Tsunami Recovery Continues: An Update From Lutheran World Relief and Action by Churches Together
Baltimore, October 19, 2006 — Across Indonesia, survivors of the December 2004 tsunami are slowly, steadily rebuilding their lives. Thanks to generous donations to the Wave of Giving® campaign for tsunami recovery, Lutheran World Relief is providing continuous support to affected communities through its Indonesian partner organizations in Action by Churches Together (ACT), a global alliance of churches and related agencies responding to disasters worldwide.
Relief efforts now include long-term redevelopment and rehabilitation projects, the results of which are coming to fruition: houses are being built, livelihoods restored and families are regaining a sense of wellbeing and hope.
In addition to the projects in Indonesia profiled here, LWR is also supporting tsunami recovery efforts in India and Sri Lanka, both through ACT and directly with local partner organizations. Much of LWR’s tsunami recovery work in Sri Lanka has been made possible by a generous gift from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Coming Home in Pidie, Aceh
In Lampu Kawat, recent festivities marked the handover of 124 new houses to formerly displaced villagers. The houses were built by Church World Service (CWS), one of three ACT members providing relief and rehabilitation in Indonesia.
To welcome visiting local government officials and staff from ACT and CWS, a group of Acehnese children performed Ranpu Lampuan, a traditional dance, as part of a two-hour ceremony. Residents of the new houses as well as carpenters who had built them were in the audience.
“On behalf of Lampu Kawat residents, we would like to express our highest gratitude for ACT, which has built our houses,” said Nurdin, a representative of the village’s residents, in his welcome speech. “We lived in emergency tents and barracks for eight months. There was no privacy, and [they were] uncomfortable. But now, everything has changed and returned to normal. Now we can occupy our new houses."
As the ceremony continued with a ribbon cutting in front of one of the finished houses in the village, a Muslim preacher sprinkled water and rice on it, an Acehnese tradition called Peusi Jeuk, which blesses the house and its occupants and calls for it to be stronger and a pleasant place to live.
"The difference of religion does not make human beings separate from each other and unwilling to help each other. We are very proud that ACT helps us truly. Its work is evidence that humanity does not always see the difference,” said Ismail, a leader in the village, at the ceremony.
Returning to Sea in Banda Aceh
Fishermen in Indonesia’s Aceh province were severely affected when they lost their boats and equipment in the tsunami. But the loss of these major assets did not leave them completely without resources. Practical and organizational skills acquired before the catastrophe are being put to use in the rebuilding of their livelihoods, a sign of recovery and hope.
Samsuar has lived near the coast all his life and has worked as a fisherman, fish trader and boat builder since he finished high school. He lost his father in the tsunami, the only family he had. He also lost all his possessions, including two fishing boats that he owned with his father.
Following the tsunami, apart from the little assistance he received from the government and relief organizations, he struggled to survive. He did whatever he could to get back on his feet, including peeling coconut skins, which enabled him to earn US$1.30 a day (for peeling around 500 coconuts) and working as a crew member on fishing boats.
But he soon started working for other people, using his boat-building skills. Through CWS-ACT’s local partner, PAPAN Foundation, his skills were recognized, and he was quickly given the task of constructing four 15-meter fishing boats for 40 fishermen in the sub-district.
Samsuar now works with four other people in his own boat-building group and is respected by others in the area for his skills and trustworthiness. With a new job--and a new wife--he reflects on his aspirations: “I just want to have a happy life with my wife and have children. I love fishing and living around the sea, so when I’m finished building these boats I can relax, and I want to go back out to the sea again.”
This article was adapted by LWR from ACT reports.
WHO IS LWR? Lutheran World Relief, an international nonprofit organization, works to end poverty and injustice by empowering some of the world's most impoverished communities to help themselves. With partners in 35 countries, LWR seeks to promote sustainable development with justice and dignity by helping communities bring about change for healthy, safe and secure lives; engage in Fair Trade; promote peace and reconciliation; and respond to emergencies. LWR is headquartered in Baltimore, Md. and has worked in international development and relief since 1945.
Lutheran World Relief is a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), individuals and parish groups in international relief, development, advocacy and social responsibility.
For more information contact Emily Sollie at esollie@lwr.org or 410-230-2802.
