Dealing with tragedy gracefully, William Sabandar on reconstructing Aceh after tsunami
The Reformist Podcast ep. 2 is now streaming on Youtube and Spotify
Dear readers,
December last year was the 20th anniversary of the devastating tsunami that wreaked havoc in Indonesia’s westernmost regions: Aceh and Nias.
Before the tsunami, dubbed one of the deadliest disasters in modern history, Aceh has long suffered from years of armed conflicts with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). This situation had made reconstruction efforts tricky, but ten years after the tragedy, the region saw rapid development: about 500,000 displaced people were housed again.
How did we manage to rise from the despair of death and destruction amidst the delicate situation with GAM?
Coming to our studio to tell the tale behind the great reconstruction of Aceh and Nias is William Sabandar (we call him Pak Willy) who headed the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency for Aceh and Nias (BRR). From his stories we learned that it is possible to handle a devastating situation and come back stronger from it. Though, indeed, it requires a great finesse to do so with grace and integrity.
📹 Watch on Youtube
🎙️We’re also on Spotify!
In this episode, you can listen to Pak Willy’s story about:
How the government mobilized national and international resources for effective disaster relief right after the news broke.
The structure of BRR and how it became the proto-seed of The Presidential Working Unit for the Supervision and Management of Development (UKP4).
Anti-corruption and integrity measures to prevent mismanagement of reconstruction funds within BRR.
Innovative fund management to ensure transparency and accountability.
Data-driven approach so BRR could prioritize reconstruction based on real needs.
The involvement of GAM in the reconstruction process that fostered stability and community ownership of the reconstruction process.
The conversation we had with Pak Willy was heartfelt, enlightening, and above all perhaps hopeful. In the midst of myriads of controversial policies and mega-corruption cases dominating the news cycle lately, we hope that this episode will shine light on the fact that there have been well-meaning reformists inside the system who strived for excellence and do the public good by holding onto integrity and good governance—and that there could be more of them.
Enjoy the episode!
Best,
The Editorial Team at The Reformist.