Britain's Islamic Help provides assistance in Aceh
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.