When the 7.5-magnitude earthquake hit Central Sulawesi on 28 September 2018—followed by a tsunami and soil liquefaction—the devastation was beyond comprehension. More than 4,300 lives lost, homes wiped out, and entire neighborhoods turned into rubble. Amid the chaos, one question echoed again and again: Where do we even begin to rebuild our lives, our communities, our sense of normalcy?

For UNDP Indonesia, the answer was clear—we had to begin immediately, not just with reconstruction, but with restoring hope and dignity. We had to act quickly, and more importantly, hand in hand with the communities who had lost everything. From the earliest days, our work was grounded in solidarity and shared purpose.

Restoring Dignity, One Step at a Time
In the weeks after the disaster, the ground was still unsteady, literally and emotionally. But people were ready to rise.  UNDP, together with the Indonesian government and local organizations, launched a Cash-for-Work program. It was more than income support. It was a way for survivors to reclaim agency over their lives., Thousands of people joined the program, putting on boots, picking up tools, and starting to clean up what was left of their homes, schools, and places of worship.

From November 2018 to March 2019, more than 3,500 survivors took part—clearing over 2,700 locations across Donggala, Palu, and Sigi. Like many, for Dahlia in Jono Oge village, the wages helped restart their lives. With what she earned, she bought a water pump and rebuilt her vegetable garden after the irrigation system was destroyed. These small steps mattered. They brought back routine, income, and a sense of direction.

In Tompe, women like Risnawati salvaged torn and muddied clothes from the rubble, not to wear, but to create something new. The bracelets they crafted weren’t just beautiful; they carried stories of loss, resilience, and pride. As weeks turned into months, it was clear that true recovery meant more than cleanup. Communities didn’t want to return to what they had before, they wanted something better. With support from the German government through KfW, UNDP launched the PETRA Project to rebuild not just structures, but futures. PETRA focused on rebuilding essential public facilities—schools where children could learn safely, health centers that could serve all, markets that could revive livelihoods, and waste infrastructure to support cleaner, healthier environments.

By mid-2024, 54 public facilities were rebuilt across Sulawesi and Lombok. Each one designed to be earthquake-resistant, accessible to people with disabilities, and safe for women and girls.

In Sigi, Rosnia stood in front of the market where she had once earned her living, watching it slowly come back to life. With 90 stalls reopened, the sounds and scents of daily life returned, laughter, bargaining, the aroma of spices in the morning air. “It felt like breathing again,” she said, as the marketplace once more became the heart of the community.

In Lombok, the spirit of rebuilding took a different form. At a vocational school supported by the project, students weren’t just learning carpentry, they were learning to build safer, more resilient homes. Among them was Fitria Angelina, one of the few young women in the program. “I want to make sure no one grows up in unsafe homes like I did,” she said, determined to turn her lived experience into a foundation for change.

Lessons We Carry with Us
Seven years later, one lesson stands above all: recovery is not just about what you build—it’s about how you build it, and who you build it with.

Every decision, from where to clean to who gets hired in the Cash-for-Work program relied on musyawarah or local consultation. It wasn’t always easy, but it ensured fairness and built trust. Local governments were involved from the start, and every facility handed over followed national systems and legal protocols.

Women were not just participants, they were leaders. In some places, they oversaw construction, organized teams, or advocated for gender-sensitive features like lactation rooms and private toilets. These aren’t details, they’re signs of progress. When recovery efforts are shaped by those they aim to serve, they become more inclusive, responsive, and lasting.

Even the simplest tools helped reinforce that principle. QR codes for attendance and digital dashboards for monitoring may seem small, but they made processes more transparent and gave communities confidence that their voices and efforts were being respected. Because in the end, effective disaster response isn’t about imposing solutions, it’s about building them with the people most affected.

With the launch of UNDP’s Early Recovery Hub, it’s encouraging to see these experiences resonating beyond Indonesia. What we achieved in Sulawesi and Lombok may not have been perfect, but it was grounded in reality—practical, people-centered, and driven by the communities themselves.

If there's one lesson we carry with us, for colleagues working on recovery elsewhere, it’s this: start early, listen carefully, and trust the strength that lives withing every community. People don’t want to be treated as victims—they want to stand on their own feet, to rebuild not just their homes, but their futures.

Because in the end, recovery isn’t just about restoring what was lost. It’s about walking together toward something better, something stronger, more just, and truly rooted in the people it’s meant to serve.
 

Writer:
By Olyvianus Dadi Lado 

References:
https://www.undp.org/indonesia/news/undp-supports-job-training-students-quake-hit-communities 
https://www.undp.org/indonesia/news/cash-work-provides-trauma-healing-women-quake-survivors-indonesia  
https://www.undp.org/indonesia/stories/ruins-resurgence-how-undps-transformation-omu-market-became-beacon-hope