in the aftermath

finally, here are my pictures from the two villages i’ve been to in the past 2 weeks, both of which have never seen white people before and both of which are within 4 km of the peak of merapi. praise God, both these villages are on the side that received the least damage. the only victims were animals, fields, and some houses. but even so, all the residents were in evacuation camps for 3 – 4 weeks, and as they all move back into the villages and start to rebuild their lives, they’re facing a lot of trauma and loss.

(new growth pushing up through the ash)

(this area didn’t receive as much ash as some, but when it mixes with rain, it is like 3 inches of cement over the top of everything, effectively killing all vegetation. these mountain villages are comprised solely of farmers – they lost everything.)

(what merapi looks like now. black and sooty.)

(the still smoking peak)

(some of the thousands of plant starts we took to one village to help them start replanting.)

(the village toilet! in the field!!)

(a very timid puppy with his fur burnt off.)

(i wonder how many major eruptions this lady has lived through.)

(rolling and smoking.)

(“how to roll a cigarette” lessons! i think this was like step 3. this guy was so excited that i wanted to take his picture!)

(quite possibly the first car this kid has ever seen)

(“take our picture with the plants!”)

(the women in these villages get married after middle school – or elementary school for some – and start having kids. lots of young mothers.)

(three of the oldest ladies in the village)

(us – a group from school – with the village women and children!)

(we taught them to say cheese. some of them were really into it.)

(posko = command post for the distribution of supplies and aid)

(looking up one village’s only street towards their mosque and the peak of merapi hidden in the clouds)

(this is lady 2 from the conversation i posted a few days ago)

(the village leader on the left and some friends who went to this village)