Dry Season Arrives, PMI Distributes Clean Water Aid To Cilacap Residents

Deputy Chairperson for Disaster Management and PMI Volunteers in Cilacap Regency Koesdjarjo (wearing red vests) monitors the distribution of clean water / ANTARA

CILACAP - The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) of Cilacap Regency, Central Java, has begun distributing clean water aid to communities in a number of villages in line with the arrival of the dry season. "Yesterday we distributed clean water assistance to residents of Jaya Giri Hamlet, Bojong Village, Kawunganten District," said Deputy Chair for Disaster Management and PMI Volunteers in Cilacap Regency Koesdjarjo in Cilacap, quoted from Antara, Monday, May 29. The distribution of water assistance with two tanks each with a capacity of 5,000 liters is the first carried out by PMI Cilacap Regency at the beginning of the 2023 dry season. According to him, residents of Jaya Giri Hamlet have difficulty getting clean water because since it didn't rain along with the dry season, the weather conditions became hot so that the residents' wells dried up. "Even if there is water, it is only river water that is not feasible and also not good for health, so we supply clean water assistance from PDAM at the request of residents," he said. In addition to Jaya Giri Hamlet, he said, PMI Cilacap Regency also distributed one tank of clean water with a capacity of 5,000 liters for residents of Bugel Sampang Hamlet, Bojong Village, Kawunganten District, on Monday (29/5). Furthermore, Koesdjarjo said PMI Cilacap Regency had budgeted for clean water assistance for people in need while submitting an official application through the local village government. "This (clean water assistance) is actually one of our efforts to return PMI funds to the community. We get funds in the PMI Fund Month from the community, so we return them in the form of assistance like this," he explained. He said PMI Cilacap Regency is also ready to cooperate with various parties who want to distribute clean water assistance to people in need. On a separate occasion, the Head of Emergency and Logistics Division of the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of Cilacap Regency, Budi Setyawan, said that until now his party had not received a request for clean water assistance from areas affected by the drought.

"We have not received a request for assistance. But in principle, we are ready to distribute aid as long as there is an official request from the local village government," he said.