This January Indonesia is surrounded by disasters. Volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and floods occurred one after the other impacting cities and villages all over Indonesia.

In Jakarta alone floods affected more than 100,000 people and displaced 65,000 residents in the city and its vicinities.

Many whose houses are under water seek shelters in schools, churches, and mosques or even near railroad tracks. Some do not want to leave their flooded homes for fear of looting.

In times like these, dapur umum or the soup kitchens are their only hope to get decent meals.

Celebrities, foodies, and volunteers from organizations such as TAGANA (Volunteer Disaster Corps) and PMI (The Indonesian Red Cross) organize soup kitchens in several points of the disaster areas.

PMI, the Indonesian Red Cross, set up a number of dapur umum to prepare meals for disaster victims, especially when it is impossible to distribute cooking supplies.

Soup kitchens, according to PMI guidelines, have be to be clean, safe from disasters, close to water sources and accessible by public transportation.

PMI soup kitchens are usually set up in its branch offices like in East Jakarta, South Jakarta, West Jakarta, and Central Jakarta. Such location is more hygienic than in the field where crowds abound and cleanliness cannot be guaranteed.

During disasters PMI volunteers prepare and distribute thousands of meal packages, mostly nasi bungkus, steamed rice with side dishes placed in boxes or wrapped in papers.

Cynthia Lamusu, a fashion designer and singer-songwriter who with her husband started Dapur Mama Thia (DMT) an online business that sells nasi kepel (banana leaf-wrapped rice) and ready to eat foods, organizes social service activities in times of disaster.

In such events her group, called DMT and the Angels, fund raises and delivers goods, such as diapers, baby food, snack packages, medications and toys. They entertain children and provide lunch or dinner.

Last year DMT cooked binde biluhuta (traditional corn soup from Gorontalo) while this year their main meal is Sup Ceria (cheerful soup containing sausages, meatballs, vegetables, and chickens).

In one recent social service event DMT prepared 500 nasi kepel and almost 1000 servings of sup ceria. DMT can also deliver the food on their menu to flood victims. With a minimum order of 100 nasi kepel DMT will give a discount of Rp. 2500,- for every serving.

Reno Andam Suri, the owner of Rendang Uni Farah and author of Rendang Traveler is a true foodie and one of the flood victims in Jakarta. She tweeted her experience volunteering for a dapur umum two years ago during Mount Merapi eruption in Jogja. Reno’s brother Chef Adzan Budiman a chef entrepreneur and food & beverage consultant opened a dapur umum then.

At 06:00 AM, Reno reminisced, the kitchen started bustling. Elderly ladies came smiling and volunteered to work in the Soup Kitchen. They cut vegetables, fried eggs, fish, tempeh, and tofu. All worked hard but had fun chattering all the way.

By 10:00 AM when all the side dishes were ready, college students came to help. A long table was set up with rows of side dishes and rice.

It was a relay activity where volunteers placed the steamed rice, added side dishes, wrapped them and used rubber band. One plastic bag is provided for 20 meal packages.  At 11:00 AM, cars began arriving with volunteers to distribute the meals to the shelters and those in need.

Chef Adzan’s soup kitchen delivered 8000 meal packages per day.

Tagana are community volunteers active during disasters. Organized by the Ministry of Social Affairs, it is an embodiment of community-based social assistance.

During disasters Tagana volunteers work 24 hours daily. Organized by shifts they consist of youth, social welfare workers and flood victims themselves.

Tagana distributes aid in the forms of meal packages and daily necessities such as rice, instant noodle, sardines, soy sauce, cooking oil, blankets, tarpaulins and baby needs.

Soup kitchens assisted by Tagana in Jakarta prepare and distribute meals to disaster victims from a few hundred to 15,000 rice packages daily.

Reno Adam Suri and most volunteers believe that in times of disaster, there are always people who care and help in anyway they can without hoping for rewards.

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Information sources and images:

Cynthia Lamusu, Dalin/Kompasiana, Dinas Sosial DKI, Edwar Bachtiar, Kementerian Sosial, Mykhaylo Palinchak/Shutterstock, PMI, Reno Andam Suri, Tagana.