This is the day...

Two years after the Indian Ocean tsunami devastated the province, Aceh.

Flood in Aceh

Saw the news today about the flood in Aceh and other parts of Sumatra. I can't help but think about the people in Meulaboh, whether they are physically ok. My mum commented that thank God we are back from Meulaboh already. It was mentioned in the news that the flood had caused land transportation to cut off from Aceh to North Sumatra. I am worried for the people, really. Hope that the rain will subside soon.. If you are reading this entry now, pls take a moment to say a little prayer for the well being of the people..

Sumatra floods force thousands from homes
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailheadlines.asp?fileid=20061224.@01&irec=0

Andi Hajramurni and Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Pangkep, Langkat
Flooding in Aceh, North Sumatra and Riau Islands provinces has left at least 12 people dead and dozens of others missing, as well as cutting off land transportation routes and forcing thousands to flee their homes.
Meanwhile, Vice President Jusuf Kalla has blamed flooding and landslides during the rainy season and droughts during the dry season on the destruction of the country's forests. The Vice President promised the government would intensify national efforts to rehabilitate forests, allocating Rp 4 trillion annually beginning next year for the work.
Floods had affected seven out of 21 regencies and cities in Aceh as of Saturday, killing at least five people and forcing thousands of others from their homes.
Provincial secretary of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, Husni Bahri, said the flooding was the worst natural disaster in the province since the Dec. 26, 2004, tsunami.
"Land transportation from Aceh to North Sumatra was completely cut off today (Saturday), with the roads in Besitang district, North Sumatra, under up to one meter of water," he was quoted by Antara news agency.
Flooding forced some 70,000 people to take up temporary residence in shelters. Relief aid, including rice, instant noodles, blankets and tents, has already begun to reach those affected by the disaster.
Husni said the flooding could get worse as rain continued to pound Aceh.
Public bus ticketing agents said land transportation between Aceh and North Sumatra had been cut off since Friday.
"The worst flooding hit Besitang, completely cutting off routes to and from Aceh," a ticketing agent, Nanda, told Antara on Saturday.
He said most buses from Aceh could only take passengers as far as Kuala Simpang in Aceh Tamiang regency, which is located near the border with North Sumatra.
In North Sumatra, a second day of flooding Saturday saw the waters spread to 12 districts in Langkat regency. Eight people have died in the floods and 12 others are missing.
Langkat regency spokesman Syam Sumarno said the bodies had been recovered, but he expected the death toll to rise with 12 more people missing since Friday.
He said several rivers in Langkat regency had burst their banks, causing flooding in 12 districts. About 36,000 people in the districts have been forced from their homes.
"Today (Saturday) we evacuated residents of Sekoci village in Besitang district after they had been trapped in their village for the last two days," said Sumarno. He said the water in the village reached three meters in height in some locations.
Langkat Regent Syamsul Arifin said these were the worst floods in the area for the past 40 years.
"We didn't expect the flooding to be this bad, especially in Besitang," he said while accompanying North Sumatra Governor Rudolf Pardede on an inspection of flood affected areas in the regency.
Floodwaters also have affected six regencies in Riau following several days of heavy rain.
"We have lifted the flood alert status to the highest level since the waters spread to six regencies," the head of the provincial social services office, Wan Darlis Ilyas, told Antara on Saturday.
The worst flooding has occurred in the regencies of Rokan Hulu, Rokan Hilir and Kampar, where he said water had reached three meters high.
Meanwhile, in a speech to thousands of Golkar Party supporters marking the party's anniversary in Pangkajene Islands regency, some 100 kilometers north of the South Sulawesi capital Makassar, Vice President Kalla, who also chairs Golkar, said all citizens must protect the forests or they would continue to suffer from natural disasters.
He also urged people to report illegal loggers to the police. "If the forests disappear and our rivers and seas are harmed, we will suffer the consequences, which are natural disasters," he said in the local Bugis language.
He said the government had made preparations to deal with natural disasters during this year's rainy season.

Indonesian food!

Yesterday night, the team met up for a catch up and dinner at Riverside Indonesian restaurant. It has been more than a month since we last went to Aceh. There was a sense of excitement and countless laughter when we talked about our Aceh trip. I sensed familiarity and bonding when I am with the team. Everyone still remembered the avocado or fondly known as "poka" ( not sure if I spelled correctly). We were pleasantly surprised to see the drink avocado on the menu. Without much hestitation, we ordered 3 of them. Ha.. but to our amazement, the avocado is different from what we had in Meulaboh! The one we had in Meulaboh was more like milkshake, sweeter and taste nicer! This is a picture of the avocado made in Singapore.

Besides the avocado, we ordered the ayam panggang, udang, curry chicken, squids, stingray etc.. Heh.. food in Meulaboh is so much cheaper than in Singapore! Oh ya, the stingray is not as big as the one we saw in Meulaboh. Check out the size of this stingray in Meulaboh that is being

sold only for SGD 20 plus! Some more pics of us feasting..

Day 2: In remembrance of the loss and witness to the resilence of a people.
Now, truly been a month and a week since we are back. I wondered how the students in Meulaboh are?

Life must have settled back in its complete normalcy for all of us. Adrian was very busy recently, up till 9pm++ he was still working furiously in office. Another volunteer, I chatted recently, said that God reminded her that He remembered his promise to her during the trip -- via a rainbow.

I am wondering how much the volunteers are still impacted by the trip. The trip was a testimony that at any one time, if a group of people wanted to contribute and connect to some strangers out in unconnected, remote place -- it is always possible.

Back to the trip, the 2nd day in Meulaboh was spent visiting Meulaboh. Ground zero of the disaster, the coastal trip, a village. We witnessed from the relics, the destructive power of nature, heard about a wall of water moving in, taller than a tree, 3 kilometers in-land.

But what caught my attention was not so much the destruction, by the resilence of the Acehnese in the region. In the town, only faint reminder of the destruction was visible. The people, my guess is through shared grief have handled their grief well, welcomed us, so warmly and joyfully to make our stay were mostly most unforgetable.

There was not to understate that much rebuilding work that needed to be done, means of livelihood to be restored, but I had little doubts that these people and students we had seen would overcome and emerge a stronger people. It was through the much sorrow; It might be said to be cruel to experience such disaster, but to bear witness to common humanity, like other NGO groups, relief-institutions, help from their countrymen coming in to lend a helping hand. This was what brought humanity closer together.

We shared a deeper, more common bond that through the frality of life, the strength of human kindness, are qualities that would be treasured, hold dear and close to our hearts, and expressed in outward acts for remembrance.

Any readers out here -- want to continue to lead a new group to disaster relief zone, or to Meulaboh? Or simply contribute to rebuilding of Babbusalam. (see See Meng entry)

Day 1: Expecting the "Unexpected"

Nearly been a month after our aceh-trip, and I daresay things should basically revert back to normality for many. It's year-end and a good time for reflection, reviewing of past success, adjusting plans to achieve the new goal -- as they popped up in the horizon.

BL and Hazel are going to be really busy. Soon to be entering into a new phase in their life, together... And there are also many questions, less serious -- like:

• Will there be continuation of GenActs ALive! program?


• Who will keep the torching burning for Boon-Liong?


• If yes, how and in what form will the Alive! program be like? .. Continuing another expedition somewhere, working with a local VWO, or sending another team for sustaining this aceh-trip next year...

I am digressing a fair bit now, but the truth is -- I wont know. This was very much what we experienced during the first teaching day. We had done a fair bit of planning for the lessons beforehand, but things did not turn out quite what we expected. The moral of the story is to:

Expect the "unexpected"

I believe Life is like that... regardless of all the preparations and prior plannings (including backup ones), the Unexpected would show up. Day 1 of our trip, we were greeted by over 40 youths of around 15-20 years old (SMT 2 or JC/poly-equivalent). We had expected the students to be around 12-15 years. There was a visible difference in the proficiency of English of the students. We adapted and managed to pull through the first day, with a balloon sculpturing activity, followed by a description of balloon dogs.

There was some parallels in life: When the unexpected happened, one can sit around and quit playing, or just bit the grit and jumped in. Anyway, I was glad that we chose the later. As noted in other entries, we scrambled through a few nights preparing the next-day activities, but un-professional and last-minute as we were, we put our best feet forward, and had a great time during the lessons.

Honestly, that evening, all of us were tired after the trip to Aceh, but working through our tiredness, all were quite unanimous with an unspoken objective to create and enrich the lives of the students. That kept us going, before we retired to our restful sleep later...

"The DAY"

What is the DAY? If you have been reading this blog, you would have realised by now that there are two volunteers who have blogged about the marriage proposal. Yes, the very 1st day of our Aceh trip is also the DAY where Boon popped the question "will you marry me?" The question came on board the plane on our way to Medan International airport. For the many out there who is wondering how did he propose? Here is the story.. Admist the busyness of preparing for the Meulaboh trip, Boon prepared agar agar made in different shapes of stars, hearts. He first took out the agar agar and a waxed flower made out of soap when we were having our snack time. He bgt this flower from his recent Bangkok trip.

As I took quite long to finish the char siew foldover, by the time I completed eating (which is after 20 mins or so), he then took out the camcorder and started to play a video. Hee..this is actually a video of himself as he shared a song and his thghts.. Before he could continue to play the video, the captain made the announcement came that we are reaching Medan airport! Hahah..so he had to stop the video and do it "LIVE!" where he shared abt our journey together and posed the question :) I teared as I heard Boon's sharing.

To me, this proposal was even more significant given the fact that this was our first overseas community service trip together. Alive! (our local community service project) is the common language between us and as we worked together, we see the real side of each other- our strength and weaknesses. For some who may not have known, we know each other since 1999 when we were both studying in NTU and attending the same church :) Through our service together, I realised that it takes effort and indeed love to make a relationship work and grow. To Boon who is reading this blog, thank you for what you have done! Thank God for you and for your support in this Alive! project together. To the volunteers, thank you for the re-enactment of the proposal in the domestic military airport. Yes, it was a memorable one and I am glad to share this joy with all of you.

One month flies..

Time flies, it has been more than one month since we went to Meulaboh. The smiles of the children, students in Meulaboh lingers in my mind. Admist the busyness and fast paced life in Singapore, I realised that it is so important to slow ourselves down at times and take stock of our life, of the things around us. If we don't do so, it is so easy to just keep on doing what we have been doing without knowing or evaluating the reason behind each task that we undertake.

There are times when I thought to myself, how would it be like if I were to stay in Meulaboh or a place of similar nature for more than one month or even 6 months or beyond? I admired and learnt about the value of contentment from the locals in Meulaboh..but do we really have to go to such a place and learn about such values? I realised that contentment comes when we choose not to compare what we have with others. This is a simple truth yet difficult to carry out in the society we are living in. Contentment is a deliberate choice that we made and contentment is great gain.

Extracted from: Asiaone website (1 Dec 2006, Friday)

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- A powerful earthquake shook buildings and panicked residents across a large swath of western Indonesia on Friday, but caused no known injuries or damage, officials and witnesses said.

The 6.3-magnitude quake struck at 10:58 a.m. (358 GMT) and was centered 50 kilometers (30 miles) southeast of Medan, the capital of Sumatra island, the U.S. Geological Survey on its Web site.

It was felt in several towns and cities in the region and nearby Aceh province, which bore the brunt of the 2004 tsunami. People ran from their homes during the five second tremor, El-Shinta radio quoted residents as saying, but no one was hurt.

Buildings also swayed in Meulaboh, on Sumatra's west coast, but there were no reports of serious damage, said Syahrul, a local police officer.

Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

A magnitude-9 earthquake off Sumatra island triggered the 2004 tsunami that killed more than 131,000 people in Aceh alone and left a half-million others homeless.

Spot the same object in this photo below!

Guess some of us may say that it’s the sand, sky and roof. Well…you are right. And some of you may be quick to identify that’s the place we stayed back in Meulaboh. The top right photo is taken with Vivian & Eleen, whereas the photo on the left was taken after the cleanup. What cleanup?? The place was filled with debris after the tsunami.

On the left photo above, can you guys find the radio station? Yes, it’s the roofless white building in the left photo. That’s a brainless question, now I’ll try to ask a more difficult question =) Try to find where’s the main gate to the compound? Yes, it’s the wooden planks in the bottom left photo. Hhmm…I don’t remember seeing the planks when we were there. What we saw was a nicely painted cemented wall with a metal gate (photo on right). The new gate didn’t really catch my attention because it’s so new. There was no sense of surprise or the ‘Uuahh!!’ factor when I first saw the orphanage. It didn’t even occur to me that so much effort was put into reconstructing this place. Well done Mercy Relief…you guys did a really good job!

Before the reconstruction was completed, they were staying in these partially destroyed building for months. They learnt what it means to live with little. Probably, that's why these orphans are so happy and contented now. A question for all to ponder, "Must we experience what it means to live with little, so that we can be more contented?"

When you think back to happen back to a town so badly hit by tsunami and earthquake (with a estimated death tolls of 40,000 out of 120,000) , and the current activities noted in the town in less than 2 years after the disaster, you would surely salute the efforts taken by locals, NGOs and other organizations to rebuild the lives of the people.

It had been a privilege to be able to visit Meulaboh, to witness a town that struggled successfully to get back to its feet, to witness the resilience of a people, who I daresay are contented and happy with little, much as I would presume that were contented and happy with much, before the disaster struck. The Acehnese we had met in Aceh Barat, Meulaboh, greeted us with much friendliness, warmth and hospitality, and more than made our short stay in Meulaboh a most memorable and happy one.

Our trip to Meulaboh was surprising uneventful, except for Boonliong's proposal to Hazel ;) Our usually low-key leader must have hated all the teasing and the re-enactment we made him go through during our transit stop at Medan. Still to look at this from another angle, how many of us get to propose to our fiance in a military airport.

If I did remember correctly, Hazel was beaming almost ear-to-ear throughout the entire trip, except for the last day. So, this flight from Singapore to Medan must be, without doubt, one of her most memorable flight, and we were, at that time, re-enacting this happy moment. Trying to live out "joy shared are joy multiplied" experience, as we had also noted later throughout our trip, that "shared grief or sorrow are likely more bearable"...

I have FINALLY! found the time to sit down and pen down my thoughts onto this blog! After 2 weeks since we've returned to the harsh reality of life in Singapore! Why is it that setting aside time to sit down and reflect seems so difficult to do when we're back in Singapore?

It's pretty thought-provoking how within minutes of touching down back home, our life takes a complete 180 degree turnaround from how it was during those 10 days in Melahbou. The carefree life we had in Melahbou seemed to disappear once we arrived in Changi Airport!

In Melahbou, each day was happy for me. Although we were 'working', it never felt tiring. I suppose the joys of making a tangible impact in people's lives kept us going. In every human being, no matter how evil or good, I believe God has placed a little 'space' in our hearts to be filled by the good that we can do towards others.

,

One of the particular incidents that I would never forget are these little girls and boys who stayed not too far away and would come almost every afternoon to Muhammadiah Boy's Orphanage compound to run around and play with each other.

The girls caught my attention during the time we were playing the vocabulary game to break the CODE. The last team had left my station and I was taking our my digicam to walk over and take pics of Hazel at the gate under the hot sun.

These few girls surrounded me and after a few limited exchanges of Behasa Indonesia, I finally understood that they wanted to take photos! With their faces beaming from ear to ear, they automatically grouped together and posed as I put my digicam to my face and counted 'Satu, Dua, Tigar!"

After that, they rushed over and crowded around me to see their faces displayed on my tiny LCD screen and within seconds, bursted out into laughter and screams!! I couldn't believe my eyes and ears, but the sheer joy on their faces brought a big smile to my face. And yea, you guessed it, I asked them 'Satu lagi?' (one more?), and they screamed in agreement! We ended up taking MANY satu lagis!

The image of these little girls and boys is still fresh in my memory and will stay there for many years to come.

Tsunami-struck Melahbou? Loved ones gone? Homes destroyed? Businesses lost? Shops gone?

Yes, but when you look at the faces of the people here, like these little ones, you find it hard to imagine what they have gone through....and even harder to imagine how they can still smile and get on with life. Is it because they are just children? Or is it because of their ability to find contentment in the little and simple pleasures of life?

We came to bless the people of Melahbou with English lessons ....but they taught us lessons we can never pay to learn...one such lesson, is that of contentment.

Ground zero

On the 3rd day of our trip, we visited Ground zero. This is the place where most of the houses and plantations were being wiped out by the Tsunami. Rizal, a local Meulaboh Mercy Relief volunteer brought us around and painted to us the scene before and after Tsunami. Something that struck me was this leafless coconut tree.

Rizal shared with us that when Tsunami hit, he climbed unto this tree and stayed there for 1.5 days without water and food! I cannot imagine myself how I would have reacted if I am placed in the same situation as that of Rizal. As we continued to walk along the coastline, we see more of the debris that were left behind. We bypassed one of the few wells that were left after the Tsunami. Rizal explained to us that one of the wells belonged to his sister's family who was wiped out. At that point, I was thinking in my heart, how does Rizal feel when he bring various groups to visit Ground Zero? I thought it must be quite tough on him to flash back memories of the past as he narrated to each one of us..

Serambi Press Release

As we were preparing for our Monday session, Mr Said Fadhlain came with the local newspaper, Serambi Press. He told us that this project is covered in the press. This was a great booster for all of us that day!

(Part of the news article is translated here) Meulaboh-Muhammadiyah Youth Group & AMM collaborates with Mercy Relief, Singapore to organize an English Language course at Muhammadiyah Boys and Girls Orphanage, at Johan Pahlawan for students and teachers from SMU, MAN and SMK levels, Saturday (4/11). About 50 participants attended this English Language course. Muhammadiyah Youth Group leader, Mr Said Mardha Abbas commented, “The objective of this course is to improve the command of English of the students.” The coordinator from Mercy Relief (Aceh Barat), Mr Abdul Wahab said, “There are many NGOs who came to Aceh and engaged the help of English translators from outside due to a short of English translators from within Aceh. We hope that the students can improve their English language in order to expand their knowledge and technology. This English language course is led by 10 volunteer instructors. These volunteers (5 males and 5 females) are from the Generation ACTS Club (Singapore). We’ll continue to organize this kind of program when there is positive feedback from the society around”.

Change or Be Changed!

Right from the first day of our arrival in Meulaboh, we have been experiencing changes. It was indeed a roller-coaster ride! We had to board a domestic flight that will bring us from Medan to Meulaboh. It was my first time on board a propeller jet olane! Prior to this, some of my colleagues were asking me to get my parachutes ready etc to make an emergency landing in the event of any emergencies! I guess my fears were unfounded. The jet plane was not as bad as what I thought. It looks quite cool actually! The ride was relatively smooth except for the persistent air pressure that caused discomfort. Oh, we were also treated to some snacks packed in ready boxes!

We started our first day of interaction with a group of 4o students, ranging from 18-19 years old. It was a great time doing balloon sculpturing with the students.

All of them have not played with such sculpturing before. They are really good though! Though it was their first time, many managed to do up a balloon in the form of a doggie! Hahaha.. I gave up after a few tries! :p

After our first interaction with the students, we decided that we need to change our programme a little to better suit their learning needs. That Saturday night, we were on full engine and spent the entire night modifying the programme. By the end, we were really exhausted..

Another change that I have personally experienced is the

sanitation facilities! :)

We were brought back to the days where we need to scoop water from the communal water tank. It was a challenge for the gals who had enjoyed hot shower back here in Singapore. You can see the sendiments ( you wouldn't really want to know where they come from) in the water as you scooped. One of the gals (hahah...you know who you are) was counting down to the number of times that she must shower before she can reach Medan on the following Saturday! :p Through it all, this showering experience is a true remembrance and 'milestone' for us!

Daybreak in Meulaboh

Above is a picture of the girls waiting for sunrise in Meulaboh. It was the last day of our trip and we've not seen the town yet! So we woke up at 5am in the morning and walked all the way to the beach about 1.5-2km away. Actually we are not sure if its a beach, but after the tsunami, everything near the sea looks like a beach.


When there isn't light on the streets, everything looks eerie. Try as I might, my mind refused not to superimpose the deserted streets with the images of death and disaster we watched only a couple of days ago. Apart from the large debris that have been removed, you can still see debris, sand, pebbles from the sea that have remained til this day. In the quietness of the night, it is not difficult to sense the horror the people of this town faced the day the tide came in.

Along the way we saw an IDP camp and this mosque, which was one of the structures left miraculously standing after the waves swept through. The beach was a total washout. I had been unable to imagine the scale of destruction until I saw the aerial photo of it before the tsunami. Buried under the sand that we were standing on were once structures supporting the bustling jetty and port area. The concrete embankment now prevents the sea from eroding away the beach.

6.30am: How come so long huh? So early come and feed mosquitoes. 7.00am: Still haven't come out leh.... 7.30am: Eh can see light oredi... means come out liao. Too bad lah... must be blocked by clouds.

Well, ultimately, we didn't catch the sunrise....At least we took many photos and mosquito bites. It didn't occur to us until much later in the day- that you cannot catch the sunrise when you stare out in the west!

Arggghhhhh!!

Who Killed Mrs Brown?


Brown Mansion, Aceh-
Horrors of horrors! Rich socialite Mrs Brown has been found blungeoned to death in her bedroom on Wednesday night. A coroner's report states that she was killed with a hard blunt object and the killer was probably right handed. Her car key and a briefcase containing Rp 10,000,000 was found missing from her room.


4 teams of local detectives have been called in to work on this high profile murder that shocked the rich and filthy rich community. They zeroed in to 4 suspects. Was it Lucy the maid, who was quarelling with Mrs Brown before she was killed? Or Ahmad the driver who had earlier demanded a pay advance from her. Could it be Ms White, her debt ridden sister or Mr Brown, who needs the cash to save his ailing company?

Our young detectives left no stones unturned. They grilled each of the suspects with their newly learnt English questioning skills.

The distraught Mr Brown said: " Sob... how could Lucy do this... It just another big quarrel.... why must she kill her? Why...sob???"

Ms White offered the investigators a shocking piece of news. " It must be Mr Brown. It is not the cash he's after. Do u know he insured Mrs Brown for Rp10 billion? Thats enough money to save him from becoming a bankrupt."

Lucy was certain that it was Ahmad the driver who killed Mrs Brown: “Ahmad was demanding the money and I saw it myself! This morning, when I was cleaning the car, I found a blood stained briefcase in the car! "

Ahmad was however sure that it was Ms White: "I drove her to her friend's house but she sneaked back into the mansion! I saw her sneaking away through the backgate! Why would she do that unless she's the killer?"

The detectives were able to solve the case by piecing together the various testimonies. Insp Rojy of Investigation Team 1 who solved the case, issued a press statement: “We have arrested Ms White for the murder of Mrs Brown. Although she claimed that she was at her friend’s house, eyewitness Lucy has seen her sneak back into the Brown mansion and driver Ahmad saw her leaving the house hurriedly 15mins later. This coincides with the time Mrs Brown was killed.” Ms White has confessed to killing Mrs Brown with the briefcase. She had also took the car keys and placed the empty briefcase in the car to implicate Ahmad before she left the mansion.

Epilouge: Crime truely does not pay. Ms White has since been extradited to Singapore. She has been sentenced back to work in the real world. Cruel.


The above story was plotted as part of our programme to get the students to converse in English and to ask questions. Issac, Laura and me spend a good part of Tuesday evening thinking of the plot and subplots. We skipped some subplots we thought was confusing, even though they were hilarious, like having Ms White to be Mrs Brown’s evil twin sister.

A Life Changing Experience for Hazel

When Hazel felt that her life would change during the Meulaboh trip, she wasn't expecting this... Sweet Boon Liong proposed to her on the plane and we made them re-enact the moment at the transit lounge... (to the bewilderment of the rest of the passengers too I guess)

Kudos to Boon Liong for this most romantic act amidst all the stress and preparation work he has to do for the trip. We shall be hearing the wedding bells soon... must start saving.

My Debut Post!

Kudos to George and See Meng who had set up this blog for us to post our memories and thoughts of the Meulaboh trip. It is really amazing and heartwarming as I reflect back how this project started. The birth of this project began with an idea when a few of us- Boon Liong, Adrian, Mingchun, George and myself were talking about doing an overseas community service project after one of our visits to Gracehaven Home for our regular visitation. It started in April 06 and our initial thought was to start small by going somewhere nearby, probably in Malaysia. What followed after was a series of talks, refinement and gathering of volunteers to join us for this project. The trip was intended to be in September but we deferred till November to maximise our preparation. At one point in time, there were only 5 volunteers who will be going for the trip, but in the end, we were blessed with 5 more! :)

I am glad to be in the same team with all of you guys and gals (Boon, Adrian, See Meng, Issac, George, Eleen, Vivian,Yee Ping & Laura) ! I must say that you guys are wonderful, terrific, incredible and fantastic!!

Check out for more posts! @_@

Settling back in...has anything changed inside?

Its been a few days since we came back from our trip. I m sure most of us are settling
into our daily routine again, and Meluaboh will slowly be a distant memory...
or will it?

For myself, even as i settle into the daily grind of life again, even on the bus,
having food at home, going to toilet, i can't forget how we lived in Meluaboh even
though we were living in the better part of the town...

As i sat on the air conditioned bus to work, i remembered the slightly run down bus which we had for three days during our trip. The exceptional skill of the driver who had to "siam" big holes in the roads there...and turning into narrow alleys...muddy trails to get us near to Ground Zero or to Rumah Temasek.

I remember telling and agreeing with Vivian on our trip back in Medan last sunday how much i missed my bed and bathroom...ha....now even as things went slowly back to normal, no more showering together in a communal bath....with sediment filled water. Stepping out of shower feeling semi clean and stepping on mud...or bathing in water logged conditions for the girls.

Faces of the children smiling....laughing and posing for pictures...of the boys at the orphanage joking around with me even though we understood probably less than 4 or 5 words of the other's language.

Burning midnite oil almost every night...to get the programme up everyday...Boon Liong and Hazel had to be so flexible to tweak the programme flow and we had to be creative with coming up with more new and interesting games to capture the attention of the children...

Xingfa shouting in front of the class...."I CAN'T HEAR YOU?"....See Meng leading "Dum dum di di" with the kids following delightfully...Vivian n Hazel teaching "How do you do"...Boon Liong conversing with fluent Bahasa with the teachers.....sweat sweat sweat.....

And most of all, the grateful and smiling faces of the children who were blessed by our English lessons (unprofessional as it is, we put in everything, each one of us, whatever we could).
Students coming up with gifts and pictures, requests for handphone numbers and email addresses, boys at the orphanage saluting us (alright...just me).....

I think all of us left Meluaboh with something...we touched hearts and we gave the children there a glimpse of the world we had in Singapore, something some of them might never experience in their lifetime.

All the ant bites, mosquito bites, tossing and turning, snoring, rashes, heat of the Meluaboh afternoon, half clean toilets....

It was worth it.

Have we been changed? Undoubtably...

But How?

Where do we go from here?

These are questions which i feel will help each one of us (the team) consolidate what we take back from the trip...do think about it and post post post.....

The Great S-L Debate: What is Resilence?

On Wednesday, we were stuck in Gaminong Cafe due to a heavy downpour after dinner. Of all the after dinner things that we could do, Boon Liong had to raise this question that soon sparked off a debate. Can resilence be forged through hardships?

What is hardship? Is bathing with well-water hardship? What about taking a dump in a dump? Can we be considered more resilent since we 'survived' these inconveniences? And so what is the outcome of resilence? Is it mere survival? Or should resilence be measured by how much progress you've made against the odds, how much you've thrived? Is the act and will of surviving enough to demonstrate resilence ? Will a more resilent person choose to endure hardship or choose to escape, if given a choice?

Though we eventually did not conclude our little debate; it was a delightful evening of arguments and counter arguments, anecdotes and counter anecdotes, much to the exasperation of others. Forgive us. We did somehow agree that resilence is a quality shown through varying degrees of hardship.

Indeed, what does not break you will make you stronger...

btw, extracted from Longman's Dic:
re‧sil‧i‧ence also re‧sil‧i‧en‧cy [uncountable]
1 the ability to become strong, happy, or successful again after a difficult situation or event [↪ toughness]

Temporary Shelters

These are temporary shelter villages you can find around the town. Many of the refugees and displaced people live in tents villages set up by NGOs. Luckier ones get to stay in wooden huts built, which can last for 4-5 years, by the time which hopefully their permanent housing would have been settled.

The shelters are clustered tightly together. Sanitation is poor and people get water from common tap like those shown in the picture.

The govt and NGOs have committed land and resources for 10,000 units of housing to be built by 2009. Based on this 3 year timeline, its building 10 houses a day!

Drinks Galore

Its hot in Meulaboh but check out these cool drinks. My favourite is the Jus Tokat- avocado juice. Champion man, can drink this all day. Costs only Rp5000! Served in a sundae glass with a swirl of chocolate sauce and choco rice, the thick creamy juice is sweet and soothing. Perfect beverage for SL sessions or political debates.

All drinks are by default very very sweet. Check out the kopi susu. Image has not been modified in any way. The condensed milk is a quarter of the glass. Think the locals need alot of sugar to keep them going or what...

Last one is the lime juice. Nothing special (except that its sweet again) but the view behind is fantastic. Taken at Hotel Grand Mutiara in Berstagi, which is a highland en-route to Lake Toba. Cool place for R&R

Meulaboh struggles to get back on its feet.

Article Extracted from:The Straits Times (Singapore)
Tuesday, August 1, 2006
Ong Soh Chin

MEULABOH, ACEH - AS I train my camera at a row of dilapidated houses, an aid worker says: 'Don't take pictures of the villagers.' They are angry because so many people have come to take pictures of them and nobody seems to have really done anything, she adds. We are in Meulaboh, an isolated coastal town in West Sumatra which was closest to the epicentre of the earthquake of Dec 26, 2004. The resulting tsunami, which devastated communities across the Indian Ocean from South-east Asia to East Africa, flattened the coastline and much of Meulaboh itself. It is estimated that a quarter of the 40,000 people in the town perished. At first glance, it is puzzling why the townsfolk would feel such frustration. After all, there is a marked improvement in the town - colourful houses stand where once there was nothing, shops are open for business and children are going to school. But look a little closer and a different picture emerges. Sanitation is still a problem, and the people here still rely mainly on donated bottled water for drinking. The upheaval of the tsunami, which covered the town with sand, mud and general debris, has made large tracts of land untenable for farming. The sunken coastline has also made Meulaboh prone to flooding, and pools of brown, stagnant water can be found everywhere.

Mr Edward Langton, 48, the Meulaboh liaison official for Singapore help agency Mercy Relief, estimates that out of the 200 aid organisations which descended on the town after the tsunami, about 50 are left, mostly local or national bodies. Singapore, which was instrumental in early relief efforts, has remained steadfast in its support. In April, the Singapore Government donated a pier to replace the wrecked jetty and is helping to build a road connecting Meulaboh to the provincial capital of Banda Aceh. Aid groups like Mercy Relief and the Singapore Red Cross are also involved in rehabilitation efforts, as are private companies like Neptune Orient Lines (NOL). Last week, as part of its Tsunami Relief Community Relations initiative, NOL donated a US$150,000 (S$236,000) fishing vessel to the Koperasi Bina Nelayan, a fishermen's group. The vessel can take four crew members and six fishermen and carry four tonnes of cargo. This means that, unlike the fishermen's traditional small boats, it can venture further out to sea and stay out for longer - a vital requirement, as most of the marine life along the immediate coast no longer exists. NOL deputy vice-president Cedric Foo said at the launch: 'We felt the best way we could contribute to this place, a coastal port, is to provide people with the tools to re-establish their livelihoods.' NOL spent a further US$15,000 on a two-week training stint in Surabaya for four crew members on how to maintain and operate the modern vessel. The training programme also included a session in traditional boat building using modern technology, for two trainees. The idea is to teach them so they can go back to teach others. It has also contributed four refurbished containers, two of which are being used as kindergartens and two as offices for Geubri Na, a women's self-help group spearheaded by the Medan-based non-governmental organisation, Kelompok Peruantan dan Pendidikan Lingkungan (KPPL).

Formed in 2002 as an environmental organisation by a small group of 20-somethings, KPPL had a baptism of fire when the tsunami hit. Ms Melfa Samosir, one of its founding members, moved to Meulaboh a month after the disaster and has not left. Together with three colleagues, she has been teaching 17 groups of farmers in eight villages in the Nagan Raya area how to practise organic farming. The farmers are required to put some of the earnings from their harvest into a fund to ensure the project's continuity. Most of the farmers are women, and while they may have been sceptical about organic farming in the beginning, positive results have won them over. Today, about 80 per cent of the farmers practise organic farming and pest control - growing lemongrass as a natural repellent, for example. 'We also help them to find trading partners so they can sell what they grow,' said Ms Melfa, a slight woman, who is recovering from a bout of typhoid. She does not know how long she will stay in Meulaboh, but is determined to stick around for as long as she is needed.

Mercy Relief's Mr Langton has nothing but praise for KPPL, which has only 20 members doing work in various parts of Aceh. 'Imagine,' he said, 'in a society where seniority is respected, these
kids from outside Aceh managed to persuade the headman of the village to get his people out in the fields and following their lead. It's amazing.'

The Irishman misses his wife Jamiah and their three children back in Singapore. He has been in Meulaboh since January last year and makes monthly visits home. But he also has a brood of 'adopted' children in Meulaboh - the 283 kids at Babussalam, a school-cum-orphanage which also takes in destitute children. Babussalam, divided into two sections - one for boys and the other for girls - went undetected for months after the tsunami hit.

Mr Frederick Foo, 48, Mercy Relief's executive director, says: 'When we found them, the children were fending for themselves and living in derelict chicken coops which were filthy and unfit for dwelling.' Today, with funds from the Jurong Country Club and the Chicago Graduate Business School, the girls' wing is being rebuilt. But more funds are needed - Mr Langton's estimate is about $700,000 - to finish the work, as well as to build up the boys' wing. In a town where the construction trade is booming, Mercy Relief has bought two machines which the boys use to manufacture bricks for Babussalam's reconstruction, as well as for sale.

As with the Nagan Raya farmers, the idea is to create livelihood programmes, so that the people can continue to earn a living long after the aid workers have left. But while the initial phase of disaster relief is over, the rehabilitation is only just beginning, and it is being carried out by far fewer organisations than in the initial weeks after the disaster.

Says Mr Langton: 'It's now that people need help the most. We've still got people living here in conditions in which, in Singapore, if you were to put a cat or a dog in them, you would be arrested.'

Nasi Gurih...Nasi Gurih and more Nasi Gurih

Yeah that's what we had for breakfast almost every day at the er... Nasi Gurih stall. There aren't many breakfast choice anyway, we found out by the 2nd morning in Meulaboh.

The dish consists of nasi, small piece of rendang chicken, spicy long beans, fried crispy floury thing with peanuts and sambal chilli. It goes for Rp5000, which is less than a dollar. It is as hot as it is tasty and is much enjoyed by everyone until the stinging sensation on the downstream (when one has diahorrea at some point of time during the trip). Ultimately some decided that cup noodles taste better.

The impressive thing about the nasi gurih stall is the nice lady boss who goes out of her way to delight her Singapore customers. She offered to buy us fried noodles from the market, have it at her place, provides plain water (and hot water & fork for cup noodles) at no extra charge. All these are much appreciated by a bunch of Sporean lost at breakfast.

This is "Go the extra mile for Service" in the purest form

A Visit to the Babussalam Orphanage

Saw the Babussalam Orphanage for myself finally. We had the privilege of viewing the girls dormitory, which is usually out of bounds to outsiders, esp guys. There were really no workers around and work was incomplete. The structures needed doors and locks, fans, windows, tiles and paint. The girls are shy and staying inside this building, with wooden partitions as rooms.

Didn't visit the 2nd floor, but does this building look like it has a roof?!? I am glad we made a decision during the trip to raise some funds for them. They are just short of $20K to completion. Hopefully we can raise enough awareness on their plight...
I started getting friends to raise donations for the completion of the girls' wing about a month ago. Its called "Do you have an hour for Babussalam?" For more details email me see_meng@yahoo.com.