For several months Riau has been covered by haze caused by forest fires on Sumatra (especially from the Southern provinces), with little rain and challenges to extinguish the fires. The level of pollution has reached hazardous levels, with resulting health effects such as breathing problems, coughing, blocked noses and irritated eyes. Schools have been closed for over a month now. Children need to stay at home and are advised not to play outside.

In a village about 40 minutes from Pekanbaru the effects of the smoke are visible. People stay inside as much as possible, but even in their houses there is not much protection against the smoke. They still need to work at their farms and mine the gravel from the river. All this work is done in the smoke. There are a lot of people in the village who are affected by the smoke. They feel short of breath, have blocked noses and irritated eyes.

As SEEDS-workers go into the village they explain the importance of wearing a mask when outside, and they also bring free medicine to relieve breathing problems or to help with irritated eyes. At several points in the city free masks are being handed out and SEEDS-workers bring free masks to the village. They are advised to close doors and windows as much as possible to prevent smoke coming into their houses. They are also advised not to burn their rubbish as it will add to the smoke.