Rebuilding Palu: Women Take Charge

In late 2018, Sri Haris nearly lost everything.

A massive earthquake and tsunami caused unimaginable destruction in the city of Palu, Indonesia, killing nearly 5,000 people and displacing tens of thousands. Sri’s home was swept away—everything she’d worked for her entire life, gone in an instant. But she refused to give up.

Today, two years since those dual disasters, thousands of people still live in temporary shelters with limited food, water and electricity. Aid promised by the government never arrived, leaving many families completely on their own. Sri now lives with her family in a makeshift, wooden house, where she sells cold drinks to local children. She is surviving — but she will not rest there. With the support of AJWS grantee organization Sulteng Bergerak, Sri is building a movement of women demanding that the government provide critical aid and support. Together, they’ve organized more than 50 protests.

In this video, shot for 2020’s International Women’s Day in the Displaced Person’s Camp outside Palu where Sri lives with her family, she talks about the power and courage it takes to demand your rights. Sri wants the world to know that women are strong and work together to persevere and overcome every obstacle.