An avid cyclist, Matahati’s Photographer, Josh Estey rode through his current assignment in Africa. Join him on his ride through Malawi and get ready to join him on his ride through Zanzibar and maybe…Addis. Enjoy the ride!

First, let me take this time to thank you all for all your support, critics, comments, opportunities, trust, and friendship.

Our crew had a chance to document the power of women in Zimbabwe and Ethiopia.  We had a chance to witness the progress of HIV/AIDS prevention in Papua. We learned more about the struggle of persons with disabilities.  Internally, we are happy to welcome new members of our crew: videographers, photographers, and writers. All in all, I am proud and happy to be a part of these exciting times for Matahati.

We have new projects cooking and new ideas brewing… and we will definitely be sharing this with you all as they come along.  But just to give you a little idea, we aim to share more this coming year.  And of course, these are FREE!

Please make sure to subscribe to this site to make sure you can be the first to know about our upcoming freebies!

One more thing! After six years, we finally have a facebook page.  Please take a few seconds to visit us and like us! You will find notes from the field from our crew, watch our “behind-the-scene” videos, and be an active part in sharing your stories with us.

Wishing each and every one of you a great holiday and a great year to come!

And our kids have something to say as well….:)  Enjoy!

Say hi to our photographer tomorrow and get him to buy you free drinks!

Join us this World Disability Day, 2011 on a PUBLIC WALK to support Indonesia’s ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its “Inclusive Development” strategy.

SUNDAY, Dec 4, 2011

Time: 0730 – 1000

The walk will start from the Indonesian National Radio Station (RRI) Senayan at 7.30am and take a 3km circuit towards the Palace, around the Bank of Indonesia round-a-bout, and return to RRI at approximately 10.

Pak Happy, Orator of the day. "Better Electoral Access for Persons with Disabilities" Photo courtesy of Ade Johansyah.

According to UN Enable, 15 per cent of the approximately 1 billion people in this world are living with one form of disabilities or another.  This is between 110-190 million people!

Another quarter of the global population are people directly affected by disability as care-givers or family members.

Despite the numbers and statistics, issues of disabilities are still seen as an “un-sexy” subject by many governments and persons with disabilities remain largely marginalized, unemployed, and often subjected to stigma and discrimination.

This year, Matahati has had the opportunity to work on the issue closer.  With UNICEF Indonesia, we had a chance to look into the idea of inclusive physical education for children with disabilities in Jakarta.  We watched and documented teachers developing program where disadvantaged children can play sports together with public school’s children.

New rules are made, new friendships are forged, and new hope for better understanding community and less stigma is found.  (Keep your eyes on this space, for more on this subject)

We also had the honor to working with AGENDA, The ASEAN General Election Network for Disability Access.  We met and worked with some great individuals who are fighting for greater electoral access for persons with disabilities.

WALK WITH US AND SUPPORT THE ISSUE

Ready?

Enjoy the Ride!

Just two weeks ago this had been Sharikon’s, 10, home, today it is just sand. The water came in the night fast and merciless. Her family and four neighbors lost everything but their lives. Sharikon is mute but her neighbor Abul Dewan and LPS Secratary for the village of Chawhara had helped the family flee to the safety of the CARE built flood shelter. “The children were terrified. Everyone feared they’d be swept away in the rushing torrent,” he explained. “Four houses once stood on this homestead and it was only 25 meters from the flood shelter, but today it is nothing.”

Chawhara sits atop the Char a huge flood plain of sandbars where those Bangladeshis with no land must eek-out a scant and transient living. Seasonal rains was away homesteads, destroy crops and change the course of mighty rivers. This year nearly three-fourths of Bangladesh was inundated by flooding making it the worse effected country in the region. Nearly a 1,000 people have died this year alone in Nepal, India and Bangladesh in what has been described as the worse flooding in 15 years.CARE Bangladesh, along with the Bangladesh Government, and local NGO partners were their rescuing stranded victims, delivering emergency aid, supplying fresh water and providing medical assistance.This year the flooding came early and water levels have risen and dropped three separate times displacing millions and reeking havoc. The waters have begun to reseed to normal monsoon levels but meteorologists predict at least one more period of flooding before rainy season ends.But the poor of Bangladesh are not free from sorrow, this seasons crops have been destroyed, and their few assets washed away. With no employment opportunitys and food stock depleted aid workers are predicting the worse. With the next harvest 6 months away those most vulnerable have moved one step closer to disaster.

Photo by Josh Estey/MatahatiProd/CARE

Over 13,000 Sudanese refugees are now calling the Iridimi Transit Camp home in Eastern Chad. CARE and its partners are working to bring relief to over 100,000 refugees fleeing the brutal militias rampaging Western Sudan.

“A lot has changed here in just five weeks,” CARE’s Camp Manager Michel Turcotte explains. “We have doubled the camp size and have distributed complete rations for one month which means 2,100 kilo calories per person per day.”

Plastic tarping, jerry cans, foodstuffs, cooking oil, sanitation and water are all being provided despite the remoteness of the vast arid desert Chadian desert.

Photo by Josh Estey/MataHatiProd/CARE

Mount Merapi, on the outskirts of the city of Yogyakarta on Java island, first erupted on Tuesday, October 26, 2010, killing 33 peoples.

Authorities have been trying to evacuate more than 11,000 villagers living on the slopes of the volcano, where many houses have been destroyed, the ruins lying covered in white ash. UNICEF responses to the disaster by distributing 4500 Hygiene kits, 4500 jerycans, 21 water bladders to the people of the affected areas.

Photo by Edy Purnomo/MatahatiProd/UNICEF

All the houses were built on stilts and the board walk that connects them are filled with feces (both animals and humans).

Photography by Josh Estey for Unicef