Decent Housing Available, Smiles Return to Survivors in Bener Meriah
Kartini could not hide her joy when meeting Muhammad Tito Karnavian, the Head of the Task Force for Accelerating Rehabilitation and Reconstruction (PRR) Post-Disaster Sumatra, at the temporary housing (huntara) in Desa Tunyang, Timang Gajah Subdistrict, Bener Meriah Regency, Aceh, on Monday afternoon (20/4/2026).
Kartini’s thoughts returned to two months earlier when she first met Tito. At that time, her heart was still shrouded in grief after her husband was swept away by floods due to the hydro-meteorological disaster that struck Bener Meriah at the end of November 2025.
“At that time, I told him and Mr Tito knew I had lost my husband. My husband was swept away. I was confused. What about my children? At that time, Mr Tito said he would quickly build huntara so that my children and I could live in decent housing,” she said in a written statement received by Kompas.com on Thursday (23/4/2026).
This was conveyed by Kartini when interviewed in Desa Tunyang, Timang Gajah Subdistrict, Bener Meriah, Aceh, on Monday (20/4/2026).
That afternoon, Kartini, with a wistful face, mustered the courage to push through a group of disaster survivors to approach Tito, who was inspecting the conditions of the huntara in Desa Tunyang.
“I just want to say thank you for building the huntara. Honestly, it has greatly relieved our difficulties compared to when we were in tents,” said Kartini.
In that brief meeting, Kartini reminded Tito of her family’s situation two months ago, when they were still overshadowed by the anxiety of living in emergency tents.
Without taking long, Tito recognised Kartini as one of the disaster survivors who had once expressed her anxiety about her children’s fate after her husband’s death.
“He immediately knew me as soon as I said ‘I’m Kartini’. He immediately asked about my children’s condition. Mr Tito still remembered clearly when he first met me and my children in the tent. I answered that our condition is good,” said Kartini.
Although the conditions in the huntara are relatively comfortable, Kartini hopes to soon rebuild her life with her children in permanent housing (huntap).
“I want to thank Mr Tito for helping us. We are very happy living in the huntara; our condition has improved,” said Kartini.
During the inspection in Desa Tunyang, Tito stated that the survivors’ conditions are now far better than two months ago.
According to him, this aligns with the completion of the huntara construction, which has been equipped with various public facilities, such as sanitation, children’s playgrounds, sports facilities, halls, and mosques for community activities.