During the summer of 2018 the Indonesian island of Lombok was stricken by a series of powerful earthquakes and subsequent aftershocks. With more than 560 deaths, the earthquake was the largest and the strongest earthquake to have hit Lombok in recorded history. International volunteers and local residents turned to online crowdfunding to raise money for essential food supplies and building materials. Travelling with both international and domestic volunteers we visited remote communities in northern Lombok.
Partnering with local NGO Indonesia Pangkit we collected aerial imagery and first hand testimonies from the affected communities. This allowed us to better communicate the situation to our online supporters whose donations were being used to directly purchase urgent supplies. We were also able to better assess the structural damage and understand the essential needs of communities such as drinking water or the construction of emergency shelters.