ITB Team Build a Post to Conduct Art Healing for Children in Lombok

By Adi Permana

Editor Adi Permana

LOMBOK, itb.ac.id – Lombok reconstructs after a magnitude 7 earthquake hit last August. Considering the infrastructures are currently being constructed, the community have to wait and live on temporary houses. Institute for Research and Community Services of Institut Teknologi Bandung (LPPM-ITB) cooperating with a team from ITB’s Faculty of Art and Design (FSRD) and Pemuda Peduli are planning to build a post to conduct art healing to children victim of Earthquake on Saturday, 22 December 2018.

Making use of a vacant land once ruined by the earthquake on Batu Rakit at Sukadana Village, Bayan District, North Lombok, ITB team will build art healing post consisting of two dome tents and a public kitchen. Before building the post, the team coordinated with Lasana, the chief of Batu Rakit and were warmly welcomed by him.

“You can use Beruga (a traditional simple house) upstairs. We will distribute the electricity later. The kids can come here tomorrow.” Said Lasana.

Referring to the team’s activity plan during 10 days activities in Batu Rakit (21-31 Desember 2018), art healing will be conducted from Sunday, 23 December until the end of 2018.

Since the earthquake that occurred in August, Batu Rakit have welcomed two trauma healing activities from other social organizations. Large number of children in the village is the reason why recovery of children’s psychological condition is the main focus of ITB team in Lombok. Moreover, public’s focus is also divided to other disasters that happened in other parts of Indonesia, hence it is important to have a party that still pay attention to victim’s condition 4 months after the earthquake occurred.

“It is during this time we focus to help when other supports decrease,” Explained Ardhana Riswarie, S.Sn, M.A, an art therapist and a lecturer in FSRD-ITB who is also in ITB team in Lombok.

In the next ten days, Ardhana said that the team will focus on at least restoring the children’s happiness by drawing, painting, and playing, unlike trauma healing that takes months.

The art healing post program receives positive feedback from the community. It is seen from the support of surrounding community to build the post. According to the plan, the art healing activity will begin on Sunday, 23 December 2018.

Reported by Nur Faiz Ramdhani from Lombok