‘Stories from the Islands’ and Public Discussion on Covid-19 in Sumba, Indonesia

Location:

Sumba, Indonesia

Date:

2021

With thanks to our collaborators:

Didiek Arifman (for community screening)
Dr. Vira Sinuraya (for public discussion)
Dr. Dewi Friska, MKK (Lecturer and Public Service Coordinator at the Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia)
Dr. Aria Kekalih, MTI (Lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia)

This project aimed to share the films and photographs created during the SPEAR Digital Diaries project with community members in Sumba and gather feedback and reflections from the community.

As part of the SPEAR Digital Diaries project in Indonesia, we aimed to document the experiences and impacts of Covid-19 on frontline healthcare workers and vulnerable populations in three cities: Jakarta, Bandung, and Sumba.

Then, we organised a film screening event and photo exhibitions made by the digital diaries participants from 3 sites in Indonesia.

Objectives:

Disseminate the digital diaries result and get feedback from the community to enrich the qualitative research on the impact of COVID-19 on the community and healthcare workers.
Support the community’s knowledge of COVID-19 vaccination and reduce rejection via public discussions at the exhibition event and through some community events such as Sunday mass in the church or the live talk show on the local radio.
Support the community leaders to develop their preparedness plan for the future pandemic/endemic by providing a 2-day workshop and discussion with the village leaders, religious leaders, and cultural leaders.

All activities were held at Santa Maria high school in Homba Karipit village, Southwest Sumba, with a total of 195 participants for 3 days.

‘Stories of the Islands’ Photograph Exhibition

50 posters were displayed, showcasing stories of experiences and impacts of Covid-19 on health workers and vulnerable populations in three cities: Jakarta, Bandung, and Sumba.

We divided the photo displays into five themes:

Belajar dari Rumah (Learning from Home)
Kebiasaan Baru (New Normal)
Dibalik Layanan Kesehatan (Inside Out Healthcare Facilities)
Kami (Tidak) Berdaya (We (un) Empowered); and
Kata Mereka (Motivation and Support)

Visitors were asked to observe and reflect on the photo stories on their own experiences and fill out the feedback form properly for research purposes.