed. However, many had lost their homes and all were shaken by the earthquakes. Perhaps one of the scariest parts of the earthquakes was the hundreds of aftershocks that took place following the major earthquake. When these smaller tremors occurred, people were very worried that they would develop into a larger earthquake, as had been the case in the major one.
By coincidence, Sierra and Dayton were scheduled to depart Melbourne for Lombok at the end of August. With this in mind, Project Why Not set out to raise as much money as possible to provide relief for victims of the earthquakes. We spent the next week organizing a small event at our house, with food and live music, to raise the much-needed funds. The event had a great turnout. We were overwhelmed by the support and generosity of family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, and strangers.
Once Sierra and Dayton arrived in Lombok, they began working with Patock, Project Why Not's partner on the ground, as well as the other local people of Lombok to determine how best to use the funds that had been raised. Of immediate concern was ensuring that people in Klui Village had enough food, water, and other basic supplies. Over the coming days Sierra, Dayton, and Patock, along with some other members of the community, stocked up and distributed them throughout Klui Village.
To this day, we remain grateful for all the generous donations that were made.