Mission to Banda Aceh, Indonesia - Advent 2005 (50 volunteers)

Building Houses, Building Hope

- by Edwin Sim

I had a very meaningful and exceptional Advent last year which started off from an email received back in September. That was an appeal from ACCT for volunteers to participate in the “First Builder Program” of the Habitat for Humanity (HFH) to build houses at Banda Aceh (Indonesia), one of the most badly hit cities during the Indian Ocean tsunami.

Since the tsunami struck on 26 December 2004, I had been following all the related news and progress of the relief effort. I deeply empathized the people affected and admired the spirit of the volunteers.  Despite having an urge to volunteer myself, I didn't actively pursue it because I was not sure if I am psychologically prepared to face the shocking scene of corpses lying all over the places.  After nine months, when I read that email, I thanked God for his arrangement and gratefully volunteered myself for the mission trip after seeking my family’s consent.
 

Our group of 50 gathered at the Airport in the early morning of 11 December. While everyone is fully energized and raring to go, I was quietly worrying of a possible relapse of my back injury.  I prayed to the Lord that I will be his useful tool during this trip, instead of being a burden to everyone.  When we arrived at Banda Aceh, it was already evening.  We had an early rest after dinner to prepare ourselves for next day’s hard work.

Early on 12 December, my group boarded a bus to the worksite. As the bus moved out of the city centre, we saw huge areas of flattened land with uprooted trees, broken houses and piles of rubble scattered all over. Due to damage to infrastructure (especially roads and bridges), separatist insurgency, and government bureaucracy, the progress of the community rebuilding at Banda Aceh has been much slower than expected. One year has gone by since the tsunami, but the majority of the more than half a million people initially left homeless by the disaster are still staying in temporary homes or tents which water can leak through during a heavy downpour. Despite all of these ordeals, the local people refused to let the tsunami wash away their courage and desire to live, and were full of smiles when they embarked on various forms of the rebuilding project. We were all very touched by their resilience in accepting whatever (whoever) they have lost, and how they have moved on with their normal lives. They are a brave group of people whom we deeply respect.
 

By 8:00 a.m., we reached Tibang Village, our worksite for the next few days.   Tibang used to be a peaceful village where the majority of the people are fishermen and craftsmen. Of its original population of about 1400, almost half of them (mainly women and children) were lost when the tsunami struck.

After a short briefing by the local HFH staff on general logistics and local cultural/religious taboos (e.g. no outward display of religious symbols, avoiding physical contact with the opposite gender etc); we split into smaller teams and were given over 10 plots to work on.

My team was asked to work on two houses which had been barely started. The eventual owners of these houses are father and daughter. The father, and two paid local masons, were there to guide and build the houses with us. We were allocated some basic tools like spades, hoes, changkols, trowels, wheelbarrows, pails, etc. and did not have the luxury of a concrete mixer or bulldozer. My team was fortunate to have a few members who could speak the local language, so communication was not a problem. Shortly after we were brought to the work site and introduced to the house owner, we carried out the first task of our first house building experience – laying the foundation. 
 

To do so, first, a 1-foot deep/wide trench has to be dug along the parameter of the house, and then filled with huge granite rocks; after which, sands and water was added onto the rocks repeatedly until all the gaps in between were completely filled. This process may sound simple, but it is actually quite a back-breaking task for city dwellers like us, what a “warming up” session! 

Over the next few days, on this foundation, we helped built up the houses one layer at a time. First is the bottom layer made up with rocks and mortar, followed by a layer of concrete with reinforced steel inside, then come the brick wall (it was a shame that we could not stay longer to see through the completion of these houses). During the process, we spent quite a bit of time shoveling sands/stones/mortar, and carrying rocks, bricks, and pails (filled with sand or mortar) from one point to another with “human chain” (this is one thing which we, the unskilled “foreign labours”, were very good and efficient at).  We have also mastered the skill of blending mortar with the right proportion of cement, sand and water with just changkols and spades (no concrete mixer!); Some of us were also involved in cutting thick steel bars to specified lengths, to be used as reinforcement bars for the pillars; and bending thinner steel rods into rectangular rings to tie these reinforcement bars together. The “equipment” used to produce these uniform rectangular rings is just a cutter and a piece of thick wooden beam with some nails nailed in at specified positions (to be used as a length gauge).  Other groups which were allocated to work on houses which were near completion, also have the chance to lay bricks or show off their painting skill.

We stopped work early on the first two afternoons due to rain. But from day three onward, as we knew that time was running out, we opted to work under the heavy afternoon downpour. The home owner and his helpers were touched by our enthusiasm and accelerated their tempo accordingly. Though we were drenched, we felt warm deep within our hearts.

We worked from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. everyday from Monday through Thursday. On Friday morning, we had a home dedication ceremony where HFH officially handed over a completed house to the appointed owner. It was a simple but solemn ceremony, after representatives from HFH, our group, and the owner’s family took turns to give a short speech. We sang a song “As we hold on together” to encourage the local people to continue to live on courageously. At the end of the ceremony, the village chief thanked us repeatedly, and invited all of us to pray to our own god in our own ways, before breaking into Islamic prayers. We were surprised and touched by his accommodating gesture as the majority of the locals are Muslims including the chief himself. It was heartening to know that the compassion and care between the volunteers and the locals had overcome the boundaries between people of different religions. I recalled a sharing which I have heard during one of the pre-trip meetings – Shortly after the tsunami struck, the locals (who are predominantly Muslims) were quite skeptical to see so many Christian volunteers rushing in to help with the relief effort. They were very surprised when they later realized that these Christians were really there to help instead of to preach.  When one of them asked a Christian volunteer the reason for him to be there, he replied “it is because the God whom I prayed to, loves you too”.  What an answer which has utterly reflected God’s great love to all mankind!
 

After the ceremony, we visited a few sites which were badly devastated by the tsunami. When I saw the beach full of rubble dragged out from the village many kilometres inland, I recalled what one villager told us about his experience. He was at home with his wife, daughter and granddaughter when the horrendous waves came smashing into his village. He was absolutely helpless in the raging water, being thrashed about in all directions repeatedly and finally brought to a place far away. He spent weeks searching for his family members but never got to see them again.

Once when my teammate asked one of the little girls (who liked to gather around us during lunch) if the boy standing beside her was her brother, she answered innocently, “No, my brother was washed away by the sea.”
 

Our mission ended on Saturday 17 Dec 2005. On our way to the airport, we passed by a mass grave where thousands of unclaimed bodies were mass buried.  My heart was filled with sorrow when I offered my prayers for all these souls. The tsunami may have taken away numerous lives, but it has also brought peace to the people by stopping the long lasting insurgencies in Aceh and Sri Lanka. Although I may not fully understand why God allowed this disaster to happen, but I trust that he must have a reason and purpose for that.

Before the trip, some doubts were raised on the rationale for amateurs like us paying thousand over dollars to go there and build houses. Wouldn’t it be more efficient if we donated that money to hire skilled locals to do the job? Actually, it was not only houses that we built, but more importantly, hope. Our physical presence and personal touch has planted God’s love and hope deep inside the villagers’ hearts.

During this whole trip, I have gained more than what I have given. I was inspired by the courage of the Acehnese to live on and rebuild hopes; and have learnt to cherish my loved ones more dearly.  I have never felt so close to God before.

Although I have physically departed Aceh, my heart remains there with the brave Acehnese and the children who were always full of laughter. I hope that my experience can help inspire more people to go out there to help and motivate the people of Aceh (or other disaster affected areas) to rebuild their lives, to be strong and to continue to smile.