Amputee puts past behind her<\/p>\n
Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh<\/p>\n
It has been almost a year since Nurleili was swept away by the
\nraging waters of the tsunami that ravaged Aceh, her right leg
\ninjured so badly that doctors were forced to amputate.<\/p>\n
Today, Leili, as the 23-year-old is known, is as busy and
\nactive as she was before the tsunami swept through her village in
\nAceh Besar regency.<\/p>\n
With her prosthetic leg, which is too small and still gives
\nher pain, Leili moves around the shelter for displaced persons in
\nLamlhom, also in Aceh Besar regency, where she now lives.<\/p>\n
Her days are full, as she does the washing, cooking and
\ncleaning for her three brothers. Their parents died in the
\ntsunami.<\/p>\n
Leili said crying about the past would not bring back any of
\nthe things she lost in the disaster.<\/p>\n
\"The tsunami left me with this memory, a lost leg. I'll
\nremember this tragedy my whole life,\" Leili told The Jakarta
\nPost.<\/p>\n
Only in those rare quiet moments, when her work is finished,
\ndoes Leili worry about what the future may hold.<\/p>\n
\"Maybe I'll be doing this until I'm old,\" she sighed.<\/p>\n
The staggering number of people who died in the tsunami that
\ndevastated Aceh and parts of North Sumatra last Dec. 26 has been
\nwell documented, but there are no accurate records of the number
\nof people who were left handicapped by the disaster.<\/p>\n
The non-governmental organization Handicap International, one
\nof the groups assisting the handicapped in the province, visits
\nNurleili at the shelter once a week.<\/p>\n
Over the last 10 months, the group has scoured shelters and
\ntents across Aceh looking for anyone in need of assistance.<\/p>\n
The group has provided prosthetic devices for 180 people and
\ntreated 1,011 patients, only 30 percent of whom were tsunami
\nsurvivors.<\/p>\n
But almost a year after the tsunami, the people left
\nhandicapped by the disaster are largely on their own. They
\nreceive very little medical attention and no training to help
\nthem live on their own in the future.<\/p>\n
Leili herself harbors a dream that one day she will be able to
\nlive on her own, without help or pity.<\/p>\n
\"Since I'm handicapped, it will be hard for me to get a job.
\nBut I could be a tailor,\" she said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/amputee-puts-past-behind-her-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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