Hope on Tsunami Beach

I am on tsunami beach, Banda Aceh. The very place, almost a year to the day, where angry waters rose up and swallowed 200,000 men, women and children in nearby villages… It seems like only yesterday that I was lifting bloated corpses in a similar location, helping process thousands of decomposing tsunami victims in a makeshift mortuary. My arms ached then from lifting and I wept at the vastness of the tragedy. That was a year ago.

Today I am lifting the children of the tsunami above my head as they laugh and play. Hoisting them high in the air, the boys make like human airplanes and splash down into the waves, bursting up out of the water with huge white smiles. My heart is warmed by the thought that the Servants team here in Banda Aceh is making a big difference: bringing healing, laughter and hope to these children of the tsunami. Today, they have brought a truckload of kids to the beach for a swim and to play games. It is the first time these kids have been back to the beach since the tsunami, and though hesitant at first, they are now relaxed and playful. It is all part of the healing process.

Since February, Servants Banda Aceh have been running sports, music and art therapy programs in half a dozen local schools and for the past few days I have been privileged to tag along and watch these talented young people offer healing and hope in the name of Jesus. They are a small but committed team, and by living together in a big old converted “goat barn” in the middle of the community they have already begun to engage deeply with the local Muslims and form good relationships. It takes a community to reach a community.

Tomorrow I will leave Banda Aceh. But I will never forget looking into the eyes of a five year old girl who miraculously survived the tsunami by grabbing onto the top of a coconut tree as she was swept by on the big wave. Her grandmother wasn’t so lucky.

It is children like this that the Servants Banda Aceh team are reaching out to.

Tsunami beach is still a place of sadness, and always will be. But, like the tiny bursts of sunlight that shine through the clouds above our heads, hope shines through and warms my heart.

[Servants to Asia’s Urban Poor is still looking for more qualified social workers, trauma counsellors and sports/youth workers who can join the team long term. Other long term opportunities in Banda Aceh include environmental engineering (water and sanitation), management/team building and English/IT teachers. Servants works in partnership with the Indonesian Baptists in Banda Aceh. For more info write to [email protected]. Craig Greenfield is the International Coordinator of Servants.]