November 5, 6 and 7th, 2005 -- Indonesia

I have seen the photos and read the stories of the devastation last December’s tsunami brought upon Banda Aceh, Indonesia, but nothing could have prepared me for the destruction I saw with my own eyes. As we drove through the hardest-hit areas and flew over the coastline, we saw whole towns that had been completely wiped away, leaving what I can only describe as house graveyards of foundations and debris. At one site we walked across a foundation where the building was completely gone and the wildly twisted rebar that had supported large columns left a chilling sculptural statement about the massive force of the waves. It was so shocking to see the immense impact nature can have on humankind. Yet it was encouraging to see the hope that has come back to this area and the progress that Habitat continues to make.

Habitat for Humanity has already completed more than 1,300 new homes for tsunami-affected families in the Aceh area, and we have ambitious plans to complete 2,000 by the end of this year. Our long-term goal is to assist 10,000 tsunami-affected families in Indonesia by January 2007. We are not only building homes but operating building and technical centers that provide materials as well as training and jobs for those who lost their livelihoods.

When looking at the destruction, the task to rebuild seems overwhelming. And, to be sure, it has not been easy for our staff to operate in such difficult conditions. Materials need to be delivered by barge to areas no longer accessible by roads. Some areas can take between two and fourteen hours to reach by car, depending on the road conditions. Staff who work in Meulaboh on the West Coast of Sumatra have worked much of the year with no electricity or cell phone connectivity to stay in touch with their colleagues. But the entire Habitat team has persevered and sacrificed to help their brothers and sisters in need. I was impressed and humbled by their commitment. Many of the leaders on our Indonesia tsunami response team are from the Philippines, sent over by our Habitat organization there to assist in the reconstruction. They have left behind their families and other loved ones – sometimes for months at a time – to work in these challenging conditions so that others might have homes. What a wonderful example of the love and commitment of the global Habitat family!

And our family continues to grow as we forge partnerships with other organizations that are assisting those in need in Indonesia and working side-by-side with communities and with the Muslim leadership in our shared goal to rebuild this broken country. One of our staff declared proudly that our work here is “from the community, by the community and for the community.” In each step we consult with the families on how the project should and could be implemented in order to best serve the area, the culture and the society. Through these important partnerships, we model a successful holistic approach to reconstruction and renewal. And we lay a strong foundation for future work in this area of Indonesia, which experienced years of conflict and struggle long before the tsunami hit.

The symbolism of Habitat’s work in Aceh is so important. We are rebuilding lives and communities, demonstrating the love and teachings of Jesus Christ in all that we are doing. This was so evident to me when we met one of the Habitat partner families in the village of Kampung Mulia, which lost 1,300 of its 1,900 residents in the tsunami, many of them children. This family lost both a child and a grandchild, and their profound grief was still evident as they showed me those beautiful children’s pictures hanging on the walls of their new Habitat home. Through their tears, they said they could not repay the goodness bestowed on them by Habitat. Only God can repay, they said. We reminded them that they can repay by continuing to help others in their community to rebuild their homes as well.

Another family who lived more than two kilometers from the coast (almost 1 ½ miles) described seeing the water coming over the minarets of a mosque a mile away and immediately fleeing to the hills. Within five minutes their home was completely destroyed. The father of this family is a builder, and he now works with other families to build their homes. It is clear, just as I saw in Louisiana a few weeks ago, that seeing new homes rising out of the ground is helping communities to draw together and begin to heal.

You cannot visit here without having your heart changed. Meeting the families who lost so much, seeing the immense destruction and hearing of the 50,000 people who still live in temporary shelters, it is easy to be discouraged. But it is clear to me how God is at work here in Indonesia. There is hope, there is promise and there is progress. And Habitat for Humanity is making it happen.