Britain's Islamic Help provides assistance in Aceh
The grief of the Acehnese following the tsunami has touched people throughout Indonesia and abroad. A pervading mood of deep sorrow has lingered in the wake of the tsunami disaster on December 26, 2004, in which more than a hundred thousand people perished.
The losses inflicted by the devastating calamity were immense, including valuable heritage of the Acehnese and Nias civilizations. It was like doomsday, rendering the local populace helpless as the tsunami leveled both regions' coastal areas in only ten minutes.
The misfortune that befell the people in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) and Nias, North Sumatra, attracted sympathy, empathy and solidarity from people not only in Indonesia but also overseas, regardless of religion, ethnic origin, skin color and ideology.
Among those who felt the need to assist the Acehnese people were donors from Europe, the U.S. and other parts of the world, including Islamic Help of the United Kingdom.
Some time after the disaster, a delegation from Islamic Help, led by its chairman, Mohammad Masood Alam Khan, visited Indonesia and sought to arrange cooperation with the central board of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) in channeling its assistance to the Acehnese.
After securing the cooperation of the NU, Islamic Help promptly launched an emergency relief operation for the tsunami victims, including the distribution of financial assistance, food and medicine.
During the Islamic day of sacrifice, Islamic Help volunteers slaughtered goats and cows in Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh. The meat was distributed to refugees in Banda Aceh and its surrounding areas.
In addition, Islamic Help and the NU also slaughtered goats and cows in Java and then preserved and canned the meat to be distributed later to the refugees.
As part of its relief efforts, Islamic Help donated an ambulance last January to support the NU's health recovery program in Aceh. This ambulance has been in use since then and has been used by the NU in providing health services to people in the area.
Following the emergency relief operation, Islamic Help started out on the next phase of its assistance program for Aceh by helping orphans and schoolchildren in general with their education.
The program includes the covering of all education costs for all tsunami child victims accommodated in 33 dayah (Islamic boarding schools) all over Aceh. The number of children reached by this program exceeds 1,780.
In addition, Islamic Help's educational assistance will also cover the reconstruction of heavily damaged dayah.
Based on data collated by the National Disaster Overcoming Committee of Nahdlatul Ulama (KPBA-NU), out of the total of 463 dayah all over Aceh, 21 were severely damaged. In fact, the leaders of five of these dayah were killed by the tsunami.
A team from Islamic Help, comprising chairman Khan and Sheikh Sultan Niaz Hasan, accompanied by representatives of Islamic Help in Indonesia, Mabroer MS and Muhammad Agus Mulyana, recently made a tour of the damaged schools in Aceh Besar, along with an NU team.
Following the tour, the teams decided on which dayah would be rebuilt using the funds Islamic Help had raised, with NU being entrusted to manage the daily operation of the boarding schools, which also function as orphanages.
If circumstances permit, the NU also plans to set up a health clinic in one of the destroyed dayah. Though still a long-term project, various efforts have been made to bring the project to reality.
Khan said Islamic Help's assistance and role in supporting these dayah would continue in various forms, including scholarships for the boarding school students or santri. In addition, Khan said, the volunteers from Islamic Help would come to Aceh again during Ramadhan to celebrate it together with around 1,000 santri.