Tsunami Relief
Week 5 - Dealing with Frustrations & Meeting Needs |
| Posted by Administrator (admin) on May 07 2006 |
Finding A Vessel - Who Will Help Us?
So much is riding on finding this “affordable” vessel to ship our goods over. FORUM LSM Aceh, a coalition of 25 NGOS in Aceh, has indicated that they are running on empty where supplies are concerned. While we see the over 200 pellets of goods sitting in our warehouse and the over 20 pellets of “critical” goods (mobile kitchen apparatus, goodie packs for men and women, medical supplies, prayer attire and Qurans, etc) in our office, all at POHD are anguished over this near two-week delay.
From a Jesuit priest to the SSVP head in KL, nuns from the Little Sisters of the Poor and more than two handfuls of contacts have been scrambling around, trying to help us secure a vessel.
A welcome bit of good news arrived only on Friday 28th January. The chaplain of the Royal Australian Air Force pastor Mark Willis called up Father Fabian after consultation with his “earthly boss” to say that their helicopters which is using the Butterworth Air Force Base, would take POHD aid each time their crafts fly to Banda Aceh every other day. While they can allocate only what spare space is left, even transporting four pellets at one go sounds fantastic.
Monday (30th Jan’05) will see the Aussies coming to inspect our goods and on our part, we will have to determine which pallets go first.
Celebrating With the Fishermen
While our attempts to ship aid over to Aceh was a downer, our successful local efforts brought back the sun into our office.
On 21st January, seven of us from POHD went over to dine al fresco with our Muslim fishermen from Tg. Bungah who had invited us for a Hari Raya Qurban open “house”. At the landing platform where we had earlier handed out the mattresses, pillows and gas burners, this time it proved the table for our banquet of barbequed crabs, satay, grilled sausages and other simple but scrumptious fare. It seemed the fishermen families had pooled their money together to host this dinner for us!
Rebuilding Homes
Uncle Neoh’s house in Jalan Wee Hien Tze, Tanjung Bunga is nearing completion. We are rebuilding his house that was completely washed away from scratch. Work begun over two weeks ago and the electrician is putting final touches to the wiring. Our contractor has been paid RM6,000 already. The beam of joy on this kitchen helper’s face was a sight to behold. He will have a home of his own by Chinese New Year!
"Lets Help Fishermen Go Out To Sea - Fast!" - Rev. Fabian Dicom
Although Government efforts to help fishermen is in the pipeline, the actual impact on the ground is yet to be seen. It is apparent that if the fishermen were going to survive financialy, they would have to return to sea in less than 3 weeks. POHD decided it would do all it can to help gear up these men and put them back in sea where there belong.
Our immediate actions was to hire Razak on a part-time basis. Razak is our trusted contact person in Tg. Bungah who knows almost all the families and fishermen in the area. Since engaging him to help us, he has proved highly effective in doing the leg work for us. What we now intend to do is help the fishermen who have been without an income since December 26 get back to sea. Chinese New Year is prime time and prices for seafood especially prawns, crabs and good fish, skyrocket!
Razak
Hired only two days ago, Razak has already taken individual photographs of the boats, the fishermen, and done all the paperwork as well. From nets to outboard motors to new sampans, he has identified over 20 families that require urgent help. We are in the process of obtaining quotations from different suppliers and we fully intend to act fast.
Giving Hope To The Afflicted - Individual Stories
During distribution of aid in Tanjung Bunga, Raja (Suppaiah) turned up asking for help. His little beachside café cum house had been badly damaged by the killer waves. His story about the “miraculous floating baby” had been highlighted in all the newspapers. Apparently, the bedroom door had collapsed and the fast rising water and carried out his 20-day-old baby on the mattress, which stayed afloat, out of the house and into the sea . . . with the next wave, the baby and mattress had been brought back into the house via a different door at the back of the house! We discussed repairs of his café as well as the purchase of equipment so that his business could resume. He requested for a three-burner cooker, freezer as well as tables and chairs.
Another victim turned up at our office doorstep today. With 20sen in his wallet, a small plastic bag of hand-me-down clothes obtained from the YMCA opposite, Allan was in dire straights. His house in Teluk Bahang which he shared with his bachelor brother, had been washed away. The fisherman’s helper and his brother, with nothing left to their name, had decided to part ways, each wishing the other all the best. For the past few nights, Allan has been sleeping at the Komtar bus stop, after camping out at several friends’ houses the first nights. As he put it “they all also got so many problems I don’t want to give them some more.”
Allan
We obtained a bag for him, and more clothes, shoes, food and a little money. Our Lighthouse manager, Bele, is sourcing a rented room for him, which we will pay. Allan has agreed to bathe and eat at the Lighthouse until Bele helps secure some form of employment for him.
Upon was upon seeing David Ludulu highlighted in The Star, we made contact with him. Already a tsunami victim, David had gone back to his washed out house three days ago to salvage belongings when he got electrocuted. His housed was razed to the ground. Hospitalised for three days, he was discharged yesterday. Razak brought him over to our office and we went out for lunch with David, Allan and Razak. Discussions centred on how best to help these individuals.
Man loses home after
getting electric shock
- star 25th Jan'05 -
Last changed: May 07 2006 at 11:56 PM
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