Gradually, residents have begun to rise from the adversity that hit\ntheir hometown. However, the shadow and memory of the devastating\nfloodwaters remain etched in their minds.<\/p>\n
Pesmi Ermi, a resident of the temporary shelter built at an\nelementary school SD Negeri 05 Kayu Pasak, Salareh Aia Village,\nPalembayan Sub-district, Agam District, West Sumatra, has experienced\nthe same ordeal. The elderly mother of four is still grieving.<\/p>\n
The loss of property or livelihood is not the reason she often feels\nwithdrawn. Her sorrow stems from having to accept the bitter reality\nthat during this year\u2019s Ramadan, she can no longer share sahur and iftar\nmeals with her daughter, who was swept away by flash floods in late\nNovember 2025.<\/p>\n
Recalling it, she said, brought deep sadness. Her second child had\njust been married for three months before the disaster struck. Her grief\ndeepened as her daughter\u2019s passing was accompanied by the loss of her\nunborn grandchild, who was three months in the womb.<\/p>\n
The woman, whose husband is from Madura, East Java, realises that it\nis very hard to pretend to be happy amid post-disaster conditions.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the early days at the shelter, I often sat in silence and\nsuddenly cried remembering my daughter, who was three months pregnant,\nbeing swept away by the flash floods,\u201d she recalled.<\/p>\n
Ramadan comes<\/strong><\/p>\n Ahead of the holy month of Ramadan, Ermi, who is a Quran study\nteacher at an Al Quran education park in Salareh Aia Village, has been\nslowly trying to recover.<\/p>\n She said she keeps herself busy to dispel memories that frequently\ncross her mind. At one point, she thought about starting a business at\nthe shelter where she now lives.<\/p>\n Running a business is not something new for Ermi and her husband,\nSuparmanto. The couple has been trading for years. Now, she restarted\nthe economic activity from scratch by selling various daily necessities,\nsuch as snacks, LPG gas, tubers, smoked catfish, canned drinks, nuts,\nand others.<\/p>\n \u201cInitially, I started trading at the shelter to relieve stress, but I\nrealise this is also to finance my children\u2019s education,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n For initial capital, she used her savings and some money sent by\nrelatives from Java. Although her sales were not as large as before the\ndisaster, the income has encouraged her to rise again.<\/p>\n At the beginning of her business, she and her husband went to Bawan\narea, Ampek Nagari Sub-district, to buy a coconut grater machine,\nconsidering no resident was selling grated coconut at the shelter.<\/p>\n Besides keeping busy, trading helps meet daily needs and finance her\nchildren, one of whom is in junior high school and another studying at a\nstate university in Padang City.<\/p>\n She said that she understands that if she only relies on assistance\nfrom others or the government, her dream of making her children\nsuccessful will never come true.<\/p>\n Not only enthusiastic about running a small grocery business, the\nwoman was also eager to welcome the Ramadan month.<\/p>\n She and her husband even took time to watch the Isbat Session held by\nthe Ministry of Religious Affairs on Tuesday (February 18) evening on\ntelevision.<\/p>\n Ermi said she felt happy to welcome Ramadan, although she never\nexpected to observe the fasting at the shelter without her daughter, who\nwas a victim of the flash floods.<\/p>\n \u201cPerhaps this is a test from God. We must be patient and strong in\nfacing it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Similarly, Evi, a trader and resident of the SD Negeri 05 Kayu Pasak\ntemporary shelter, said she has been selling goods for the past 10 days.\nShe and her husband decided to withdraw Rp6 million (around US$355) to\nRp7 million (around US$414) from their savings as business capital.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore the disaster, we were already selling daily necessities. Now,\nsince living in the shelter, we have resumed trading to meet our daily\nneeds,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n For Evi, surrendering to circumstances is not a choice. Although she\nsaid she is still traumatised by the disaster at the end of last year,\nlife goes on and must be fought for.<\/p>\n The struggle of Pesmi and Evi in running businesses at the shelter\nnot only teaches about spirit and perseverance. More than that, what\nthey are doing reaffirms that the trading spirit of the Minangkabau\npeople never fades, even amid sorrow.<\/p>\n The SD Negeri 05 Kayu Pasak shelter in Palembayan Sub-district was\ninaugurated by Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture\nPratikno along with Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian on January 24,\n2026.<\/p>\n In the area, the government has built 117 temporary shelters to\naccelerate post-disaster recovery.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sumatra-post-disaster-hope-grows-in-shelters-after-devastating-floods-1771666335",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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