Note #9220 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:
06183 March 24, 2006
Sharing in survival
Indonesians to share disaster experiences with counterparts on the Gulf Coast
by Evan Silverstein
LOUISVILLE - Eight Indonesian survivors of the 2004 Pacific Basin tsunami disaster are expected to arrive in the United States tonight (March 24) for a two-week tour of Gulf Coast areas devastated by last year's Hurricane Katrina.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) will be the host of the eight, most of whom are from the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The visit is intended to allow responders and survivors of both tragedies to work together and share stories of loss, hope and recovery. Rebecca "Becca" Young, PDA's liaison for Indonesia, will accompany the delegation.
"I'm excited about us getting to know each other better and thinking ... perhaps when there's another disaster, that we might have a joint team," said PDA Coordinator Susan Ryan, who noted that PDA raised $13 million in aid for tsunami relief.
"I see this as beginning to build some very substantive long-term relationships of equality with a major partner who's done phenomenal work in Indonesia."
The visit will include hands-on work at PDA volunteer villages in Mississippi and Louisiana, as well as meetings with congregations and hurricane survivors.
The eight Indonesians also will travel to Chicago, Nashville and St. Louis to meet with church leaders, volunteers and other disaster-response personnel.
Ryan said PDA, the disaster-response arm of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), is organizing the visit to bring together two very different groups that have much in common. The occasion will help PDA officials understand how such bonds might affect its worldwide disaster-response efforts, she said.
"This trip reaches across cultural, class and international barriers to allow people most often the recipients of charity to become benefactors instead," she said. "Despite their own tragedy, tsunami survivors were incredibly moved by the devastation of Katrina. They connected immediately with their sense of loss and their need for hope. They want to help."
Ryan said the tsunami delegation, which will return to Indonesia on April 8, includes both Muslim and Christian representatives from PC(USA) partners in the region: the Christian Health Association of Indonesia, the Council of Churches of Indonesia, and Church World Service.
She said PDA has so far dispatched about $6 million to the tsunami-impacted area and has committed another $2.5 million to be sent in October.
"These are people who have been in the field since the tsunami hit," Young said.
"In their recovery efforts, they've been empowered to take control of their situation and return some sense of normalcy to their lives. They can't offer money, food or building materials to Katrina survivors, but their message here is incredibly important. "
The group also will tour the Ferncliff Presbyterian Camp and Conference Center near Little Rock, AR, which houses the PDA's volunteer dispatch operation, which assigns work groups to the various volunteer villages.
"I'm excited about seeing this as hopefully the very first exchange," Ryan said. "I hope we'll have more, including talking with them after this visit about a U.S.-to-tsunami visit."
You are currently subscribed to the PCUSANEWS listserv of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
To unsubscribe, send a blank message to
mailto:PCUSANEWS-unsubscribe-request@halak.pcusa.org.
To update your email address, send your old email address and your new one to mailto:PCUSANEWS-owner@halak.pcusa.org.
For questions or comments, send an email to mailto:PCUSANEWS-owner@halak.pcusa.org.
To learn more, visit http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) 100 Witherspoon Street Louisville, KY 40202 (888) 728-7228