Phoenix officials aid Indonesian city

Reconstruction focus of 2nd trip
Meghan E. Moravcik
The Arizona Republic
May. 27, 2005 12:00 AM


The children of Meulaboh may not know many English words, but they do understand what "hope" means.

So when Councilwoman Peggy Bilsten delivered purple "hope" bracelets to schoolchildren in the tsunami-torn Indonesian city, they wore them proudly.

She sat with them as they discovered glitter for the first time and called it "beautiful" - another English word they know.

"There was glitter everywhere," an exhausted Bilsten said, smiling. "From one end (of the area) to the other."

Bilsten and Food for the Hungry officials returned last weekend from a weeklong trip to Meulaboh. It was Bilsten's second trip to Indonesia in four months.

Phoenix partnered with Food for the Hungry after December's tsunami in a long-term effort to rebuild the damaged city. One-third of the city's 120,000 population was killed in the disaster and most homes, businesses and schools were destroyed.

"The difference I saw is incredible," said Bilsten, who returned to work Monday after a 36-hour trip back to Phoenix. "If I had to put it in one word, it would be 'hope.' "

Phoenix and Food for the Hungry have raised more than $200,000 since they began working together in early January. The money is paying for land rehabilitation, infrastructure rebuilding, education programs and small business support, among other things.

Taxpayer dollars are not being used for any of the efforts, which are expected to last at least 10 years.

Two focuses of the trip were figuring out how to remove salt water from agricultural fields and how to repair Meulaboh's infrastructure.

"You look at their properties and all you see is a concrete slab and (standing) water," said Mike Frisbie, a city engineer who traveled with the group. "They've set up tents on concrete slabs."

The city's drainage system doesn't work like it did before the tsunami, Frisbie said, causing standing water that was as high as his chest in some areas. He helped work out a plan for drainage while he was in Meulaboh.

"It's amazing how far our expertise and our dollars can go over there," said Frisbie, who used his own vacation time to make the trip.

Bilsten spent much of her time meeting with education and business groups. She delivered pictures from Phoenix schoolchildren to Meulaboh schoolchildren. She spoke to a group of women about rebuilding the community.

Many of the women she spoke to lost their husbands in the disaster and talked about wanting grief counselors to help them deal with their loss, Bilsten said.

"They were just looking to you for an answer," she said. "I told them they were the key to rebuilding the community."

Already, progress has been made. Much of the rubble has been cleared. Passageways are being constructed so residents can get from one place to another. Small businesses are springing back up.

"I remember thinking it would take years to clean up," Bilsten said. "The difference I saw was pretty incredible."

Visit www.fh.org for more information or to donate.

Reach the reporter at meghan.moravcik@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-4834.