First-Hand Accounts
Anwar, Kiosk Owner
Holiday Garb
A Modern Day Fish and Loaf Story
Villagers Head for the Hills
Reports From Workers in Indonesia
Anwar, Kiosk Owner
Meet Anwar. He is 47 years old, with 2 sons and 2 daughters. Anwar used to rent a store house and had his business near the bus station with his wife. The village where he rented the store was called Kuta Padang, next to Ujong Baroh. On December 26, 2004, when the tsunami hit Meulaboh, Anwar was in another town. He returned to find he had lost all of his things - his store was completely destroyed. He had no money and no means to earn it.
For a period, the only means they had for income was from his wife making and selling cakes. That kept them going after tsunami. But it was barely enough for their family, and for other relatives that Anwar also housed and supported. That is where Food for the Hungry got involved. With a simple voucher of $300 that he could use at local grocery distributors, Anwar was on his way to being a small business owner again. It wasn’t long before Anwar had set up a kiosk in the bus station – a very strategic location that he had petitioned the government for.
Anwar is very thankful to Food for the Hungry. He is now running his business and is able to fulfill his family’s needs. "We can survive now. I can see the success waiting ahead. It seems like everything is going to be alright. I don’t need to worry anymore."
Anwar is one more example where fear has been replaced by hope. Sometimes all it takes is a nudge to get a family back on the right path. Where Anwar and his family were struggling to make ends meet, they now are able to see a future filled with possibilities. Anwar even thinks of how he can grow his business – far from the worry that plagued him when he had no means to provide for his family.
This is yet another example of how Food for the Hungry is focused on walking alongside families to help them become self-sustaining and see their God-given potential.
Holiday Garb
Life in Meulaboh has resumed routines just as the ebb and flow of the tide has returned to its original cycle. However, the pain of the tsunami bombards the minds of all as they approach the holiday season. No, I am not talking about Thanksgiving or even Christmas those are meaningless to the people of Aceh. I am talking about Idul Fitri, the time of celebration and feasting that ends Ramadan, the month of fasting. I’m talking about the gathering of families and restoration of broken relationships that occurs yearly.
Many faces will be missing from grandmother’s table this year. Others have no grandfather to visit. While the loved ones are missed daily, it is even more evident at this time of celebration since the families gather and children don their best garments.
As the holiday approached, the leaders of Mangga saw a need. Many children who were orphaned by the tsunami would be forced to wear old worn out clothes during the festivities unless someone stepped in to assist. FHI stepped forward and provided the orphans with vouchers to purchase their new Sunday best, or should I say Friday best, since Friday is the day of worship for Muslims.
Food for the Hungry partnered with the local neighborhood leaders to encourage the recently orphaned children. The children were gathered at the local mosque and informed that FHI would assist in the procurement of holiday clothing.
The orphans were given vouchers that they could use to shop at a market set up in front of the mosque. The vendors for this market were recipients of FHI’s small business grants for clothing peddlers. The orphans were able to peruse the stalls and select the clothing they preferred. Losi Monalisa and her sisters, Sofinadia and Icha Mah Devisari, grinned from ear to ear as they picked out holiday garb. They are just three of the sixty orphans that FHI was able to provide with new outfits for the Idul Fitri.
Now the orphans can enthusiastically embrace the holidays. However, the orphans are not the only ones anticipating Lebaran. FHI staff eagerly awaits Idul Fitri because they know that they will see handsome Muharar, beautiful Rahma, mischievous Rizal, and many others parading around from house to house dressed in holiday garb. Greeting friends, relatives, and the FHI staff with "Selamat Hari Raya Idul Fitri!"
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A Modern Day Fish and Loaf Story
What’ll 16 cents get you in today’s America?
Not much. As the old joke, adjusted for inflation, goes, put it together with a dollar and you can get a cup of coffee. Put it with three bucks and you can get a really fancy cup of coffee.
But don’t tell that to Zack Moser. Six-year-old Zack found 16 cents on the floor of a Windsor, Colo., grocery store, and he parlayed it into more than $6,000 to help the survivors of December’s killer south Asian tsunami. With a little help from his friends and relatives, that is.
The young boy with big ideas took his find to his mother and said he wanted to send it to the tsunami victims in Asia. Jennifer Moser, a school nurse at Windsor Charter Academy, where two of her children attend, took it from there. “I didn’t know what to do with the 16 cents,‿ she said. “So I really thought and prayed about it.‿ What resulted was a community-wide relief effort. “Let’s take this 16 cents,‿ she said. “Let’s take the school and the whole community and see if we can get a substantial amount to send over there and help all these people.‿
The elder Moser challenged the community by providing donation forms to the schoolkids, who took them home to their parents, who took them to their places of business. Newspapers and other forms of media also helped get the word out. She set goals. The community, she figured, was good for $5,000, and the students at Windsor Charter Academy would pitch in with $1,000.
The money would go to Food for the Hungry, a charity she chose because of its track record of directing 93 percent of its contributions into the field. Of all the institutions she researched on the give.org Web site, “they’re the highest one that gives the most to the victims. … That’s why I picked Food for the Hungry. Ninety-three cents to the dollar goes directly to [the victims].‿
When the money came in, it bore a few surprises, though. The schoolkids and their families ponied up about $4,225, and the community $1,800 – almost exactly the reverse of what was projected.
“The kids were phenomenal,‿ Moser said. “A school of a little over 225 students is all we have. That’s a lot of money.‿ Even for innovative kids moved by the spirit of compassion. Certainly, the traditional channels were tapped, and the parents gave the brunt of the funds. But kids in the spirit of giving are a powerful force in their own right. One boy sold leftover Scout candy bars. Another teamed with his sister to peddle hot chocolate. Another was able to save $80. One boy hawked rocks to his neighbors – and walked away $4 richer.
The kids knew why they were doing it. Said one young girl, “I think we should help the people who survived because we would want help, too.‿ Added a young boy: “They didn’t choose to get hit so we should help them out.‿
What’ll 16 cents get you in today’s America? A chance to unite behind a cause. A chance to help others less fortunate than you. A chance to know you can make a difference.
And $6,000 to send to people who need it desperately.
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Villagers Head for the Hills
By Ginny Bellamy, Food for the Hungry tsunami relief worker in Thailand
A phone call Sunday morning, December 26, sent members of Thai Mai ("Sea Gypsy"*) community on Sirey Island scrambling to both hills just behind their village, and 5 minutes later the first of 5 tsunami waves hit. This Thai Mai fishing community is tucked away on the eastern side of Phuket Island, so they had time to run for their lives, unlike the villagers on the west where the tsunami struck first.
Manee Pramongit, or "Uncle Manee" as he is known, was in the village but away from his house when everyone ran, and by the time he reached his home his wife was gone and he didn't know which way she had gone. "Everyone was running and I wanted to run too but wanted to know where my wife was first; I didn't want to just save myself. Besides, I've been a fisherman all my life and in all my 66 years I've never seen anything like it; so in a way I wanted to stay and watch it. I ran as far away as I could get without going up the hill. I watched our fishing boats being thrown up into the village and tumbling down between the houses. I was so relieved to learn later that my wife had run up the hill to the temple and she was safe."
The villagers all agreed: "We're glad it happened in the day light; if it had happened at night, we couldn't have escaped."
Food for the Hungry has assisted this village with emergency supplies of rice and drinking water. Most of the boats that these families use for their livelihood were damaged. FHI is in the process of assisting them in repairing 30 boats, which give employment to approximately 150 villagers.
[Editor's note: On average it will cost approximately $US 500 per boat, but of course each boat sustained a different level of damage, so actual cost per boat will vary. At this point there are plans to completely replace three boats.]
*"Sea Gypsies": translation of their Thai name, a separate island people group with their own language/culture
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The Indonesian team is visiting vulnerable families in the refugee camps, offering social care to the thousands devastated by the December tsunami. During the initial nine days of their visit, they surveyed the communities and assisted many hurting people. Here are some of the stories they heard. Sadly, these are typical.
THE WORST IS AT NIGHT
At Ujung Batee camp, in Indonesia, we started our survey at the dwelling farthest from the center, which was also the greatest distance from the water, health and commodity supply. The very first home we entered was made of sticks and plastic sheets and was occupied by a newly widowed lady, Norlina, and her five children, who were all young. She said her greatest problem was at night, when the children were all crying and asking for their father. We made a follow-up visit the next day and gave her blankets, clothing and soap.
FLOATING TO SURVIVAL
At Ujung Batee camp we met Nurulmufasiera, an eight-year-old child who survived the tsunami because the bed she was lying on when the wave hit was picked up by the water and whisked to safety. Sadly, her entire immediate family was killed. She now lives with her aunt, uncle and two cousins. The family has financial pressures as the uncle has lost his livelihood, and they have moved to a temporary and very simple government housing center. We were able to assist the whole family, thus keeping the children with relatives, and keeping them from becoming valuable “assets‿ in their own right.
CARRYING ON IN PAIN AND GRIEF
Nasir lost her husband and two children in the tsunami. Five of her children survived, though, aged 16, 14, 9, 6 and 2 years. Her home was of course devastated, and currently she lives with her brother and his family. We visited her and her family at Dureung Camp and gave them blankets, toothpaste, toothbrushes and soap, and also arranged for the medical team to visit her youngest child, who was very ill with diarrhea. We visited this family three times in a week because of the extra stresses they faced due to sickness and grief. Thankfully Nasir’s two-year-old daughter, Mutea, made a good recovery.
“THE ONLY THING THAT CAN HELP ME NOW IS PRAYER‿
Many single adults were at Lhoonbater camp, all of whom had lost their entire families. These people had walked 50 kilometers to Banda Aceh to get help. Of 28 villages in their home area, only 4 remain, and more than half the population has died. We spent several hours in bereavement care with this group. Rohani, one mother, had lost her husband and all her children. She said, “The only thing that can help me now is prayer.‿
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