Sibolga (AsiaNews) – Caritas Indonesia (Karina Foundation) has handed over permanent homes to families who lost their houses in the flash floods and landslides that struck parts of Sumatra in November 2025.
The symbolic handover was led by the chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Indonesia (KWI), Bishop Antonius Subianto Bunjamin OSC in Lubuk Ampolu village, Badiri district, Central Tapanuli Regency, North Sumatra, on 16 September 2026.
The floods and landslides that struck North Sumatra in late November 2025 affected Sibolga City and the regencies of Central Tapanuli and South Tapanuli. About 4,900 houses were severely damaged in the affected areas.
A total of 105 permanent houses have been completed under the Gerakan Rumah Belarasa (Homes of Compassion) initiative, while around 200 more houses are currently under construction.
The housing programme is supported by Caritas Internationalis through Emergency Appeal (EA) 23/2025 and implemented in cooperation with Caritas Sibolga Diocese and the Capuchin JPIC ministry.
The bishops’ statements
Bishop Antonius said the new homes should provide not only physical shelter but also a dignified place where families can begin rebuilding their lives. “This housing assistance is a concrete expression of the Church’s solidarity and love, present amid the suffering of the people without discrimination,” he said.
Bishop Aloysius Sudarso, vice chairman of the board of the Foundation Karina, said the Homes of Compassion programme was also intended to strengthen the resilience of communities facing future disasters.
“The Gerakan Rumah Belarasa is a symbol of compassion and true fraternity,” he said, stressing that cooperation among humanitarian networks, local authorities and communities had been essential to the construction programme.
Bishop Fransiskus Tuaman Sasfo Sinaga of Sibolga said the new houses marked a new beginning for families affected by the disaster. “We express our deep gratitude for the concern of the entire Caritas network and donors,” he said.
Beyond housing
Caritas Indonesia said its assistance goes beyond rebuilding houses. The recovery programme also includes clean water, sanitation, health services, hygiene promotion and psychosocial support.
Caritas has also developed or supported 20 clean-water points, with one additional point still under construction, and provided sanitation facilities at eight locations, towards a target of 20.
Other assistance has included health and hygiene-promotion services for 1,137 people, psychosocial support for 449 children, 1,231 food packages benefiting 6,155 people, 1,000 family kitchen sets benefiting 5,012 people, 500 shelter kits benefiting 2,500 people and 498 hygiene kits benefiting 2,550 people.
Father Fredy Rante Taruk, executive director of Caritas Indonesia, said the housing programme seeks to restore the lives of families who lost their homes and provide them with safe and dignified shelter. “From the emergency response through the recovery phase, Caritas Indonesia has acted as coordinator and facilitator of humanitarian action in the field,” he explained.
Under Emergency Appeal 23/2025 in the Sibolga area, Caritas Indonesia has recorded 3,862 families, or 9,965 people, as beneficiaries of its recovery programmes.
Besides permanent housing, the programme includes the retrofitting of damaged houses, with eight units completed and another 63 currently in progress, towards a target of 100 units.
Aid for more than 100,000 people
Since the beginning of the emergency response in November 2025 through 29 August 2026, Caritas Indonesia and Caritas Sibolga Diocese have reported reaching 131,158 people through humanitarian assistance.
The emergency response distributed more than 84 tonnes of rice, 8,667 kilograms of sugar and 7,213 litres of cooking oil.
Caritas Indonesia and the Diocese of Sibolga said they will continue working with local authorities and communities until the remaining housing and recovery targets are completed.
