RCE Yogyakarta - 2021

Providing Services to Community during COVID-19 Pandemic
Basic Information
Title of project : 
Providing Services to Community during COVID-19 Pandemic
Submitting RCE: 
RCE Yogyakarta
Contributing organization(s) : 
UGM SATGAS COVID-19 (ugm COVID-19 Task Force)
SONJO JOGJA (an organization that distributes the need and the assistance for and from Yogyakarta local community)
Focal point(s) and affiliation(s)
Name: 
Dr. Rachmawan Budiarto, S.T., M.T.
Organizational Affiliation: 
UGM Disaster Response Unit (DERU) - RCE Yogyakarta
Name: 
Nanung Agus Fitriyanto, S.Pt., M.Sc., Ph.D.
Organizational Affiliation: 
RCE Yogyakarta - Universitas Gadjah Mada
Name: 
Prof. Ir. Irfan Dwidya Prijambada, M.Eng., Ph.D.
Organizational Affiliation: 
RCE Yogyakarta - Universitas Gadjah Mada
Format of project: 
PowerPoint, Audio Visual
Language of project: 
Bahasa
Date of submission:
Wednesday, October 13, 2021
The project was align with Universitas Gadjah Mada's policy about community engagement
At what level is the policy operating?: 
Local
Geographical & Education Information
Region: 
Asia-Pacific
Country: 
Indonesia
Location(s): 
Yogyakarta Province, Indonesia
Address of focal point institution for project: 
Office of Directorate for Community Services
Universitas Gadjah Mada
Jl. Pancasila, Bulaksumur G-7
Caturtunggal, Kec. Depok, Kab. Sleman
D.I Yogyakarta
Indonesia 55281
Ecosystem(s):

Target Audience:
Socioeconomic and environmental characteristics of the area : 
Soon after the government announced about the Covid-19 as a national disaster on 14 March 2020, our community got panicked. There have been so many lock-downs in urban or rural areas. People were also getting worried that caused panic-buying. In the meantime, RCE Yogyakarta through UGM Disaster Response Unit (DERU) tried to raise our community awareness of Covid-19 by creating and distributing leaflets about Covid-19 Precautions, giving mobile information, performing community services, and visiting some healthcare facilities resulting that most of them were lacking PPE (Personal Protective Equipment). Thus, we tried to help by providing it. Once RCE Yogyakarta opened for PPE request via Google Form, we tried to fulfill the demand from healthcare facilities in around Indonesia. We have distributed several items such as coverall protective suit, face shield, goggles, boots, latex gloves, medical face mask, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant. RCE Yogyakarta has also tried to introduce the alternative materials for a face mask as the medical face mask started to run out of stock. Last but not least, we also acquainted the online selling method for SMEs (Small Medium Enterprises) in order to help in saving the economy.
Description of sustainable development challenge(s) in the area the project addresses: 
What DERU UGM did was expected to encourage the local community groups to work together in preventing the spread of Covid-19 outbreak especially since the community was not fully aware of the threat from this global pandemic.
Contents
Status: 
Ongoing
Period: 
March, 2020 to December, 2021
Rationale: 
Soon after the government announced about the Covid-19 as a national disaster on 14 March 2020, people are responding in 2 ways. One kind of responses was do everything as usual, the other kind of response was panic which expressed in panic buying of daily needs, hand sanitizers and masks, as well as local initiatives of lock-downs. Responding to this situation, RCE Yogyakarta started with raising community awareness on Covid-19 by disseminating the right information about the Covid-19 outbreak, its causes, how it was spread, the symptoms, and how to overcome it by creating and distributing leaflets, disseminating information using a mobile information car, and conducting face-to-face counseling while maintaining health protocols, i.e. wearing masks, and maintaining distance. All of the dissemination process was done using local languages. On our visit to primary health care facilities we found that they needed personal protection equipment. Paying attention to the comprehensiveness in responding to socioeconomic problems while simultaneously also responding to health sector, we found alternative products for micro, small, and medium enterprises engage in batik clothing manufacturing. We encourage batik clothing manufacturers to produce PPE and fabric masks. We then distributed the PPE to primary health facilities and promotes the use of fabric masks instead of surgery masks for common people. RCE Yogyakarta also produce and distribute face shields.

Also, while the community was facing disruption of trade chain due to locally initiated lockdown which resulted in the non-marketability of agricultural products, RCE Yogyakarta looked for alternative ways by utilizing information and communication technology. We inspired students to assist agricultural product producers and traders to use WhatsApp to sell their stuffs. WhatsApp was chosen since it needs no additional cost while provides opportunities for communication between producers and marketers and consumers, a cultural touch that cannot be left behind. The way of selling agricultural products is now spreading quite fast due to the support of communities who are trying to help small, micro, and medium enterprises in facing the pandemic blow.
Objectives: 
-Mitigating negative impacts of COVID-19 pandemic
-Focusing on community health and social economic aspects
Activities and/or practices employed: 
Through UGM Disaster Response Unit, RCE Yogyakarta has been doing some activities such as:
1. Producing hand-sanitizers and distributing it to our local community especially they who work at traditional market because market is one of the risky places as it is where people meet directly (seller and buyer) and avoiding physical contact is a quite challenging
2. Producing face shield using 3D printer and distributing it to the health care facilities who need it from all over Indonesia
3. Encouraging batik clothing manufacturers (SMEs) to produce PPE and fabric masks. We then distributed the PPE to primary health facilities and promotes the use of fabric masks instead of the medical masks for common people as the demand of medical mask were just enough for the health care facilities at that moment
4. Distributing matrass to local community officers that are responsible to build an isolation shelters for their community at the peak of the pandemic. At that moment, our government obliged that every local officers at the district level has to provide one isolation shelter minimum for their community who got infected of the virus as hospitals and other health care facilities were overloaded
5. Distributing coffin to community and health care facilities when Indonesia reached the peak of the Covid-19 case as the demand of the coffin significantly increased
6. Distributing several items such as coverall protective suit, face shield, goggles, boots, latex gloves, medical face mask, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant to small clinics and community
7. Distributing soaps and vitamins to the community to increase the awareness of healthy life style during the Covid-19 pandemic
8. Involving UGM students through Students Community Service (SCS) to help and assist the community
Size of academic audience: 
Hundreds of health care facilities and hundreds of the local community at the district level
Results: 
-RCE Yogyakarta has been trying to fulfill the demand of our community as our community expects a lot from a Higher Education Institution to act, prioritize, and help its surrounding during the Covid-19 pandemic
-The help and assistance of UGM DERU has covered the majority of province throughout Indonesia, especially Yogyakarta
Lessons learned: 
Higher education institutions play a significant role in facilitating the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in actual practices at the local level through education, research, and community service. Through Disanster Response Unit (DERU), RCE Yogyakarta in Universitas Gadjah Mada as one of the Higher Education Institutions in Indonesia has been fully supporting community service activities during the pandemic. Together with stakeholders from various elements, such as college students, teachers, farmers, homemakers, government officials, villagers, and healthcare staff, UGM worked toward SDGs implementation for a better life for its local community with all limitations caused by the pandemic.
Key messages: 
RCE Yogyakarta has always been and will always be committed to support and empower our local community especially in the challenging time like now.
Funding: 
The funding used for this activities were from UGM and from the opened donation from national and international donors

Pictures:

File Name Caption for picture Photo Credit
Image icon Screenshot 2021-10-13 203545.png (1.23 MB) DERU was distributing a package consists of hand-sanitizers, fabric face mask, vitamin, and a poster of Covid-19 prevention to the local community who need it the most RCE Yogyakarta
Image icon Screenshot 2021-10-13 203619.png (929.47 KB) Face shiled production and distribution RCE Yogyakarta
Image icon Screenshot 2021-10-13 203650.png (801.92 KB) Socialization o Covid-19 Spread Prevention through billboards and mobile car RCE Yogyakarta
Image icon Screenshot 2021-10-13 203732.png (638.49 KB) Direct Socialization of Covid-19 Spread Prevention Protocol to local community RCE Yogyakarta
Image icon WhatsApp Image 2021-10-13 at 9.05.54 PM.jpeg (291.8 KB) DERU Support Distribution in Yogyakarta RCE Yogyakarta
Image icon WhatsApp Image 2021-10-13 at 9.05.57 PM.jpeg (244.43 KB) DERU Distributed Items RCE Yogyakarta
Image icon WhatsApp Image 2021-10-13 at 9.05.57 PM (1).jpeg (283.78 KB) DERU Support Distribution in Indonesia RCE Yogyakarta
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
(https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs) and other themes of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)
SDG 3 - Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages 
Direct
SDG 8 - Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all 
Direct
SDG 12 - Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns 
Indirect
Theme
Disaster Risk Reduction 
Direct
ESD for 2030-Priority Action Areas
Priority Action Area 4 - Mobilizing youth 
state: 
Direct
Priority Action Area 5 - Accelerating sustainable solutions at local level 
state: 
Direct
Update: 
No