Tsunami - A history

This entry is kinda overdue.. after visiting Acheh I had thought of putting up an entry about Aceh, post-tsunami on the 26th of Dec itself to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the tragedy but I got myself occupied with some stuff... Anyway....

I've been reading the newspapers the past couple of days about the tragedy... somehow it seems like it is a tragedy that people would want to remember? Or maybe because it is just nice to say that it is the '5th Anniversary'.. I dunno... meeting the people in Acheh and actually talking to them, I get the feeling that they just want to move on... and they need to move on i.e socially and economically.. I guess although reconstruction was very much in need, post-tsunami, it had made people pay less attention to the needs of a normal living human... yes, they build houses, buildings, shops, etc.. but what about in terms of their needs for sustainable income? Livelihood?

We met Mrs Linda, a British citizen who runs the Lamjabat Foundation with her husband Pak Yadi. Linda has worked with various NGOs and been living in Indonesia for 15 years (married Pak Yadi when she was working with Lamjabat - Pak Yadi lost almost all of his family members during tsunami). Lamjabat Foundation was set up one week after tsunami to help the victims in terms of livelihood program. Throughout the days that I was in Acheh, I have been listening to gory stories about deaths, bloated dead bodies etc.. so it was quite a change to hear stories from Linda about what had been done instead of what had happened...

Granted that she started with giving us some alarming statistics i.e like Ulilie (not sure of the spelling) which had lost 95% of its population and buildings.. but she then continued telling us about the programs that they have done with the local people.. One of the first programs that they had done post-tsunami was to help the people at Maralisa (again, not sure of the spelling).. a slightly wealthier area in Aceh..many of the people there were quite well-off before the tsunami as they had their own business..when tsunami hit them, they have lost their family members, business, houses etc and were living in small camps.. despite already pshychologically affected by this, the community at Maralisa, even the young ones were asked to go to the village to use shovels and search for bodies..they were actually being paid for this but they were very very depressed..

So the people at Lamjabat Foundation under the children's program had taken about 500 children from Maralisa, (many of whom have lost their family and friends) away from the distressing camps to get them together so that they could actually have friends and basically have a life... when she was telling us all this I just could not help thanking God for giving my children all that they have today... really...I can't bear thinking about these kids in Acheh who could not understand what was happening to them, with no father / mother/ relatives/friends...

Their program sounded almost too simple - they started with a swimming class! But simplicity works the best especially because all of them were still in shock and the tragedy still very vivid in their minds... they had swimming competitions, playtime for the kids.. basics stuff to get the children together and have new friends... after some time the program seemed to be working and they then continued to have more programs to help the youths and women... computer classes for the youths and handicrafts for the women...

They are still trying their best to get the community more involved and having a source of income apart from fishing and farming... at the village where she is, it's sometimes frustrating when there is no proper structure in terms of leadership...and in a place like Acheh where it was like a war zone with gun battles and all just before tsunami, makes things much harder...without an active vilage head, things were moving slowly... apparently at the village, the people elected a 23 year old man who cannot read and write because they think that if he's not educated then he would not be corrupt... hmmm....

I can see that there is a lot of potential for Acheh.. the beaches (minus) the cows/cow dungs are very beautiful.. but it would be tough to develop it into a tourism area when the beaches are just behind somebody's house.. or even simple handicrafts made in Acheh are not that easy to find..

We were told that the donors money, about 6.7 billion USD are all gone. Which is why the govt is now almost in a panic mode to sustain the economy of Acheh. I truly hope that moving forward, there would be more programs to help the people economically.

The people will have a future, and tsunami will just be a history.

Masjid Baiturrahim..125 years old...I was told by Pak Irfan who brought us to the mosque that almost 2000 people who ran into the mosque during the tragedy were all alive..others outside the mosque died and buildings ruined... the only damage to the mosque was the side gate..

The infamous 'Kapal PLTD Apung 1' which weighs 2600 tonnes right in the middle of a housing area..

Photo taken at Ujong Pancu, a very beautiful village by the beach..

Fishing is still their main source of income..

Some of the villagers had gone up to the hills before tsunami to save themselves...they had predicted that something bad would happen because the sea looked different..

Playground for the kids at Lamjabat Foundation..

The participants listening to Linda..She can speak very good Bahasa Indonesia by the way..

Linda and Pak Yadi..

Checking out some of the crafts made by the villagers..

A view of Acheh from the sky.. go visit... not much activity to be done..but a beautiful place and a good place indeed for some soul-searching...

An amazing experience..

A belated update on the presentation/conference and my last day in Medan..

How was the presentation? It went pretty well.. had cold sweat..felt like my heart could explode and that I could have a heart attack and pass out.. But I did'nt! I think there were more than 80 people that day... nasib baik it was decided that the presentation could also be done in Bahasa sebab the majority yang datang were Indonesians. When presenting I sort of focused my eyes on those who would nod when I deliver my points -- because then I know that there are people who are actually listening to me.

We're all loking forward to seeing the project materialized. It's still a long journey. But even if it takes longer than what we expect, I truly hope that GIFT will do its best to bring forward our ideas.


I had these as desserts and a big cup of cappucino the night before the presentation to calm myself down..

Pic not so good ler.. I am seated in the middle..

Err..that's me doing my presentation..

With Hans from the Swiss Premium Choc company.. gave us really good input for our materials..used to be a farmer..he now travels the world..and he's just 35!

The B*N gang..

At Jimbaran restaurant in Medan..we had seafood and it was delicious! All the participants including the Mat Sallehs makan pakai tangan...it was funny.. one of the first questions that I got was why right hand, not left? ;)

Fazul, born in Msia but miserable in Bahasa.. :) now in Beijng continuing his studies.. with Xiau Juan from Beijing who is ever so innocent yet fun to be with..

Anna, who was the youngest pasrticipant I think.. pretty impressive this gal.. at 23 she runs her own company and is the founder of this environmentally friendly renewable energy of some sort.. kalau tak silap..

Will most definitely miss Cindy and her antics.. had drinks, just the two of us the night before we parted.. rest of the guys were on a rendevous to find a club/karaoke joint in Medan..I can't sing and I can't dance.. was ever so happy to have company for a cup of coffee..

On the bus going to the airport, I saw these 2 kids asking for money when the cars stopped at the traffic light... They saw me taking their pics and showed me their bum.. ;p

They were more than happy to pose for the camera..

Too happy I guess.. :) Had wondered where the mother was.. then when the bus moved, I saw the mother sitting by the roadside with 2 babies (probably like 10-11 months old) tengah baring kat tepi jalan tu under the hot sun..the babies were sleeping.. tak pakai baju and were just covered with kain batik... :(

My 2 kiddies fetched me at the airport.. in the car Sarah merajuk like mad sampai tengok muka mak dia pun takmo... pegang tangan dia pun kena tepis.. hug pun dia takde perasaan...sampai kat rumah baru okay... tapi nak melekat je lah macam koala bear... Amir is all chirpy and happy.. told me many times that he did not cry at all when I was away... :)

At the end of the program we were all asked to say a few words on what we think about the whole experience, traits of a leader etc. I simply said that I was really glad that I decided to go for the program. I've learnt a lot and that this has been one of my defining moments apart from giving birth!

Will definitely tell the Bank to continue sending people. I heard the next one will be in Kalimantan..

To sum it all up, I've had an amazing experience.. I've learnt to appreciate life and the things I have.. be thankful.. be mindful of what's going on around me.. I guess in life, we can give ourselves all sorts of reasons and forgive ourselves for not being able to contribute to the society regularly.. i.e busy with work..kids..family..but we could do it if we want to every single day of our lives.. don't have to go for a crusade to save the world...but start small.. there are a lot of things that we can do.. i.e instilling good values to our kids, switching off the aircond when we don't need it,recycle, join a society/NGO and many many more... yes, work and family is important but the society that we live in is important too..

p/s: Have you ever wondered where your old handphone, laptops, computers had gone to? Are the relevant organizations doing something to avoid those stuff being thrown away just like that and affect the environment?

Butterflies in my tummy!

Ngantuk..ngantuk...about to board the plane to Medan..

The newly-opened Marriot Hotel...sssssoooooo niceeee...

Can't wait to get into bed....

View of Medan from the room..

Toye siot muka masa rehearsal...

Update!

Arrived in Medan at about 9.00am today. Was in awe with the hotel. It's damn bloody nice! Room is superb. Too bad only 2 nights here and most of our time would of course be spent in the conference room. But I would really want to have a good sleep tonite.. that is if I'm not hyperventilating!

I'm soooo nervous for the presentation. We slogged again tonight...And had like 2 rounds of rehearsals. But we finished earlier than the nights in Aceh. We've decided to have 1 emcee and 4 presenters tomorrow. Since the majority that would turn up tomorrow would be Indonesians, we will have 2 English presenters and 2 Bahasa presenters. I've been asked to present the Community section in Bahasa. Time rehearsals pun rasa cam nak terkucil.. besok depan 80 orang tak tau la camna.. but I told myself.. hmmm those speaking English obviously won't understand what I say and those who speaks Indonesian would probably just be confused with what I say... so, what the heck! Present je lah! It would be over in 10 mins.

I pray that the conference would go well.. the U*DP rep did dot seem too pleased with the materials that we've done.. kept on stressing about training to the farmers may not be funded etc etc.. hmm... we're still going ahead with the Business Plan anyway... mainly because we have received pretty good response from 2 big chocolate exporters i.e Armajaro and Olam. And the Heads of these 2 organizations will be at the conference tomorrow.

We also have with us for the past 3 days, a rep from a Swiss Choc Company who is also said to be the son/kaum kerabat from the Porsche family. He's been giving us feedback on the materials and our presentations. Pak Hamzah, the trader King has been giving us good feedback too. He is apparently driving from Pidie to Medan (8 hrs journey) to attend the conference tomorrow.

So, I guess we're all set to go. Power to the farmers of Aceh!

I already have butterflies in my tummy. Can't wait for this to end. Just chill. Sleep. Shop. And then go back to kiss and hug the 2 kiddies! :)

Ready to go!

Looking at the whole situation, it's obvious that the crucial part is to think of ways to improve production. The production team initially struggled to come up with some good analysis and proposals. But they finally came up with really good stuff for the Business Plan. We now have a pretty solid Business Plan I would say.

I guess the best thing about working on the Business Plan is that everyday we get news about parties who have already shown interest in the project, be it an NGO or chocolate exporters. I know that it is not easy to get them to 'buy' our ideas but the fact that these people have RSVP to attend the conference in Medan and hear us out shows that there is some promise in this project. Apparently the total number of people attending the conferenece would be about 80 people now! I look forward to the Conference yet a bit nervous because I'll be presenting to this bunch of people...


A bad cocoa plant.

The Finance team -- thank God I'm not in this team!

By now, all of us have become experts in cocoa.. ;)

See...told u..main blasah je nak keringkan the cocoa..

The past 2 days we all had been slogging till the wee hours to finish up the business plan.

I'm actually very tired. I guess the slogging has now gotten to me. I'd better go..need to get some rest. We all need to wake up at 5.00am tomorrow morning to go to the airport and take a flight to Medan.

p/s: Heard the hotel in Medan is kinda cool.. Marriot,new - about 6 months...5 stars but 6 stars quality.. Nice... :)

Cocoa Calamity

Have you been to a cocoa farm?
Have you seen how the farmers dry their cocoa beans?
Coz if you have, I guess you would think twice before eating that piece of yummy chocolate! ;)

The journey to Pidie seems like forever although it was just about 3 hours..road going up the hill was bumpy..I thought the Mat Salleh's would get sick tapi yang rasa nak muntahnya minah Aceh yg jadi our translator for the day... :p

As we needed to get as much information about the farmers and the cocoa industry in Pidie fast I hopped in the van with Pak Hamzah (a cocoa trader) and Pak Sayid (a rep from APED/UNDP). Pak Hamzah is a reputable cocoa trader in Pidie district -- probably the one and only cocoa trader in Pidie who had the capital to buy,process and sell cocoa to big exporters.

I also met with Pak Jailani a cocoa farmer who poured his heart out to us. He owns about 1 hectare of cocoa farm (about 800 cocoa plants). He works on the farm with his wife and daughter, 7 hours a day. But Pak Jailani and in fact all of the farmers in Pidie lacks the skills and techniques to produce good cocoa beans. I got a shock to see how they dry the cocoa beans -- in front/at the back of their houses/wherever possible! Kalau hujan, then hancuss...Since the cocoa's quality is not so good, they can't demand much on the pricing...so although they have a big farm, the money that they could get from selling cocoa is barely enough for them to get by... their minimum wage per month is about RM 350 only!



Winding road to the cocoa farm.. it's the rainy reason.. jalan licin and lecak teruk..

With Pak Jailani..apsal muka aku poyo tu? :p

With Pak Hamzah, the trader King!

My team with Pak Zulkifli, Pak Hamzah and Nadra (our translator)

Drying the cocoa beans.. hmm....wonder how something so yummy could actually be so icky!

More cocoa drying -- on the baadminton court..

Processed cocoa at Pak Hamzah's place..

Dried cooca beans..

The cocoa kiddies.. :)

We were at Pidie District for a couple of hours.. The journey going back was scary coz it was dark (lampu jalan takde), it rained heavily and the road was slippery. By the time we reached the hotel it was already 8.30pm. Everybody was pretty tired but we of course had to conggregate and share our findings. Our session ended at about 11.30pm -- I was half dead by then... that was just the first day.. still a long journey for the team...

The project begins..

Hi all,
I've been sending emails to people to keep them posted about what has been happening but I've not been blogging..my schedule is really really tight..I thought of blogging about the places that I've been to in Hong Kong but I'm actually more excited about this project...

Today, after a 3 hours flight from Hong Kong to KL, 2 hrs transit in KL to catch a flight to Medan, 3 hrs transit in Medan to catch a flight to Acheh, I safely arrived at about 9.00pm...
Yes, I'm tired. The program has been very drilling so far. BUT it's just great. If anybody were to ask me about the program, I only have good things to say about it. These people at Global Institute of Tomorrow (GIFT) is a bunch of amazing people with a determination to bring about positive changes.

I've learnt so much the past couple of days.. met with some very inspiring people and realized how little I knew about the things going on around the world. I mean, I am a working mother who is satisfied with the way things are --- I don't think about things like globalization and it's effects..what's happening in China and India...CSR vs social entrepeneurship.. but if I don't learn about these things I will be left behind.

Anyway, here I am in Acheh. I've a big responsibility. The group has been divided into 4 teams - Finance, Governance, Community and Production and for God knows why, I've been elected to lead the Community team. In my team I have Cindy (Australian), Becky (China) and Xiau Juan (also from China).

The project?
The cocoa producing communities of Acheh have volatile incomes and lack reliable access to credit facilities. This traps them in a cycle of poverty and dependency. The participants of the Global Young Leaders (YLP) program has been given the task to create a more sustainable model for cocoa farmers to relaize greater economic benefits for their efforts. Right now, the farmers do not realize that they could really make a business out of their cocoa. So,they kept on producing cocoas of bad quality, will get sold at a cheaper price and won't be able to be exported to the outside world. So, we need to help them out.

We've got a busy day tomorrow. At 8am all 20 of us would be taking a 2 hours journey to the cocoa farm. This is for us to see the production of cocoa. Apparently it is the harvesting season now so I guess this would be interesting to see. After that we would be brought to the cocoa collection centre in Sigli to meet the farmers so that we can learn more about their challenges and concerns. We would be meeting about 5 farmers from Aceh Utara (they need to take a 12 hrs drive to come to Banda Acheh) and 5 farmers from the Pidie District. The 3rd stop would be exciting I think. We've been invited to the Bupati's (like Penghulu) house. We would only be back to the hotel at about 8pm.

We all don't have much time actually. We need to do the groundwork on the next couple of days and after that consolidate all the information for the business plan. On Thursday we will be flying to Medan and on Friday present the proposal in a conference held at JW Marriot Hotel, Medan. I've been told that about 100 people will attend the conference -- UNDP, APED, local authorities, people from Cadbury, cocoa exporters and Body Shop.

Okay, I'm gonna catch some sleep peeps. Hopefully, I won't be too tired to blog tomorrow.