Focusing early support on moderately and lightly damaged homes can be a highly strategic decision, yet it is often overlooked in practice. In many disaster recovery programs, assessments and narratives concentrate on totally or heavily damaged housing and visible destruction. The pressure mainly comes from the media and political interests. If you watch TV or read in various media channels, you can see people in tents, temporary shelters, collapsed houses, and broken infrastructure. This overload of information drives our focus to this particular situation. Although it is essential to give close attention to homeowners whose houses are destroyed, those whose houses can be repaired also need attention. They also need help.
Houses that are moderately or lightly damaged usually require only limited repairs to become safe and habitable again, making this approach faster and more economical than concentrating resources on complete rebuilds. It is faster to bring people back from their temporary refuge; moreover, if they are given basic repairs, cleaning, and utility support, the need for temporary shelters will be dramatically reduced.
Now, let us consider temporary shelters: in many parts of the world, collective shelters are common, with a single structure housing numerous families. These shelters often have only a partition separating each unit or family. According to research by The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in 2017, overcrowding, lack of privacy, and mixed sleeping arrangements in schools, halls, and tents increase the risk of harassment, assault, and exploitation, particularly at night. Studies from Indonesia and the Philippines after floods, typhoons, and earthquakes link harassment in temporary shelters to the absence of partitions and dedicated spaces for women and girls.
There are two options. Increase the space in temporary shelters by building as many shelters as families need or by reducing overcrowding. The first option will be very expensive because the infrastructure and its supporting systems must be built. It is also a waste of money, since the temporary shelters are temporary, which adds to the recovery pathways to permanent recovery. This happens because those whose houses were totally damaged are crowding into the refugee sites, along with those whose houses only need repairs. It is understandable that those whose houses are full of mud, which sometimes goes up to 50 cm, cannot live inside their houses. Therefore, it is an opportunity to help these people return home while reducing overcrowding in the refugee sites.
For families whose homes have light or moderate damage, providing tools aligns with the "cleanup and restoration" phase. This should be done as early as possible, provided the market has resumed, the area is accessible and safe from future disasters, and full reconstruction has not yet begun. In flood-affected areas, such as Sumatra, where floods occurred in November 2025, tools like shovels, hoes, hammers, and saws are essential for this early stage.
There is evidence that providing shelter kits not only accelerates recovery but also serves as a form of psychosocial intervention. There is a strong link between damaged, dirty, unusable homes and psychological distress, including anxiety, worry, and helplessness. Early support to restore basic household functioning, including cleaning and simple repairs, contributes to mental health recovery. A 2019 qualitative study of residential flooding in Canada reports that residents expended “a lot of physical energy” trying to protect and then clean their homes, describing the period as “very difficult and stressful,” marked by exhaustion, lack of sleep, and ongoing worry over losses and repairs. The report notes that cleanup was an urgent, stress‑intensive race that left many already “physically and mentally exhausted.” Therefore, providing these shelter kits accelerates the return to a functioning, dignified home, which is consistently associated with better mental health outcomes.
Aside from the benefits for individuals, distributing shelter kits will benefit their community. In a close-knit community, others can help, reflecting the spirit of solidarity. It will accelerate recovery not only for homes but also for other infrastructure beyond housing, such as livelihoods, as the market resumes, and for their health and education needs.
Therefore, Habitat for Humanity Indonesia plans to distribute 1,000 shelter kit packages starting in mid-January 2026 to families in Sibolga City and Tapanuli Tengah District, both in North Sumatra Province, Indonesia. The floods that occurred last November affected 3 provinces, damaging almost 167,000 houses. With shelter kits, affected families can complete cleanup and begin house repairs. The intention is to help them continue their lives and restore their hope for full recovery in the coming months.
Arwin Soelaksono
Photo: Kevin Herbian
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