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When the government fails in providing public services, what do you do? For the residents of Pandeglang, Banten , the answer is not to wait for the government. It’s to take matters into their own hands.

Serang resident Muhammad Arif Kirdiat and his group Relawan Kampung (Kampung Volunteers) have set about building bridges over fast-flowing rivers in the area so that children can get to and from school safely.

The group is currently building a suspension bridge to connect Dukuh Handap and Cicadas villages. Tired of the isolation and waiting for the authorities to act, the residents are displaying civic action at its best.

To raise funding for the project, Arif and Kampung Relawan have been asking for donations on their Facebook pages since December and have raised nearly Rp 30 million ($3,300), which is about half of what they need to build a simple suspension bridge.

There are hundreds of bridges that need to be repaired or replaced throughout the region.

To address the widespread problem, Arif and Relawan Kampung have embarked on a campaign called “100 Suspension Bridges for Banten.”

The Dukuh Handap bridge will be the first project, and the group also plans to renovate an existing bridge in Sawarna village in the Bayah subdistrict in Lebak.

A similar citizen initiative also took place in Cibanteng in Bogor. In 2004, in the absence of government initiatives, residents took on the task of building a bamboo bridge over the Cihideung River. But the bridge gave out on Sunday, killing one person. Seven were still missing, the majority of whom were said to be between 10 and 12 years old.

That private citizens have had to take such action should be a wake-up call for regional government officials. With heavy rains expected in the coming days and weeks, we can be sure that more bridges that are in bad repair will collapse, putting lives at risk.

We are already seeing high levels of rains in the mountainous areas of West Java, the upstream areas of many of the main rivers that flow to the northern coast, threatening floods along their banks.

Urgent action is required on the part of the authorities to ensure that all public infrastructure is safe to use.