A Pioneering Relief Team
Delivers Master's Love and Mercy

The great 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, caused by the fourth strongest earthquake in history, displaced millions of people in South Asia and East Africa, and the number of casualties is still rising. Among the regions affected by the disaster, Aceh Province in Indonesia's northernmost island Sumatra was the area most heavily devastated, being struck by both the earthquake and the tsunami. The number of casualties and loss of life and property were astounding.

In response to the victims" needs, members of The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association from various countries provided a wide array of relief materials and medical supplies, and also traveled deep into the affected areas extending love and care to the victims by personally offering medical aid and conducting other relief activities.

Actions Taken by the First Team

Two days after the tsunami, fellow practitioners from Medan deliver relief materials to Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh Province, Indonesia.

On the afternoon of December 26, 2004, fellow practitioners of The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association in Medan and Jakarta learned from the media that a great tsunami had seriously devastated Aceh Province, situated closest to the earthquake's epicenter. The practitioners promptly launched a relief operation by purchasing relief materials including bottled water, milk, rice, cooked meal packets, medical supplies, new clothing and other items. On the evening of December 27, the Association delivered the supplies to Lokseumawe City. Then on the 28th two fellow practitioners and one of their relatives, together with three local drivers drove a car and truck full of the materials and a large supply of fuel from Lhokseumawe straight to Banda Aceh. Along the road, the workers also distributed relief supplies to victims in need.

Dr. Hadi, a tsunami victim who helped the fellow practitioners conduct their relief work

By ten o'clock in the evening they reached Banda Aceh, where the electricity had been cut off and there was no moonlight, just pitch darkness. The vehicles" headlights provided the only illumination. The whole place was completely silent, while the unbearably foul smell of dead bodies filled the air. Despite the conditions, the team cruised around the city for several hours and then ran into a man named Dr. Hadi and his family. Dr. Hadi said that the relief team was the first rescue group they had seen since the catastrophe occurred. After helping Dr. Hadi's family escape from the disaster zone, the relief team distributed relief materials to survivors around the area with the help of Dr. Hadi and his friends.

On December 30, five Jakarta initiates with a supply of medicine arrived and joined the first two local practitioners and the group then visited all the shelters in Banda Aceh where victims had gathered, distributing rice, rice noodles, sweets, chocolates, drinking water and other foods. The victims were overjoyed to see the practitioners bringing them relief materials because since the disaster, the initiates provided their first contact with the outside world, along with much needed care and concern. The local soldiers and victims were so touched that they joined in to help with the distribution work. After nightfall, the initiates continued to visit other places where victims had gathered, giving them quilts and warm clothing.

Guided and assisted by the Aceh Red Cross, the relief workers smoothly distributed all the aid materials to the victims. According to team members, they were able to deliver all the items personally into the hands of victims because they had their own vehicles and fuel. Additionally, after observing the local rescue workers operating in putrid, hazardous conditions such as wading in water contaminated by dead bodies, walking on debris that was full of nails, and removing dead bodies with their bare hands, the fellow practitioners immediately notified the Medan Center and purchased a large quantity of urgently needed materials including protective gloves, rain boots, surgical masks and corpse wrapping plastic for the rescue workers. The second lot of relief items, which weighed over ten tons, was delivered from Medan to Banda Aceh in several batches after the 30th.

In addition, another five initiates from the Jakarta Center flew from Medan to Lhokseumawe on January 1, and divided into two groups, one of which went straight to Banda Aceh to help the previous group of Jakarta initiates with the aid effort. Another group targeted the northern coastal area starting from Lhokseumawe. Together they distributed clothing, cookies and medicine to the needy, along with masks and gloves to the soldiers and other workers removing lifeless bodies. As most of the roads were covered with mud and debris, transporting the relief items was challenging. However this did not halt the progress of the relief mission, and when a rescue team of ten practitioners from Formosa arrived to help the Medan and Jakarta initiates, the additional support filled the relief workers with new energy.

Consecutive Relief Activities

Distributing relief materials at a victims" shelter

Embracing the spirit of "treating others" mishap as our own mishap," the Formosan initiates prepared themselves and went to the affected areas in Indonesia in several groups to provide various forms of aid. The first team of ten initiates arrived in Medan on January 1. Knowing that residents of Banda Aceh had suffered heavy casualties and were in critical need of medical personnel, medical supplies and daily necessities, the sisters and brothers immediately asked Formosa to provide these types of material support. Although there was an alleged report about a plague breaking out in the disaster affected area, the initiates were not daunted and continued to Banda Aceh to convey Master's love and blessings to the victims.

Upon reaching their work station in Banda Aceh, the fellow practitioners posted Master's photograph and played Her Buddha's chanting tape. And amazingly, after putting up the photo, they felt that the place became much cooler, and the pervading foul smell of dead bodies also vanished. It was as if a protective shield were separating the initiates from the outside environment. The relief team then split up into two groups. One treated and dressed the injured victims and the other, guided by the local Red Cross, distributed the relief material and conducted medical surveys to find out what the victims needed most. The distribution team together with the Indonesian initiates went to victims" camps and shelters around Banda Aceh and provided them with materials such as clothing, slippers, cookies, drinking water, rice, instant noodles, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, green beans, mosquito nets, underwear and feminine hygiene products.

Assisted by the Aceh Red Cross, fellow practitioners from Formosa and Indonesia smoothly deliver relief materials to victims.

Next a second team of fifteen Formosan practitioners arrived in Medan on January 2. After being briefed on the situation by other relief workers, these volunteers also split into two groups. One went to victims" camps in Medan to help in treating casualties, and the other joined the local team in Lhokseumawe to deliver medical supplies and aid materials to many coastal areas where urgent help was needed, covering a distance of over 140 km from Lhokseumawe to Sigli. The second group also went to the western coastal area of Medan to distribute relief items. Although the situation in that region was unstable and riddled with hidden dangers, through Master's grace and the help of the local Red Cross, the initiates efficiently delivered a large quantity of materials to many camps and shelters.

Tsunami victims in Aceh wave happily to fellow practitioners as they receive new clothes.

Later, responding to reports from the affected area, Formosan initiates prepared another batch of urgently needed medical supplies. And fellow initiates with backgrounds in pharmacy even prepared special antibiotics, anti-bacterial bandages to stop bleeding and other materials for treating serious infections. On January 4, with the help of the NGO International Affairs Committee of the Formosa Foreign Ministry, ten practitioners, including doctors and pharmacists, flew to Medan. China Airlines even provided free transport of the medical supplies.

On Jan 5 the physicians and pharmacists, accompanied by a local initiate who had just returned from Banda Aceh, carried the newly arrived medical supplies and some locally purchased tetanus vaccine and 220 kgs of medicine from the Hong Kong Center. With help from the Singapore Air Force, these items were efficiently flown to Meulaboh and delivered to the NGO Rescue Coordination Center and various Red Cross hospitals. Meulaboh was also one of the areas hardest hit by the tsunami so the transportation and communications infrastructure had been severed. Thus, in order to reach the region the team of Indonesian and Formosan initiates traveled in helicopters or small boats.

The devastated town of Meulaboh had lost its charm and beauty, being cast into darkness at night due to lack of electricity. The team stayed overnight in a Red Cross camp where the staff helped and guided the initiates in their work. The team was uncertain about how and when they could return to Medan after the relief work was finished but thankfully, through Master's arrangement, the Singapore Air Force helped the sisters and brothers by flying them back to the city.

Touched by the initiates" compassionate acts, soldiers and victims in Aceh help with the distribution of relief materials.

Upon their departure at the airport, the Formosan initiates incidentally met Mr. Tony Leonardo, an official of the Investment Department of North Sumatra, who extended his gratitude to the Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association and asked the fellow practitioners to convey the Indonesian Government's gratitude to the Formosan Government and the charity groups that had rendered aid to his compatriots.

In conclusion, the relief work in Indonesia was successfully accomplished through the concerted efforts of fellow practitioners from many countries, the local Red Cross and other governmental and non-governmental bodies. And at present, Indonesian initiates are working with the Red Cross to rebuild the affected areas, of which details will be reported in the next issue of the News magazine.

Related Report: Apple Daily, Hong Kong | Medan Daily News, Indonesia |