ELCA NEWS SERVICE

February 28, 2008  

ELCA Helps Rebuild Indonesian Fishing Town
08-019-MRC

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Kuala Bubon, a fishing town in North
Sumatra, Indonesia, can no longer be called a "sunken" or "lost
village."  Washed away by a tsunami that struck three years ago,
Kuala Bubon has risen again with concrete homes built on "pilings
over water."
     On Dec. 26, 2004, an earthquake in the Indian Ocean produced
a tsunami that killed more than a quarter of a million people in
East Africa and South Asia -- with about 170,000 people dead or
missing in Northern Sumatra alone.  Members of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) raised more than $11 million to
support the immediate needs of people and long-term recovery
efforts of ELCA "companions" working in tsunami-struck areas.
Of the funds collected, $1 million went to support a massive
rebuilding project in Kuala Bubon.
     The ELCA helped build 118 houses there and, starting in
February, people will be able to move into the homes, said the
Rev. Joseph Chu, program director for Asia Pacific, ELCA Global
Mission.
     "The houses are constructed of concrete and built on pilings
over water in exactly the same spot where the previous village
stood.  Most other post-tsunami houses being built are made of
wood, but the concrete houses are much studier construction,
designed to withstand future storms," he said.
     The building project in Kuala Bubon is much more
comprehensive than the building of houses and restoring the past.
"It involves the prospect for a better life, sustainable and
long-term enhancements, not just immediate relief," Chu said.
     As villagers organized around the project, they created new
health and education programs and learned new ways of working
together to address lifestyle systems holistically, said Chu.
The project included building an elementary school, fish market
and community center, as well as creating a new system for waste
disposal, he said.  An early warning tower will increase
preparedness for possible future disasters.
     The rebuilding of Kuala Bubon "is a remarkable story of
collaboration among many -- members of the community, local
government, Christian nongovernment organizations, Christian
companions outside of Indonesia and others" said Chu.
     For Sigit Wijayanta, the "impossible became possible.
Sometimes life changes so fast, and what was only dream and
illusion (has) become reality in Kuala Bubon."  Wijayanta serves
as executive director for the YAKKUM Emergency Unit (YEU), an
Indonesia disaster response organization.
     "Two and a half years ago, I came and sat together with some
villagers, and we were looking at the sunken Kuala Bubon.  'There
lain our beloved and belongings.  What was glorious (had been)
drifted by tsunami,'" Wijayanta was told.  "The biggest fishing
port and prominent fisherman village is now a memory.  It is
impossible to rebuild the village above the sunken land.  And, we
admit, it was a crazy idea of (convincing) the people of Kuala
Bubon to return to their sunken land.  The effort to regain
people's spirit was not easy," he said.
     "As an organization, YEU has worked for more than 30 years
in community development, and we remember the principle, 'the
people are always right,'" said Wijayanta.  Using scientific
evidence, "we started to prove that it was possible to use the
land," he said.  "Through YEU, we made the dream into reality"
and built homes with the help of skilled workers, contractors and
others, he said.
     "Kuala Bubon is no longer sunken land; it is now a crowded
settlement.  The fishing boats rest and unload their goods along
the wharfs.  The fish auction market is full of people ...
fishmongers and others are doing business," said Wijayanta.
     A partner of the ELCA, YEU has been rebuilding communities
affected by the tsunami in Indonesia, said Chu.  "YEU organized
people on the ground, worked with communities to understand needs
and served as a liaison with government officials," he said.
     The ELCA's participation "has been exclusively with
companions who are part of Action by Churches Together (ACT),"
said Chu.  YEU is one of three ACT implementers in Indonesia.
     ACT is a global alliance of churches and related agencies
working to save lives and support communities in emergency
situations worldwide.  It is based with the World Council of
Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Geneva.
The ELCA is a member of the WCC and LWF.
     ELCA funds are sent through the church's International
Disaster Response. Coordinated by ELCA Global Mission,
International Disaster Response channels its funds through
international church organizations and relief agencies.  Funds
provide for food, medicine, drinking water, emergency shelter and
other materials for survivors of disasters.
     "We rely on trustworthy companions on the ground with a deep
understanding of local communities.  Our companions lead the
project, and the ELCA supports it.  We also choose companions who
go far beyond relief into improving the community," said Chu.
     Other ACT members and partners of the ELCA working in
tsunami relief include Norwegian Church Aid working in Somalia;
the National Council of Churches in Sri Lanka working in Sri
Lanka; and the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India
working in India.
     "Contributions from members of the ELCA are used faithfully
and wisely, and do make a difference," Chu said.
     ELCA funds are needed even when groups like The Red Cross
fund recovery efforts, according to Dr. Belletech Deressa,
director for international development and disaster response,
ELCA Global Mission.  "Church-funded recovery efforts reach
people who are in need, often those who are very poor and not
receiving the resources they need to recover.  The church will
always be there with people, regardless of their politics,
ideology or religion," she said.
     ELCA funds also help cover spiritual and psychosocial care,
an aspect of disaster recovery that is overlooked by some secular
organizations, said the Rev. Rafael Malpica-Padilla, executive
director, ELCA Global Mission.
     "After a disaster, there is an immediate need for people to
tell their stories to someone who will listen.  Pastors and lay
people can also help (survivors of a disaster) struggle with the
question, 'Why God, why?'  Our partners present the love of God
through every stage of a disaster from funerals to rebuilding,"
said Malpica-Padilla.

INTERNATIONAL DISASTERS:
Editors:  When listing organizations receiving funds for aid to
survivors of major disasters outside the United States, Puerto
Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands, please include:
ELCA International Disaster Response, PO Box 71764,
Chicago, IL 60694-1764, 1-800-638-3522 and
http://www.ELCA.org/disaster/idrgive on the Internet.

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