the following is a slightly edited version of an email i received from Zemi on June 12, 2006 "I would like to write some kind of an update but I am not sure where to begin. The current situation is Yogya is relatively clear from all reports from friends: very tenuous. The last few days I have hosted some friends from Yogya who came to Bali to recover from their own trauma as well as to get higher level reiki (an energy healing technique) training so that they can start an alternative healing clinic in their village. In a nut shell more or less all the villages south of the Kraton (the royal palace) in the center of Yogyakarta going south towards the sea were in some degree or another disabled and or destroyed. Some houses are still standing but still suffered many cracks and structural damages rendering them unsafe. In the last days there has been a few more 4.3 and 4.5 tremors (with potential for more) that have helped further destabilize the buildings still standing in a weakened condition. The area that I lived in, Bantul, still does not have electricity and most water systems were running off private wells that had electric pumps going into high-rise containers that provided enough gravity for plumbing to function. Most of the wells (and many sewage containers) are broken and the towers that the containers sit on were among the first things to fall, so water is still a sparse commodity. The majority of my friends and art community are still living in tents on campus or in common areas in their village. Many of my friends tried to self evacuate to the north of Yogya, which is now near the region that is calling for mandatory evacuation because of the erupting volcano and dangerous hot gas clouds. I just received a text message from a friend that said she could see fire from the top of Merapi from her house 20 miles away because the wind shifting leaving the night skies clear. I will not go on, you all can imagine the difficulties, in-short Yogyakarta is still in a very sensitive situation. International and national aid has definitely begun to arrive and help support those with basic needs (mostly in the form of instant noodles, plastic tarps for tents and drinking water). There has been alot of reports that only 30% of the money pledged has actually reached Indonesia and that a similar 35% of the National money promised by this time has been effectively distributed. This is a common situation as news internationally and locally turns to other matters and the world cup and what have you. The first and second phase of rescuing those trapped and providing for makeshift immediate help for those injured, and homeless without resources has taken hold. This being said that now after two week the majority of people I know are still living in tents without working plumbing and surviving on instant noodles. Some school have began to meet again but more with the intention of restoring a sense of normalcy. Most businesses in the southern regions are not and may not be open for a long time leaving the homeless jobless as well. Phase 3, I suppose is to try and rebuild life to the point of some kind of sustainability, while dealing with still geological uncertainty and lots of trauma. My goal in my trip to Yogya is to place the remaining funds (and the funds still to be collected) that we have gathered into the hands of projects set up to restore sustainability. For our transparency I would just like to tell you about some of the people and projects we have helped. A former teacher of mine quickly took responsibility for his local community devastated by the quake; he emptied his bank account trying to provide food, water and shelter. We sent him money to sustain his neighborhood after his personal funds were gone and before aid reached them, it was a very long 3 or 4 day period for them that we helped them endure. Two students from the Art Institute sort of self appointed themselves to start a tent city and soup kitchen on campus to meet the needs of the majority of students without housing or that felt unsafe in the weakened condition of their housing. We provided them with money to get a car and go outside the city to get food, clothing, tents, gas cookers, medical supplies. We sent money to a dear friend, whom I fear was lost because of the proximity of her village to the most destroyed area and that she had replied to my attempts to contact her. Many of her neighbors, friends and family passed in the quake her village in complete shambles. She too had already emptied her savings and she too was self appointed to get basic supplies for the survivors in her village before any aid had arrive. Two other friends of mine that work at a local NGO that places and pays for poor children's education, received money from us to supply their makeshift neighborhood food kitchen and specifically get medicine and food for displaced children and babies. We sent money, at the request of a neighbor of mine, to a local family that needed medical supplies for injured children. Another friend of mine, working with a local NGO received money that she used going to supply basic aid to farther out remote areas that had not received any aid yet 1 week after the quake. Another friend who used to work at a community art center that was destroyed started a project working with children that had lost family members, providing for them and working on making puppet shows to deal with their trauma. There are others as well but I think you get the picture. If anyone still has the ability and the desire to donate any more you are more than welcome and can trust that any amount big or small will be put to good effective use. I would like to be clear that I do not want to push anyone to send money. if you have it and you would like to send it, great; it will be put to good use. It is more important for me that we continue to live with good intentions. this is beyond value. Outside of natural disasters there is still suffering. Anything that any of us can do in our lives that is kind to others and the world I believe is helping. We have a wonderful opportunity being alive and being able to share this life. Thanks for your attention, Zemi