Communal kitchen serves food to Acehnese students

Communal kitchen serves food to Acehnese students

Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post/Yogyakarta

The Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami that decimated Aceh also shook
Fajar, 24, who lives miles away from his hometown in Yogyakarta.

As of Friday, he had still not been able to make contact with
his parents and relatives back in Aceh. Fajar stands strong
though, for he knows that he is not alone and many people have
extended help to him and others in the same situation.

The worst day was the end of the month, a time when his funds
were close to drying up. He nearly ran out of money -- needed to
support his studies, rent and other daily expenses.

Praying for the safety of relatives and friends in their
hometowns has become a daily routine for some 1,500 Acehnese
students at various universities in Yogyakarta.

Fajar and his fellow Acehnese students' prayers were answered,
partly.

Two days after the tsunami, a local resident had the idea of
opening a dapur umum (public kitchen) at the Tjoet Njak Dien
student dormitory on Jl. Kartini 1A, Sagan. The makeshift kitchen
was established to serve food to Acehnese students.

Since then many Acehnese students, including Fajar, are
regular visitors to the dormitory. He even moved out of his
rented room to the dormitory, offering his services as a
volunteer. He also gets free shelter.

"The kitchen really means something to me. I think the others
also think the same," Fajar told The Jakarta Post.

According to coordinator of the public kitchen Hendra Riyadi,
27, hundreds of Acehnese students regularly gather in the
dormitory, but on Dec. 28, as they were trying exchange
information about the earthquake and tsunami, a woman arrived at
the dormitory and gave them a set of cooking appliances and other
basics.

"And that was the way the public kitchen was established
spontaneously here," said Hendra Riyadi, adding that the
dormitory had turned into a community gathering spot that served
Acehnese students in need.

To their surprise, more and more Yogya residents were also
moved to donate either money or food to them.

Dara Amalia, 24, a volunteer at the public kitchen, said that
all the food that the kitchen had been serving came from the
community and government institutions. The municipal government
of Yogyakarta, for example, had recently donated Rp 4 million for
the public kitchen.

One man was brought them two plastic bags of grated coconut.

"I bring you grated coconuts because I know Acehnese like to
use coconut to cook. And I'm also sure very few people would
think about such a small, but meaningful thing," the man, who
came to the post with his wife and a five-year old child, said.

At another time, a housewife was seen visiting the dormitory
and delivered two plastic sacks each containing 25 kilograms of
rice. "Sister, I come bearing gifts and rice.

"Please, give me a hand to take these inside," the woman said
as she introduced herself to one of the Acehnese students.

Yanti, the 43-year-old woman, said she was moved to help
because she said she could not bear the thought of how these
students would continue to survive if they no longer received
monthly living allowances from home.

"I was an anak kost (university dorm tenant) myself once. I
know how it feels when the living allowance is sent late. And it
would be of course even worse if it completely stopped. I just
cannot imagine what they would do if nobody gives them a helping
hand," she said.

Another volunteer said that the kitchen served meals twice a
day. Lunch is served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and dinner is served
starting at around 6 p.m.

"We cook for some 200 students a day," said Dara Amalia, 24, a
volunteer, adding that the kitchen also served food for
volunteers grouped in the Komite Kemanusiaan untuk Aceh
(Humanitarian Committee for Aceh) based in the dormitory.

Dozens of volunteers have joined the committee and occupy
several posts that the committee has established in three
different spots in the city.

One is on the campus of the National Development University
(UPN) on Jl. Ring Road Utara, one is near the main post office in
Yogyakarta, and the headquarters is on Jl. Kartini.

"There are some 1,500 Acehnese students in Yogyakarta. Some,
however, have gone home to look for their parents and families,
and the others' whereabouts are not yet known in Yogyakarta,"
Dara said.

According to Hendra Riyadi, the public kitchen will be run for
six months according to the plan, but will be closed if people no
longer need it.

"This is an emergency action. If no one needs it, therefore,
we will no longer run it," said Hendra, assuring that they would
not run out of food to cook because more and more people had come
to the kitchen and brought them plenty of food.

"Many have also expressed a commitment to keep helping us with
the food supply as long as the public kitchen is still here,"
Hendra said.

Hendra, however, also expressed concern that the public
kitchen was not effective in reaching all the Acehnese students
studying in the city.

First, many of them had not yet been identified and it was not
yet known where they were living.

Second, many lived so far from the dorm that it was not
feasible for them to come each day.

"I think scholarships would be much better to help Acehnese
students. Such aid would be much more effective because those who
lived far away could save money on transportation costs. They
would not need to come to the post just to eat," Hendra said.

Hendra, therefore, strongly suggested people offer as many
Acehnese students as possible financial assistance, while at the
same time his group was preparing data on Acehnese students in
need.