Missed 1 Year of School due to Seroja Cyclone, Now Lou Finds New Hope Through Education Vouchers

Lembata, East Nusa Tenggara – Lou, a 13-year-old teenager, had to go through a tough life test three years ago. A massive storm that hit her village in Lembata, East Nusa Tenggara, in April 2021 destroyed everything. The disaster was the result of Tropical Cyclone Seroja, which triggered flash floods and landslides in a number of villages, including Lou’s village. Not only did it destroy her home, but it also took away one of her older brothers and nearly killed her mother who was trapped in the rubble. Lou himself was severely injured, and both of his legs had to be amputated.

Based on data from the Meteorology Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), Tropical Cyclone Seroja, which occurred in early April 2021, caused flash floods and landslides in a number of villages located on the slopes of Mount Ile Lewotolok, Lembata. Seroja, which initially formed as a tropical weather system, later developed into a storm that brought heavy rain, strong winds and high waves. This devastating disaster left 181 people dead.

Lou needed time to recover physically, let alone emotionally from this life-shattering event. Lou even had to miss a year of school, while his mother was on bed rest recovering from injuries.

“I couldn’t go to school for a year and my mom had to stay in bed for almost two years before she recovered,” Lou explains.

Lou Finds New Hope for Her Education

However, there are glimmers of hope for Lou’s educational future. One of them is when the Plan International Indonesia Foundation (Plan Indonesia) strives to ensure that children like Lou get proper access to education to support a brighter future.

Through an activity entitled Thank You Project, Plan Indonesia provides vouchers to buy school supplies in the form of cash voucher assistance (CVA). The CVA consists of a set of vouchers worth IDR 150 thousand containing two IDR 50 thousand vouchers, two IDR 20 thousand vouchers, and one IDR 10 thousand voucher.

These CVAs were distributed to each child with a total of 8,600 children in Lembata. They can use these vouchers to shop for their educational needs at the bazaar, which also serves as a platform to raise awareness of the importance of children’s education.

“The Thank You Project is our way of showing appreciation to the sponsored children and their families. Through this program, we want to ensure that the children’s educational needs are met and also encourage community involvement by including local sellers and entrepreneurs,” explains Kornelis Sabon Ola, Deputy Program Implementation Area Manager for Plan Indonesia in Lembata.

The bazaar, which is held in 79 villages where Plan Indonesia’s sponsorship program is located, has started from December 2024 to March 2025. The bazaar takes place during the day from 14.00 to 16.00 after school hours so as not to interfere with children’s learning activities.

Children Learn Self-Reliance Through Education Voucher

Children can visit the bazaar accompanied by parents, Plan Indonesia staff or volunteers. They then redeem vouchers for a variety of school equipment and supplies available for up to 25 items, according to their age and needs.

“Vouchers allow children to fulfill their needs, have dignity and choice, and support the local economy. The CVA mechanism encourages local involvement and gives each child the opportunity to decide and determine their own educational needs,” explains Kornelis.

Like other children, Lou chooses his supplies independently. Whereas it is usually Lou’s father who decides what school supplies to buy.

“My parents and older brother let me choose and take me to the bazaar to get the things I want. With this voucher, I can buy new shoes, school bags, uniforms, stationery and books for school. This eases the burden on my parents,” she says with a twinkle in her eye.

Not only children, but parents also benefit from this program. Like Vinsen, a 54-year-old father who came to the bazaar to redeem a voucher on behalf of his sick daughter.

“My daughter is sick at home. She couldn’t come today, even though she wanted to. She wrote down the items she wanted to buy on a piece of paper and gave it to me,” he said.

This method can encourage parents and families to better appreciate children’s decision-making abilities, while increasing children’s awareness that their opinions are valued and listened to.

Moreover, a feedback mechanism was also implemented at the bazaar so that children and parents could express their views on the program, provide input for future improvements, and address any issues that may arise.

The opportunity to choose school supplies from a wide range of options made Lou feel more optimistic about his future.

“I’m very happy to go back to school and use my new school supplies,” she said with a cheerful face.