Ceremony marks the official completion of the village

It has been many years in the making, but finally on Friday 5^th July 2013 the community was able to hold a ceremony to officially open the new village.

Last minute preparations started the week before with promises that the local government would finally finish the new mosque. As the days drew closer, it was obvious that this would not happen. With no ceramic floor and the building still unpainted, OBRI once again stepped in to ensure the ceremony would continue.

Embarrassed by their inability to function professionally, transparently and with any understanding of schedules, the Bupati and his senior team did not accept OBRI’s invitation to celebrate the community’s success in relocating to the new village.

Martin Gow CEO of OBRI was guest of honour at the celebration along with the Camat. In his speech he congratulated the community for their support and hard work in helping making the new village a reality. ‘This is not the end of our journey together, but the beginning’ he told a packed mosque.  But he warned that the government needs to take responsibility quickly to fulfil its obligations to the community and to OBRI.

Later he added, ‘International investors and hotel operators are watching us in Lombok. The regional government needs to be very careful how it handles large investors like OBRI. With a 120m USD investment ready to start and two 5-star hotel operators ready to work with OBRI, the ongoing delays by various departments, especially the BPN need to be investigated.’

To celebrate with the community, OBRI provided a cow to sacrifice, food, drink and transportation for the guests. As always, there was also a bag load of footballs and candy for the kids!

Let there be light!

With the community settling into their new homes, one job outstanding was to provide solar energy to every home. This had the dual benefit of not relying on the national power company to extend the power supply and providing the community with clean and free energy.

 

As usual, in the eight months since OBRI started the final phase of the village construction (Oct 2012), nothing got done by the regional government departments. As a result the community is left in the dark.

With the tenders only recently completed, the contract to build the solar farm and network the village with power has been awarded.

While the contractor is now at the village, it will be about a month before the system is fully working. To help solve the problem, OBRI sent in a team to rig up temporary street lighting for the community.

Company Representative for OBRI Pak Ahim was please to supply a generator, LED floodlights, 400 meters of cable, posts and the fuel to run the genset.  ‘This is a temporary measure to help the community at night’, he said. ‘We hope the contractor is able to finish on schedule but with the official opening of the village on Friday 5^th July we needed to step in and help again.”

There was a party atmosphere at the village on Saturday as the OBRI team got the light working just as the sun was setting. Special thanks to Pak Yasin of organising the team. 

Community move a success

Having formally taken possession of their new homes in May this year, the people from Gili Sunut wasted no time in relocating to the mainland.  

But it was no easy task as everthing from furniture to the local shop had to be packed up and taken to Teangah Anjah village. At low tide families worked together to carry heavy furniture over the sand bar to the mainland and a waiting van. From there it was a bumpy one hour drive to the reach the new village.

One by one Gili Sunut was emptied of families and the mainland village filled with the sound of the kids exploring their new homes.

OBRI was on hand to help and ensure that their new homes were up to standard.

With all 109 families relocated, our attention turned to organising the formal ceremony to bless the village and welcome everyone to their new homes.

Plans are now well underway to host the ceremony on Friday 5^th July. Before then, there are a few last minute jobs to complete including street lighting and tiling the floor of the new Mosque.

We will keep you posted as preparations take shape.

Time to play ball

This week’s visits to Sunut also involved the customary delivery of more footballs.

On Saturday, Martin Gow presented the kids with another bag full of balls, boxes of water and candy.

But with the sun scorching down, there was only time for a few relay competitions with two aspiring teams. The winning team having the privilege of eating all the snacks we had taken to the island for lunch. 

New security for Sunut

With the villagers packing up their belongings and preparing to move to their new mainland homes, it was time for OBRI to reveal its new security measures.

The handover of the house, keys and some cash meant OBRI had completed its obligations with the Regional Government. So it was fitting that new security signs were erected around the island to ensure no one trespassed on the land.

Two days after signing with the community, OBRI revisited the island and with the help of the villagers put up these warning signs on the beaches.

Permission is now required to access the island. As an environmentally responsible company the signs also remind would-be visitors to respect our land and the wildlife.

Additional security patrols will be working 24/7 from next month. 

The villagers final get their new homes

Good News.  On 16^th May 2013 the community and regional government were finally in a position to start the relocation process.

Community leaders came to the Camat’s office on the mainland to discuss the move and then to sign their individual agreements that would allow them to move.

At the meeting the status of the mosque was discussed and the Camat promised the new building would be finished within 7 days.

With so many families involved, it was agreed that the signing ceremony would continue on the Island everything was boxed up and transported to Sunut.

There, the old mosque was converted into a notaries office with 109 families pouring in to sign for their new homes, receive their keys and count the cash OBRI provided to help them move!

By the time we were finished it was dark and the boat journey back to the mainland proved to be another fun experience no one would forget. With the tide at its lowest point, we were forced to wade over half a km in the dark from the boat to reach the mainland.  

Behind the scenes it was a difficult situation with the regional government again. Petty bureaucracy, red tape and no one capable of take responsibility for the process mean OBRI had to push everything through. The agreed deadline had been 11^th May, so you would expect all departments to be ready. Once again, it was not the case with one letter missing that everyone knew was required. Well it was the election season so there were better things to do that actually working. 

New mosque at Teanjah 2 takes shape

Thanks to the Public Works Department, workers are at the village building a number of vital facilities.

The mosque is now 75% finished and the Camat has guaranteed that it will be completed before 25^th May.  This photos shows construction about a week ago. The new mosque is located at a strategic point at the entrance to the village. It has been a long time in the making, with the regional government slow to get its act together.

This delay has also frustrated the community who have this week decided to help with the construction. With their new found building skill from helping complete 109 houses, if anyone can get the mosque finished quickly, they can!!