After the Sumatra earthquake and tsunami disaster on December 26, 2004, the Indonesia Red Cross Society and its volunteers conducted the Community Based First Aid (CBFA) Program for promoting the wellness of the residents in Nagan Raya, one of the most affected areas. The program was also intended to increase their knowledge and awareness about health care.

In this program, volunteers from the Indonesia Red Cross Society and volunteers representing the villages play central roles in finding various health problems with the residents. Their aim is to make the residents think about how to tackle the problems by themselves and act to solve them.


Maternity nurses also play a central part in helping the residents in this program. The workshop for learning the method of CBFA was held for four days in late January. This kind of workshop was a new experience for volunteers and maternity nurses; nevertheless, they asked many questions and engaged in a lively exchange of opinions.

Even in the process of training, the volunteers and maternity nurses already knew well the current situation of the villages and the health condition of their residents. Their analysis of the present state of each village as a part of surveying technique revealed the health needs and problems of each village. Based on the outcome learned in the workshop, the health needs of each village will be further surveyed and developed in the program to improve the health condition of the residents. Through the workshop held, the staff of Indonesia Red Cross Society and Japan Red Cross Society felt their activities would have quite an effect on improving the health conditions in the affected areas.