Competitions in Lombonga

Written by: Tito Panggabean (Project Coordinator) and Wawan Kurniawansyah (Volunteer in IBU)

Friday (4/1) afternoon was the opening day for the “Karawana Contest” competition in Karawana Village, Sigi District. The event was conducted by IBU Foundation with the help of local villagers, village officials, and the local youth communities with the purpose to restore the joy and hope of the community due to the earthquake and tsunami that occurred on 28 September 2018.

We may still remember the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that was followed by a tsunami and liquefaction that left the economic and psychosocial conditions of the people in the Sigi District in an appalling condition. The competition, which is planned to take place on 4th – 13th January wasn’t a “spectacular” competition. However, we hoped that this competition (that has previously been implemented by Karawana community to commemorate Indonesian Independence Day every 17th of August) can restore the daily lives of the Karawana community to the way it was before the disaster occurred.

The types of competitions that were held include crackers eating competition where the participants will eat crackers that have been hung by a rope until they run out without the help of hands. There was also a tug of war contest that was aimed to build cooperation between participants, volleyball match between hamlets which is the most popular competition, and “balap karung” race, as well as “balap kelereng” competition.

The Secretary of Karawana Village opened the competition. In his speech, he mentioned that the race was not aimed to find out who won and who lost but to regain Karawana community’s confidence after the disaster that caused shock, stress, and others related to one’s psychological condition. In addition to the competition, there are also activities that were held to improves the villager’s confidence and for them to ask for strength and to be kept away from disaster through religious activities and religious studies such as dhikr and prayer were attended by children, adolescents, and adults.

That afternoon, the cheerful children’s laugh and the fun interaction between the youth in the competition provided joy to those who were constantly overwritten by stress and worry. Hopefully, this psychosocial activity can restore confidence in children, adolescents, and families affected by the disaster. The direction to a “normal” condition is already visible—the three pillars (education, health, and economy) can slowly be recovered. Children have started to actively participating in learning activities again, the market began to bustle, and the clinics were running again.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

toto slot toto togel situs toto https://www.kimiafarmabali.com/