On June 21, 2006, heavy downpour for several days produced flash floods in some parts of South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. In Sinjai District, hundreds of dwellings collapsed, many trees toppled and rice fields were damaged. The disaster occurred at 1:00 AM, when most people were in their deep sleep. More than 200 people were reported dead, and many survivors became homeless as they had to stay in refugee tents.

After doing some necessary preparation, on June 24, a team of our fellow initiates from Makasar and Jakarta traveled about four hours to go 189 km (117 miles) to the affected areas. We brought relief items that included drinking water, beans, infant milk, instant noodles and blankets, etc.

When we arrived, we found a post belonging to the Red Cross and met Mr. Lukman, the chief coordinator. Mr. Lukman is a Red Cross staff member whom we met during relief work in the Nabire earthquake, so he was already acquainted with the work of The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association. He gave us a list of victims and the locations that had not yet received any help. Red Cross members assisted us in packing the relief items for 120 families, and they guided us to the areas where we distributed the items, accompanied by the loving message of the Alternative Living flyers, directly to the victims.

On July 17, a quake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale hit the southern coast of Java, triggering a tsunami that caused havoc in some regions. The death toll was more than 600 and many people were left homeless. Fearing the possibility of another quake and tsunami, survivors preferred to stay on a higher ground, where they set up tents and brought all their families. Among the most severely hit regions were Pangandaran Beach in West Java, famous for its beauty and plentiful tourist resorts, and Cilacap Regency in Central Java.

Upon hearing news of the disaster, a relief team of fellow initiates formed to provide help and to distribute relief items. Fellow initiates from Jakarta Center and Yogyakarta Center also joined the relief effort, bringing a car loaded with bottled mineral water and biscuits.

We first went to the local Red Cross office in Purwokerto to get information and found out that the survivors who stayed in the refugee tents needed food. So we immediately headed to the largest grocery store to purchase items such as rice, mung beans, milk for babies, biscuits, instant noodles, bottled mineral water, etc., and packed them for distribution.

On the next day of July 19, after early morning group meditation, we traveled to the disaster-stricken areas in Cilacap regency to distribute the relief items to the victims. First, we went to the refugee shelter in Gunung Selok village, Adipala sub-district, where about 1,000 refugees stayed. When we gave the relief items to the Refugees’ chief coordinator from the Social Department of Cilacap regency, we explained that our team was from The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association in Indonesia and that our Master was very concerned about the situation. She sent Her love through us and the relief items in order to provide them with some material and spiritual comfort. They expressed their gratitude for the help.

To everyone in the refugee camp, we also distributed Master’s compassionate message of the Alternative Living flyer. Many people studied the content of the flyer seriously. We then went to the beach that was hit by the tsunami, where we met a lot of police officers who were gathered there, so we took the opportunity to distribute the Alternative Living flyers to them as well.

On July 20, we traveled on a four-hour journey from Purwokerto to Pangandaran, the area most severely hit by Java’s southern coast tsunami. There, in order to be able to distribute our relief item supplies properly to the victims, we sought information from the local Red Cross office, where it was explained to us that we had to drive westward for another three hours to reach refugee shelters that had not yet been touched by any relief aid.

As we traveled along the southern coast of Java, we saw that the tsunami had caused damage to many people’s dwellings, with temporary refugee shelters everywhere.Finally, we arrived at Cimanuk village, Cimerak sub-district, in the Tasikmalaya regency. A refugee shelter there that had been organized by the Indonesian Red Cross was in need of rice, cooking oil, infant food, etc. So, we unloaded some of our relief supplies and also distributed Alternative Living flyers to everyone in the shelter.

Next, we went to Kalapagenep village, Cimerak sub-district, and provided relief items to the leader of the village to give to all its inhabitants. We also gave the Alternative Living message to all his assistants and staff, for which they expressed their gratitude and happily took pictures with our beloved Master’s big banner.

At this point, our team finally parted ways, with our brothers and sister from Purwokerto returning eastward as we went westward to Jakarta. With Master’s perfect arrangement, the relief distribution went smoothly. We are grateful to be able to be instruments of God to convey Hiers love to the needy and less fortunate.

<<	Contents	>>
Refer this page to friends