Reflections on five years of the Tsunami operation.

A woman who survived the Tsunami in Aceh In Indonesia, in her new Red Cross transitional shelter. Taken in February 2007






We walked along Patong Beach last night. A tourist ship was anchored in the bay. A slice of moon nudged stars that were dancing heal and toe. Naila, Ablai, Mahdi and I walked into the surf and felt the waves around our feet. During the last five years I feel a wrench in my gut when I step into the surf. I have personally witnessed so much death and destruction from the sea, since that fateful day on 26 December 2004 when the Indian Ocean tsunami killed over 200,000 people, with over 100,000 still missing, that my relationship with the sea has changed. I am more cautious.

Half an hour before we walked in the surf last night, we had dinner in a Russian restaurant with an exotic menu. One of the waiters talked about the Tsunami. He was sleeping when it hit the coastline. Many of his friends were killed here in Phuket and down the coast in Krabi. Across the street the Information Kiosk has a DVD and screen you can watch the Tsunami video on. On the streets there are Tsunami evacuation signs directing people to higher ground. (see photo below) The tsunami has taken lives and changed lives.

My work initially on the Tsunami relief operation, for the first year, was mainly in India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives and was rewarding as we provided life saving relief including medical aid, water, sanitation and shelter. Then it was into recovery planning for building whole communities which included houses, schools, clinics, water supplies, toilets, waste disposal, livelihoods and institutions such as nursing colleges and mental institutions.

In August 2006, I moved to Indonesia to head the Red Cross recovery operation and now, after five years we have almost completed our work. This is my third short visit to Thailand since the Tsunami struck, but the other visits have been more for regional planning meetings.

Stefan Kuhne-Hellmessen and Leslie Schaffer. Stefan's story is below and Leslie ran the Tsunami desk for Sri Lanka and the Maldives from Geneva. Photo: Bob McKerrow

Today in Patong I met Stefan Kuhne-Hellmessen who runs our Tsunami recovery operation in Thailand. When the Tsunami struck, I asked Stefan to go to Sri Lanka and support the relief operation there. Later he moved here and has been heading the Red Cross relief operation together with the Thai Red Cross for more than three years. On Saturday 26 December, Stefan and I will participate in some Tsunami commemoration ceremonies marking five years. He is going to take me to show me many of the Thai Red Cross success stories as well as providing me an opportunity to talk to survivors.

Over 2000 people died in this small bay, Patong. The Thai Red Cross have invited me to a ceremony where a floating candle for each person killed will be lit and placed in the sea.I cannot think of a better way to remember those who died and to celebrate those who survived.
I will also think of those people I worked with over the past five years and who ‘built back better.’ Many of them are pictured below.

Mr. Tsunami, Dr. Kuntoro Mangkasubroto who led the most professional Government Ministry for Tsunami Recovery in Indonesia, with Bob McKerrow on Simeulue Island. Photo: Aroha McKerrow

Building back better. A Red Cross permanent house in Aceh with the wooden Red Cross transitional shelter behind. The wooden shelter provided accommodation for the first three years until permanent houses were completed. Photo: Bob McKerrow
Jerry Talbot (left) and Dr. Kintoro. Jerry was the special representative to the SG of the International Red Cross and provided inspirational leadership to all of us in the field. Photo: Bob McKerrow

Two girls who survived the Tsunami in Mate Ie village in Aceh. Photo: Bob McKerrow

A group of senior officials who played key roles role in the five years of the Tsunami operation. From left to right:
Yasuo Tanaka, Japanese Red Cross who played a major part in assessment in Aceh in the early days of the relief operation.
Satya Tripathi the UN Recovery Coordinator in Aceh who did an outstanding job.
Tadateru Konoe President of the Japanese Red Cross and IFRC. For five years he led Japanese RC efforts and played a key role in the Federation.

Kuntoro Mangkasubroto, head of BRR.
Pak Heru BRR head of International relations
Bob McKerrow, the writer






Marcel Fortier (desk officer for Indonesia) and Valpuri our monitoring and evaluation specialists. Photo: Bob McKerrow




Per Jennes and Isobel Grainger. Per ran the operation in the Maldives and Isobel was our legal delegate. Photo: Bob McKerrow

Women in Teunon, Aceh, benefit from a Red Cross livelihood programme.
Indonesian red Cross volunteers removing the dead.
The early days of the relief operation in Aceh.
Pak Iyang (l) SG of Indonesian RC, Borge Bente, SG of Norwegian Red Cross and writer. Pak Iyand worked tirelessly for five years full time om the Tsunami operation.
Pak Mar'ie, Chairman PMI (left) who gave outstanding leadership throughout the Tsunami operation, talking to Ken Baker. Ken led the Canadian RC housing programme. Photo: Bob McKerrow
Younis Karim (l) and Flory who ran the Red Cross operation on the island of Nias. Photo: Bob McKerrow
Eddy Purwanto,(l) Chied of Operations, BRR, Indonesia, talking to Ann, from the IFRC office in New York. Eddy visited New York with Pak Kuntoro to meet Bill Clinton and Ban ki Moon. Photo: Bob McKerrow

Surviving the Tsunami – Stories of Hope

Yesterday, IFRC and Thomson Reuters Foundation (TRF) hosted an event in London to launch a web-based multimedia documentary that is linked to the fifth commemoration of the Indian Ocean Tsunami.



After checking out the website and the stories, I was thrilled to see the quality and content. There are four short films based on personal stories, called “Surviving the Tsunami – Stories of Hope”, that have been co-produced in a partnership involving both organizations. The project has its own website



http://tsunami.trust.org/



and features an interactive map, a comments function and a ‘Learn More’ section with links to National Societies’ tsunami programmes and information to other resources.

Sub-titled versions of the films should now be available in:

Arabic: http://tsunami.trust.org/arabic/

Bahasa (Indonesian): http://tsunami.trust.org/bahasa/

French: http://tsunami.trust.org/french/

Hindi: http://tsunami.trust.org/hindi/

Mandarin: http://tsunami.trust.org/mandarin/

Sinhala: http://tsunami.trust.org/sinhala/

Spanish: http://tsunami.trust.org/spanish/

Thai: http://tsunami.trust.org/thai/

Tamil: http://tsunami.trust.org/tamil/ `

Japanese: http://tsunami.trust.org/jp/

If you want to dig a little deeper, the British Red Cross has taken an innovative look back at the tragedy, the long road to recovery and the foundations which have been laid for a brighter, safer future.

Through a new interactive challenge, ‘Decisions for Recovery’, the British Red Cross is asking people in the UK and around the world to put themselves in the shoes of those who led recovery from the disaster.



http://recoveringafuture.org.uk/challenge



Drawing from the real-life dilemmas Red Cross staff faced, ‘Decisions for Recovery’, puts you in the hot seat.



When so many are suffering, who do you help first? What kind of help do you offer and how do you decide between quick fixes which meet immediate needs and frustratingly slow but sustainable long-term projects?



As a disaster recovery manager for the British Red Cross, it’s up to you to direct and co-ordinate the Tsunami response, help rebuild lives and recover a future for people who have lost everything.



“The challenges were enormous, the decisions – as people visiting the website will see - were incredibly difficult, but today I feel very proud of what the Red Cross achieved to help rebuild people’s lives and, more than that, build them back stronger,” said Alastair Burnett, British Red Cross disaster recovery manager.



“We were faced with the most difficult decisions of our lives, decisions that affected hundreds of thousands of people whose lives were destroyed by the tsunami.



“The support we received from the public was phenomenal and enabled us to mount our largest recovery effort since the Second World War. Now we want to tell the story of how the money people gave was spent and the difference it has made to people’s lives.”



This is an emotional time for me. Having spent almost five years of my life in the Tsunami operation in Indonesia, Maldives, India and Sri Lanka, there is much to reflect on, and much to celebrate. The Red Cross has achieved the following:



The lives of almost 5,000,000 people are now significantly improved through the collective efforts of the Red Cross Red Crescent



21,112 transitional shelters were built in Indonesia, the Maldives and Sri Lanka

Over 51,000 houses have been built with funding from the Red Cross Red Crescent.



289 hospitals and clinics have been built or rehabilitated. More than 70 are under construction and over 350 hospitals and health facilities will be provided



161 schools have been built with a further 11 under construction or in the planning stages.



Over 1,110,000 people have been reached by community-based health services



Over 62,000 households have received livelihoods support grants



Over 38,000 people have been trained in vulnerability and capacity assessments or community based disaster management



It is clear to me that the Red Cross tsunami recovery operation has met peoples’ emergency needs, helped to rebuild communities and supported their future development. This approach gives people the best possible chance for a long term, sustainable recovery.

Just got back from a field trip in Aceh, and later, From survivor to volunteer.

The village of Mate Ie, in Aceh Jaya district of Aceh province. We visited this village to monitor the integrated community development approach of the Canadian Red Cross. Note the transitional shelter attached to the rear of the house. The villagers lived in the transitional shelters for 3 years while their permanent house was being built. Photo: Bob McKerrow

It's been an amazing journey south of Banda Aceh to inspect a number of the 40,000 houses built by the Red Cross in Aceh after the tragic Tsunami operation of late 2004. We visited many of the 4000 houses built by the Canadian Red Cross along 75 km of coastline between Lamno, to south of Calang.

I travelled with Nina Nobel and Menaka Tennekon, from our Tsunami office in Kuala Lumpur, and Ebrahim Faghihi who runs our Tsunami recovery operation in Aceh.

I have worked more than four and a half years on the Red Cross tsunami operation in India, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and for the last three years have been in charge of the Red Cross Tsunami operation in Indonesia.

Above, Iskander, the village chief (left) at Lho Kruet talking to me in front of his new house and new village. Meneka looks on. She is our legal advisor for the tsunami. Here the Canadian Red Cross have built 3480 houses, with each house having a clean water supply and state of the art toilets. In addition to livelihood, risk reduction, gender. Photo: Galal
From left to right: Ebrahim Faghihi, Abdel Gadir Galal, Bob McKerrow, Menaka Tennekon, Nina Nobel, and the house owners, mother, father and daughter right. A Canadian Red Cross staff member in front. The name of the village is Kareng Ateuh

Photo: Galal

I feel a great sense of pride when I monitor the work done by our various member Red Cross and Red Crescent societies in Aceh and Nias. It is a truly integrated community development programme with permanent houses, transitional shelters placed at the back for extra space, quality water supply, toilets, community centres, schools, clinics, livelihoods and power supply. We have built back better and beneficiary satisfaction is very high. The Indonesian Red Cross have trained villagers in risk reduction and first aid, so with earthquake resistant houses that can withstand floods, this is part of a wider risk reduction programme.



We also had a look at the municipal water supply in Calang built by the American Red Cross and inaugurated last month. This is another high quality programme bringing clean water and sanitation to 6000 people.


I have travelled this coast line over 15 times and never tire of the beauty. Photo: Bob McKerrow

Each visit I make, I find some outstanding red cross worker. On this trip, Abdel Gadir Galal impressed me beyond expectations. Born in the Sudan, Galal has a strong community development background and has worked in the Tsunami operation since the beginning. He has supervised the construction of 4000 Canadian Red Cross houses, and the other integrated components of water and sanitation, community centres, roads, drainage, livelihoods and community activities. As we walked about the villages everyone greets Galal with a broad smile. He replies in fluent Bahasa. It is our delegates like Galal who live in these remote corners of Indonesia, and their Indonesian Red Cross counterparts, who are the unsung heroes of this massive operation. I salute you Galal !

Now its back to reality. A heap of mud splattered clothing in my suit case, a report to write, consultants and staff to meet and paper piled high in my in-tray and 200 emails wanting an answer. This is the price of travelling and talking to the recepients of our work.

I just had a look at our website and saw this article written by Nanda Aprilia from the American Red Cross


Cut Resmi at her home in Banda Aceh. Photo: American Red Cross


Banda Aceh: From survivor to volunteer

When the tsunami came, Cut Resmi was planting flowers in the yard of her home in Banda Aceh. The waves swept away one of her two children and destroyed her house, leaving Cut, her husband and their surviving son homeless. After the disaster, Cut says she was devastated and felt nearly hopeless.

“I gave up and never imagined that we would have a home again,” she says. “I just tried to think about my son, who was still very young and needed me to be strong.”

Cut and her family found refuge in temporary barracks built for individuals displaced by the disaster. Soon after their arrival, the American Red Cross and Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) psychosocial support programme began providing support to survivors in the area.

Support networks

Early on, the programme focused on barracks and temporary living centres to provide help for those who needed it most - survivors like Cut who had lost nearly everything in the tsunami and were separated from the traditional support networks of friends, family and neighbours that enable individuals cope with and overcome tragedy.

Along with several fellow residents, Cut took part in activities focused on helping affected individuals to cope. Altogether, the American Red Cross and PMI provided emotional support to more than 30,000 survivors like Cut in the six months following the disaster.

Actively engaged in community life before the tsunami, Cut soon became a community psychosocial facilitator, helping to organize supportive activities within the barracks and providing solace to those who were still grieving.

Heal from the trauma“Survivors really needed this kind of assistance,” she says. “It allowed us to come together and begin to heal from the trauma, even while we were still unsure about the future and mourning those we had lost.”

Four years later, she and her family have moved into a new home on the land where their old village once stood. Cut has started a small business selling clothes and remains active in her community. So when the American Red Cross and PMI community-based first aid (CBFA) programme began in her village, she was eager to get involved.

The programme addresses the longer-term health needs of tsunami-affected individuals through outreach and education about emergency first aid as well as common health threats. The disaster destroyed more than 400 health facilities and displaced or killed nearly a third of all health workers in Aceh, further weakening a healthcare system strained by nearly three decades of conflict.

Preventable diseases

Though significant progress has been made in restoring health services, many, especially those in rural areas, remain unable to access basic health care. Preventable diseases such as dengue and malaria remain common and are all too often fatal.

As a health volunteer, Cut feels empowered to educate her friends and neighbours about health risks and how to avoid them. For several hours a week, she visits fellow villagers in their homes and discusses common health issues in their community.

In total, the programme will train volunteers like Cut to educate individuals in 140 villages in Banda Aceh, Aceh Jaya, Sabang and Bireuen.

Life and death

“Other mothers often ask me questions about their children, about nutrition or about how to detect if there is a serious problem, like dengue,” Cut says. “I am glad that I can provide information and help people, as it could be a matter of life and death.”

Through first aid and other emergency training, Cut says she feels prepared if there is another disaster.

“Before, I would have been scared and might have panicked,” she says. “But now I know exactly what to do if some is seriously hurt and needs assistance.”

Dispatches from New York

I am on the road again. Wednesday night it was Jakarta to Singapore. There I met my colleague Jerry Talbot and together we made our way to JFK airport in New York via Frankfurt. Over 30 hours in the air.

I was in an aisle seat going from Singapore to Frankfurt, and next to me was a 65 year old marine engineer from Myanmar, called U San Myint. At the window seat sat Herman, yes a German, who didn’t speak a word of English. At first I counted my blessings as U San was a small man which meant I had lots of arm room on his side of the arm rest, He also spoke reasonable English so I was able to quiz him about his days at sea where he travelled to many parts of the world on Japanese ships. I manged to get some sleep as we flew across Asia and Turkey, and as first light broke across the Black sea, breakfast was served , I noticed U San bring out the air sickness bag. O no ! he was going to vomit. I had just lifted the foil lid off my cooked breakfast of scrambled eggs, potatoes and bacon, when he gathered a large ball of saliva and Flem, and spat into the bag. Obviously he had been doing this while I was sleeping as the bag was bulging with tissues and spittle. As he spat into the bag, I am sure I could see droplets of saliva spraying my eggs and bacon. I thought, I hope he doesn’t have TB, and started my breakfast. Apart from spitting regularly into the airsickness bag, U San was a pleasant companion as he told me about his grown up children and grand children living in New York. But he continued spitting into the bag every now and then. Over the years I have had to put up with other people’s irritating habits, and they with mine. After breakfast I switched on the movie channels and was delighted to find Slumdog Millionaire. It was every bit as good as it was cracked up to be and I can see how it got 8 awards at the Oscars. What a wonderful actor Patel is in playing Jamal Malik.

I worked quite a lot in slums in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nepal over a few decades and it brought back so many strong memories. The noise, the smell, the laughter. the crying and the squalor I remember flooded back. It was all there in Slumdogs, except the smell. U San’s spitting added a live touch in the next seat, while Herman muttered away in German in the window seat. ( see photo)

I am heading to New York for the presentation of the Tsunami Global Lessons Learned Report to the Secretary General of the UN, Ban Ki- moon, and his special adviser Bill Clinton. In many ways it is a celebration of the outstanding work done by the Governments, the Red Cross Societies, the NGOs, and most importantly, the affected people themselves, in building back better after the Tsunami.

New York Thursday afternoon.

Landed about 11 am NY time at JFK airport in our aging Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-400. It took at least five minutes for my personal information to come up on the computers screen, so I had a good opportunity to talk to the Immigration Officer. We discussed the Tsunami, 9/11 where some of his friends were killed. He was in the Police department then and had the job of identifying cars that were wrecked. He told me huge cars were burnt into an unrecognisable ball of metal. The officer happily stamped my passport and told me the hot places to go in NY.

New York is grayish-brown and dusty and looks if it is still struggling to accept spring.


Manhattan Island


Jerry and I are staying in a small hotel on Manhattan island, called Murray Hill east, which is close to our office in New York, and close to the UN where we have meetings all day tomorrow. The district is generally regarded as the area from 34th street to 42nd street, from MADISON Avenue to the east River. The hill and hotel is named after Robert Murray whose 18th century farm is now Murray Hill Just behind the hotel on the hill, is the site of the original farmhouse. Legend has it that Murray’s wife and daughter saved George Washington;s army from British capture in 1776 when General William Howe and his landed at Kips Bay, they made their way to Murray’s farm. Mrs Murray and her daughter staegically served Howe lunch which gave Washington time to slip with his troops to Harlem Heights and out of Harms way.

Once we unpacked, we went to the IFRC office a few blocks away and met Michael Schulz, Maude Froberg, Anne Bang Christtensen, Fantaye (Ethiopia) and Antti the Finn, who make up our team, do crucial advocacy work at the UN Headquarters. Michael and his team do a lot of political lobbying, positioning of the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, advocating for the most vulnerable, and of course raising funds from all the countries who are represented at the UN in NY.

We all assisted Jerry Talbot to polish his speech tomorrow that he will give after Ban Ki-moon, Bill Clinton and the Governments of India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand and the Maldives.


Friday 245. The Big day

Got to bed last night at around 9.3o pm NY time, 8.30 am Friday Jakarta time. Got 4 or 5 hours sleep but up doing some work at 4.00 am.

Left hotel at 6 am and headed up Murray Hill by way of 39th street. The first rays of sun caress the skyscrapers. I am hungry. I see a sign SCOTTY’S DINER – Open 24 hours. A step into a cosy atmosphere. A tall handsome waiter in his late 20s asks, “What do you want Sir ?”

I am starving. I order bacon, eggs and sausages, a cup of tea, I get talking to Stano, short for Anastano. He tells me he’s Greek and earning money working here until he can get a better job. He is an economist and he tells me about the down turn in the economy. We agree what has happened down the road at Wall Street is unforgivable, and then he tells me he wants to come to New Zealand. I hear Spanish being spoken by the other waitresses. I ask Stano if he’s proud to have Obama as President. He hesitates and says, “ Give him time, he has to prove himself.”

I tuck into a breakfast that would do any New Zealand farmer proud. Stano keeps popping by to say a few words and a pretty Spanish waitress refills my cup with tea. The locals pop in for coffee, a newspaper, a chat. The greet me warmly and one elderly man enquires as to my health. I am beginning to like this city. I take a photo of Stano, one hand on the counter, the other akimbo.

I need to read a real paper. I find a busy, colourful shop with the hoarding announcing, 39 Gourmet Deli and Convenience Store. I stop to admire the beautiful selection of cut flowers. They must be romantic people these Greeks, Spanish, Italians and Indians. I buy milk, tea, chips and orange juice, and ask the guy behind the counter for the best paper in town. He recommends THE NEW YORK TIMES. We get talking and I find he is from Nepal. “Namaska” I greet him. “How do you know my languages ?” he asks. I explained I worked there for some years. His name is Gurung. He explains his father was a Gurkha in the British army and he is from Pokhara. We spent five cherry minutes discussing Nepal. I take a photo of Gurung smiling proudly. I know feel secure. I have two friends in New York, Stano and Gurung. I promise I will come and see them tomorrow morning.

I walk the streets and love the openness of people and shops. There are many dry cleaners and shops announcing Laundry. The large ground floor windows at Polaris Cleaners are flung wide open and women busily press clothes. I walk down Lexington street watching Manhattan come to life.

I go back to the Hotel and shower. I look forward to the big dat at the UN headquarters. New York has put me in a great mood.

I will post some photos when I am back of the people I met and let you know how the event at the UN went.


INVITATION TO THE UN TODAY
You are invited to attend the Tsunami Global Lessons Learned Event,presenting a report on lessons learned from the five countries most affected by the tsunami tragedy: India, Indonesia, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

The report will be presented to the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and former UN Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery, President Bill Clinton by UNDP Administrator Helen Clark in her capacity as UNDG Chair, and the Permanent Representative of the Mission of the Republic of Indonesia, H. E. Marty Natalegawa.

The presentation will be followed by discussions on the experiences and lessons learned.

When: 3:00 – 6:00pm, Friday, 24 April

Please be seated by 2:45

Where: Trusteeship Council Chamber, the Secretariat



The Tsunami Global Lessons Learned Event will offer a unique opportunity for various partners to engage in cross-border learning, take stock of the amassed knowledge and share best practices of the recovery and reconstruction efforts following the Indian Ocean Tsunami on 26 December 2004. The high-level event is jointly organized – and co-chaired – by the United Nations Development Group and the Permanent Mission of Indonesia to
the United Nations. The proceedings will also feature the official release of a new global stock-taking report entitled The Tsunami Legacy: Innovation, Breakthroughs and Change, a summary of the report’s major findings, as well as an opportunity for representatives of the five countries to detail their specific experiences of the recovery.

Significantly, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and former UN Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery, President Bill Clinton, will be on hand to offer remarks on the recovery process. They will also be the first recipients of a copy of the new report, handed to them by the Permanent Representative of the Mission of the Republic of Indonesia, H. E. Marty Natalegawa and UNDP Administrator Helen Clark in her capacity as UNDG Chair.

After these presentations, the floor will be opened to the invited guests, which include Permanent Representatives from all UN member states, heads and directors of all UN agencies and UNDP Bureaus, representatives from major NGOs and UNDP staff.

The report on The Tsunami Legacy: Innovation, Breakthroughs and Change looks broadly at the lessons drawn from the massive recovery efforts that followed the disaster zeroing in on the experiences from the five worst affected countries: India, Indonesia, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand. It details the arduous task of ensuring that all victims of the tsunami – even those less visible in the initial damage assessments – would get access to and benefit from the aid. Responding to the danger of exclusion, recovery actors in all five countries embraced new and innovative strategies for ensuring that victims and vulnerable groups would get the required assistance.

Indonesia: New beginnings for young survivors

I spent last week in the Tsunami affected areas of Aceh, Indonesia, where the Red Cross is nearing the end of its Tsunami recovery operation. As I travel about inspecting the work we have done, I hear so many stories from Tsunami survivors. Here are a few of them.

Four years after the disaster, Masrizal and Bahtiar are looking to the future. Along with nearly 500 other young people, Bahtiar is participating in a vocational training programme provided by the American Red Cross and the Indonesian Red Cross

Masrizal is a sensitive and quiet young man. At age 27, he has a strong vision and a desire to enrich himself and help others. But beneath his stoic demeanor lies a moving story of tragic loss and new beginnings.When the December 2004 tsunami struck, Masrizal lost his entire family, his home and all of his earthly possessions in a matter of hours. His village of Lamlumpu, in Aceh Besar, was utterly destroyed and many of its residents killed.“My parents and siblings disappeared in the waves, together with most of the other people who lived in my village,” he says. “It left me all alone in the world.”

Compassionate and concerned

But Masrizal says the experience made him more compassionate and concerned about the well-being of those around him. He says he often thinks of his mother and tries to emulate her. He remembers her as a warm and lively woman who was at the centre of community life.“My mother was always involved in community events,” he says. “She was easy to talk to and I felt like I could tell her anything.”More than a year ago, he received a new house from an international organization near where most of Lampulu's surviving residents have settled. He has also found a job at a local blood testing laboratory, where he works part time.

Badly injured

Like Masrizal, 20-year-old Bahtiar also lost nearly everything to the tsunami. Caught up in the waves, he was badly injured but luckily managed to survive. Unfortunately, both of his parents and five of his siblings did not.“There was nothing left from our home - it disappeared completely,” Bahtiar, who was aged 16 at the time, recalls. “I felt sad and confused, but thankfully I had my relatives to care for me during that time.”His surviving family members helped nurse him back to health and supported him while he completed secondary school.

Sustainable income

Four years after the disaster, Masrizal and Bahtiar are looking to the future. Along with nearly 500 other young people, Masrizal is participating in a vocational training programme provided by the American Red Cross and the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI). The training, which is part of the psychosocial support programme, aims to help tsunami-affected youth like Masrizal to gain the skills they need to earn a sustainable income.“We are allowed to choose the type of training based on experience and interest,” Masrizal says. “Once I complete the course, I hope to earn more money and establish my own business.”Participants can choose from a range of courses, including carpentry and computer skills.

The training, which is part of the psychosocial support programme, aims to help tsunami-affected youth like Masrizal to gain the skills they need to earn a sustainable income.


Masrizal has chosen a course in electrical repair while Bahtiar has selected a mechanical repair course.“I want to continue my education and go to university,” Bahtiar says. “Hopefully the income I earn from being a mechanic will pay for my school fees.”

Incredible recovery

Though Aceh has seen incredible recovery and growth in the four years since the disaster, it remains one of the poorest provinces in Indonesia. Now that houses have been built and major infrastructure repaired, economic recovery assistance is one of the most pressing needs for survivors.With tsunami-related aid from the government and international organizations coming to an end, it is vital that young people have the skills that they need to continue on the path to recovery and self-sufficiency. The training is being implemented in partnership with local government agencies who help identify local experts to act as facilitators and provide professional certificates to participants successfully completing their course.On the last day of vocational training, Masrizal receives an “A” score for the course.“The more skills and knowledge that I have, the better my life will be and the more I can contribute to my community,” he says.

Bahtiar receives his training certificate.


Psychosocial Support Programme (PSP) in Aceh

The PSP programme is working in 160 villages and 139 schools in Aceh Besar, Banda Aceh and Aceh Jaya. After over two years of support in Aceh Besar and Banda Aceh, activities in these two districts are ending while activities in Aceh Jaya will continue through December 2009.To date, 388 community and school facilitators have been trained to design and implement psychosocial activities. 5,624 individuals have been trained in psychological first aid, equipping them with the skills to sensitively respond to the needs of those affected by crisis. It is hoped that these individuals will be able to continue to support their communities in times of need long after the programme ends.With Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) and the University of Indonesia, the American Red Cross is designing and supporting a Master’s degree course in disaster psychology. The first course will begin in February 2009 with 20 students from across the country. As PMI staff and volunteers, these students will trained and prepared to respond the psychological needs of disaster survivors nationwide.

Masrizal proudly display his training certificate.

Special thanks to Wilda Anggraeni, American Red Cross in Aceh, Indonesia for some of the text and photos.

Finale: I am off to New York tomorrow night, 22 April, to be there for the presentation of the Tsunami Global Lessons Learned Report to the SG of the UN and Bill Clinton who has been his special adviser. It will be great to see New York again. The last time I was in New York was 1986 after going to the North Pole with Will Steger, and I appeared on Good Morning America in Polar bear trousers, seal skin boots, Beaver mitts with a badly frostbitten face. Dan Rather was the host on the show. That night in 1986, after 4 months of isolation, I hit New York town and had quite a party.