My Nonprofit Reviews

As a result of the December 26, 2004 Great Indian Ocean tsunami, approximately 130,000 Indonesians lost their lives. At that time, I was the Coordinating Minister for Public Welfare of Indonesia and, as such, intimately involved in my government’s response to and recovery from that tragedy.

I wish to express my gratitude to GeoHazards International (GHI) for informing Indonesian government officials and business leaders of the great risk of the Sumatran city of Padang to tsunamis, and of the opportunity to significantly and efficiently reduce that risk by means of a Tsunami Evacuation Park (TEP).

GHI motivated the creation of the Indonesian nonprofit foundation named Yayasan Siaga Penyelamatan Inovatif, or “SPIN,” whose mission is to promote, fund and create innovative solutions to Indonesia’s large and increasing vulnerability to tsunamis and earthquakes. I am a founding member of the Board of Directors of SPIN and I speak on this matter for the entire SPIN Board.

Further, GHI provided a conceptual design of a TEP, participated in a major fund-raising campaign to construct a prototype TEP, and obtained permission from the Indonesia Air Force to build a TEP on its base in Padang.

What I value the most in GHI’s assistance is that it has increased Indonesia’s capacity to manage tsunami risk. GHI could have tried to hire foreign architects, engineers and construction managers and actually built the TEP, by itself. This would have produced a structure, but it would not have developed our capacity to replicate it. The estimated 400,000 people at risk from the tsunami forecast for Padang will not be made safe by a single TEP, and therefore, developing Indonesians’ capacity to manage their risk is essential. GHI has worked patiently with SPIN to
allow us to develop our abilities to raise funding, to design the TEP and to construct it.

Alwi Shihab
SPIN Founding Member

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