News

Reconstruction after flooding in Jakarta

In the first two weeks of February 2007 Jakarta was hit by the worst floods in five years. The Charles Vögele Group immediately agreed to send emergency aid in support of micro-enterprises in the textile sector in Jakarta.

In southern Jakarta the water level quickly rose to as high as five metres. More than half a million people have been affected and over 260,000 were forced to evacuate their homes. Total damage is put at around USD 880,000 million. Owners of micro-enterprises in the textile sector in the south of Jakarta met with a horrific sight on returning to their workshops. Everything - their stores, their homes, their machines, their patterns and their raw materials – was submerged in dirty water. As the water rose very quickly, they had no time to move their valuables to safety.

Micro-enterprises are a key factor in the Indonesian economy, which it is why it is very important for them to return to production quickly in the wake of the disaster. To stay in business, they have to be able to supply customers again soon, as 30% of their goods are bought to order. In association with the federal government (the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation), Swisscontact has therefore launched a four-month social project that the Charles Vögele Group has agreed to support. The project aims to support micro-enterprises by sending emergency aid in the form of single-needle sewing machines.