Title: ELCA Helps Rebuild Indonesian Fishing Town ELCA NEWS SERVICE
February 28, 2008
ELCA Helps Rebuild Indonesian Fishing Town 08-019-MRC
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Kuala Bubon, a fishing town in North Sumatra, Indonesia, can no longer be called a "sunken" or "lost village." Washed away by a tsunami that struck three years ago, Kuala Bubon has risen again with concrete homes built on "pilings over water."
On Dec. 26, 2004, an earthquake in the Indian Ocean produced a tsunami that killed more than a quarter of a million people in East Africa and South Asia -- with about 170,000 people dead or missing in Northern Sumatra alone. Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) raised more than $11 million to support the immediate needs of people and long-term recovery efforts of ELCA "companions" working in tsunami-struck areas. Of the funds collected, $1 million went to support a massive rebuilding project in Kuala Bubon.
The ELCA helped build 118 houses there and, starting in February, people will be able to move into the homes, said the Rev. Joseph Chu, program director for Asia Pacific, ELCA Global Mission.
"The houses are constructed of concrete and built on pilings over water in exactly the same spot where the previous village stood. Most other post-tsunami houses being built are made of wood, but the concrete houses are much studier construction, designed to withstand future storms," he said.
The building project in Kuala Bubon is much more comprehensive than the building of houses and restoring the past. "It involves the prospect for a better life, sustainable and long-term enhancements, not just immediate relief," Chu said.
As villagers organized around the project, they created new health and education programs and learned new ways of working together to address lifestyle systems holistically, said Chu. The project included building an elementary school, fish market and community center, as well as creating a new system for waste disposal, he said. An early warning tower will increase preparedness for possible future disasters.
The rebuilding of Kuala Bubon "is a remarkable story of collaboration among many -- members of the community, local government, Christian nongovernment organizations, Christian companions outside of Indonesia and others" said Chu.
For Sigit Wijayanta, the "impossible became possible. Sometimes life changes so fast, and what was only dream and illusion (has) become reality in Kuala Bubon." Wijayanta serves as executive director for the YAKKUM Emergency Unit (YEU), an Indonesia disaster response organization.
"Two and a half years ago, I came and sat together with some villagers, and we were looking at the sunken Kuala Bubon. 'There lain our beloved and belongings. What was glorious (had been) drifted by tsunami,'" Wijayanta was told. "The biggest fishing port and prominent fisherman village is now a memory. It is impossible to rebuild the village above the sunken land. And, we admit, it was a crazy idea of (convincing) the people of Kuala Bubon to return to their sunken land. The effort to regain people's spirit was not easy," he said.
"As an organization, YEU has worked for more than 30 years in community development, and we remember the principle, 'the people are always right,'" said Wijayanta. Using scientific evidence, "we started to prove that it was possible to use the land," he said. "Through YEU, we made the dream into reality" and built homes with the help of skilled workers, contractors and others, he said.
"Kuala Bubon is no longer sunken land; it is now a crowded settlement. The fishing boats rest and unload their goods along the wharfs. The fish auction market is full of people ... fishmongers and others are doing business," said Wijayanta.
A partner of the ELCA, YEU has been rebuilding communities affected by the tsunami in Indonesia, said Chu. "YEU organized people on the ground, worked with communities to understand needs and served as a liaison with government officials," he said.
The ELCA's participation "has been exclusively with companions who are part of Action by Churches Together (ACT)," said Chu. YEU is one of three ACT implementers in Indonesia.
ACT is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergency situations worldwide. It is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Geneva. The ELCA is a member of the WCC and LWF.
ELCA funds are sent through the church's International Disaster Response. Coordinated by ELCA Global Mission, International Disaster Response channels its funds through international church organizations and relief agencies. Funds provide for food, medicine, drinking water, emergency shelter and other materials for survivors of disasters.
"We rely on trustworthy companions on the ground with a deep understanding of local communities. Our companions lead the project, and the ELCA supports it. We also choose companions who go far beyond relief into improving the community," said Chu.
Other ACT members and partners of the ELCA working in tsunami relief include Norwegian Church Aid working in Somalia; the National Council of Churches in Sri Lanka working in Sri Lanka; and the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India working in India.
"Contributions from members of the ELCA are used faithfully and wisely, and do make a difference," Chu said.
ELCA funds are needed even when groups like The Red Cross fund recovery efforts, according to Dr. Belletech Deressa, director for international development and disaster response, ELCA Global Mission. "Church-funded recovery efforts reach people who are in need, often those who are very poor and not receiving the resources they need to recover. The church will always be there with people, regardless of their politics, ideology or religion," she said.
ELCA funds also help cover spiritual and psychosocial care, an aspect of disaster recovery that is overlooked by some secular organizations, said the Rev. Rafael Malpica-Padilla, executive director, ELCA Global Mission.
"After a disaster, there is an immediate need for people to tell their stories to someone who will listen. Pastors and lay people can also help (survivors of a disaster) struggle with the question, 'Why God, why?' Our partners present the love of God through every stage of a disaster from funerals to rebuilding," said Malpica-Padilla.
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Editors: When listing organizations receiving funds for aid to survivors of major disasters outside the United States, Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands, please include: ELCA International Disaster Response, PO Box 71764, Chicago, IL 60694-1764, 1-800-638-3522 and http://www.ELCA.org/disaster/idrgive on the Internet.
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