NEWS FROM
LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF
November 4, 2005
For more information contact Emily Sollie at esollie@lwr.org or 410-230-2802.
In this news release:
More stories from a delegation to tsunami-affected areas in India and Indonesia, led by Lutheran World Relief president Kathryn Wolford
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Song and Dance and Healing in Meulaboh, Indonesia
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Back in Business, Better Than Before
SONG AND DANCE AND HEALING IN MEULABOH, INDONESIA
Meulaboh, Indonesia, October 2005 — The girls giggle and pretend to cover their eyes as a staff member from Lutheran World Relief’s partner, YTB (Yaysan Tanggul Bencana) boots up her laptop computer to show them photographs of their latest dance performance. Some girls say that they couldn’t bear to see themselves dancing, even as they move closer to the computer to take a peek.
Nine months ago, these same girls had little to dance, sing or laugh about as they struggled to make sense of their lives after the tsunami. The small city of Meulaboh suffered a great deal from the tsunami and, along with their houses, these girls lost their school and many family members.
One of the girls, Nemi Nasita, a 13-year-old with incredible poise and a huge smile, described how she came to know YTB. “As soon as it seemed safe our families wanted to move back to our neighborhood,” she said. “Even though our houses were gone, we built shelters or put up tents on the foundations where our houses once stood.” She continued, “We were glad to be back in our neighborhood, but, we had nothing – no water, no school, no food. We were very thirsty and we saw YTB people handing out water at a relief center. At first, we were too scared to go there and ask for water, but, after a little while, we decided that we had to be brave. We walked to the center and asked for water.”
YTB staff gave the girls water and talked with them about where they were living and what their lives were like after the tsunami. Although they were initially hesitant, the girls opened up to the YTB staff and told them their stories. When YTB staff asked the girls what they wanted and needed the most, they told them that they wanted to get back to school and they needed something to do with their free time.
YTB staff worked with the girls and their families to re-open their school and to start a children’s support center. The children’s support center opened three months before the school did, so the girls spent a lot of time there. A member of the community came forward and offered to teach the young girls traditional Acehnese dancing and singing. Now, even though their school has re-opened, the girls have continued their training in Acehnese dancing and singing and are hired to perform at community events.
On the day an LWR delegation visited the support center, the girls were there, practicing the dances and songs they would perform at celebrations marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The girls performed a number of incredibly intricate dances for the group. Nemi proudly told the LWR visitors that their dancing group had been paid 600,000 Indonesian rupiahs (about $60 US) for performing at community functions and that the girls had decided to put that money into a savings account.
The YTB staff and the girls’ dance teacher said that before they started the dance classes, the girls had lost their sense of joy and fun. The dance classes have offered the girls an opportunity to talk about their experiences, their fears and their futures in a setting that is safe and warm. By learning the dances, the girls have gained pride in their culture while also becoming an important part of the preservation of Achenese culture. One of the dance teachers said, “These girls and their families were traumatized by the tsunami. When we started the classes, it was common for many of the girls to withdraw and sit in a corner crying. Now, they are stronger and have begun to heal some of their wounds.”
When asked what she wanted to do when she graduated from school, Nemi pointed to one of her dance teachers and said, “I want to become a volunteer with YTB and I want to become a dance teacher too so that other girls like me will have the opportunity to learn these dances. I hope that I can be an important part of preserving my Acehnese history and culture.”
BACK IN BUSINESS, BETTER THAN BEFORE
Indonesia, October 2005 — “I am very happy with my new shop, I have a lot more customers than I did before the tsunami because YEU and my women’s group helped me choose better products to sell,” said Mardiyah, the proud owner of a fully stocked store located about a half hour outside of Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
Before the tsunami struck, Mardiyah had owned a small general store for about two years. Although she hadn’t made a significant profit, she was proud of her ability to assist her family with earnings from her store, which had been located about 200 meters from the sea. The tsunami destroyed Mardiyah’s village and the building that housed her store and her family. Everything she owned had been swept away.
Mardiyah said that the property and material things she lost could eventually be replaced, but, she said, “No one can fill the hole in my heart that was left from losing eight of my family members in the tsunami. I lost my mother, my father, my two sisters, my niece, my nephew and my in-laws.” She continued, “I am luckier than many people because we were able to find and bury the bodies of our loved ones. We are sad but we know they are with God.”
In January, after her community had begun recovering from the tsunami, Mardiyah joined a women’s self-help group formed with Lutheran World Relief partner YEU (Yakkum Emergency Unit). Mardiyah expressed concern to her women’s group and YEU about the bank loans she had taken out more than a year before the tsunami hit. Even though their community hadn’t yet been rebuilt, the bank officer stopped by to tell her that he expected full and timely payment of her bank loan. She was terrified. Because the tsunami had ruined her store and swept away all of the products that had filled its shelves, she knew she wouldn’t be able to buy the food and basic necessities her family needed while also repaying the bank loan.
In late January, Mardiyah received a small loan from her women’s group and YEU and in February, she re-opened her store. “When I first opened, I didn’t have many products to sell, but I stayed open anyway. Each week, I made sure that I put some money into my savings account and I paid back on my bank and YEU loans. Sooner than I thought, I was making enough profit to buy more products and expand my store. As soon as I added more and better products to the store, my profits increased. Now I am very proud of my store and my ability to repay my loans, feed and clothe my family, and put money away to secure our future.” Mardiyah noted, “The reason I sell so many items sometimes makes me sad. People need and buy so many things because they lost everything in the tsunami.”
She continued, “I also give money back to the women’s group so that others are able to make similar investments and so that they too can prosper.” The help YEU gave to the local women’s group helped rebuild the community and, maybe more importantly, it helped rebuild the women’s confidence. Mardiyah insisted on offering members of the LWR delegation a treat from her store as she told us what she had learned from the tsunami: “If we pull together and try hard we get great results.” She continued, “Now I have dreams. I want to build a bigger store and I want to carry a wider variety of items. Before the tsunami my husband used to repair electronic items, so, we are planning on stocking small electronics in my store.” She laughed as she said, “I will sell the small electronics, and, if they break, God forbid, my husband can fix them.”
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.
