UNDIP, Semarang (December 2, 2025) – Universitas Diponegoro (UNDIP) officially dispatched the first volunteer team of the Diponegoro Disaster Assistance Response Team (D-DART), under the coordination of the Disaster Management Center of the Institute for Research and Community Service (LPPM) UNDIP, to assist with disaster response efforts in Padang, West Sumatra. The send-off ceremony, held on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, in the Rector’s Meeting Room, also served as an opportunity for the team to report their readiness and mission plan to the Rector of UNDIP, Prof. Dr. Suharnomo, S.E., M.Si.
Prof. Suharnomo expressed his appreciation for the volunteers’ and related units’ preparations, highlighting several key areas of assistance. “We have several focus areas. First, we are bringing a large-capacity water purification machine that can serve more than a thousand residents in evacuation shelters. Then we also have doctors and nurses, trauma healing services, medical equipment, blankets, and other necessities,” he said.
Furthermore, Prof. Suharnomo emphasized that UNDIP, together with the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology, will play a role in providing clean water to support comprehensive community recovery from the initial emergency response phase through the post-disaster period.
In his report, Vice Rector Wijayanto, S.IP., M.Si., Ph.D., explained that the first D-DART volunteer team to be deployed had been organized into several working clusters. “We immediately formed three teams: the field team, the RSND nursery team, and the psychology team,” he explained.
Ns. Nur Hafizhah Widyaningtyas, S.Kep., M.Kep., who also serves as Head of the Disaster Management Center of LPPM UNDIP, led the team. The cluster formation involves personnel from the Faculty of Medicine, the Faculty of Psychology, and UNDIP’s RSND Hospital. Each cluster consists of:
- Health cluster: dr. Saekhol Bakri, M.P.H., Ph.D.; dr. Yetty Movieta Nency, Sp.A.(K); and Tri Sawaliyanto, A.Md.Kep.
- Psychosocial assistance cluster: Aldani Putri Wijayanti, S.Psi., M.Sc. and M. Umar Dani, S.Kep.
- Logistics cluster: Marsha Yoke Nancy, S.Kep., Ns., M.N.Sc.; Edi Nuryanto; and M. Ilham Deryan Martono.
- Public relations: carried out in this mission by Fadhil Raihan Akbar, S.Kep.
Meanwhile, the Vice Chair for Community Service at LPPM UNDIP, dr. Achmad Zulfa Juniarto, M.Si.Med., Sp.And.(K)., M.M.R., Ph.D., added that, in addition to the first D-DART volunteer team, LPPM UNDIP has prepared three additional teams to be deployed in stages until the end of December. “At present, we are preparing four teams in total, with one team assigned per week. So this deployment will run until the end of December, and then we will evaluate,” he explained.
The Head of the Disaster Management Center and at the same time the Leader of D-DART Team 1, Ns. Nur Hafizhah Widyaningtyas, S.Kep., M.Kep., has coordinated with various local stakeholders, including Universitas Andalas, Universitas Negeri Padang, and the Padang City Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), to carry out several on-site tasks.
“We will conduct several activities starting tomorrow, such as surveillance, health assistance, Psychological First Aid (PFA), and also escort and distribution of needed logistics such as medical equipment, blankets, and other disaster support items,” she explained.
The Chair of LPPM UNDIP also attended the event, Prof. Dr.Ing. Ir. Suherman, S.T., M.T.; Manager of LPPM UNDIP Administration, Sri Rahayu Setyorini, S.E., M.Si.; Supervisor of Program & Evaluation at LPPM UNDIP Administration, Mardi Sapto, S.E.; as well as the volunteers of D-DART Team 1 who will depart tomorrow morning on Wednesday, December 3, 2025.
The departure of D-DART Team 1 reflects UNDIP’s concern and responsibility in responding to humanitarian conditions in Sumatra. Over the next five days, they will carry out humanitarian missions, after which three additional teams will continue the efforts to ensure that UNDIP’s assistance remains sustainable. (Public Communication/UNDIP/Nabila)