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HONOLULU (Dec. 29) – Within hours of the Dec. 26, 2004 deadly earthquake and resulting tsunami that claimed over 200-thousand lives and laid waste to a large portion of Southeast and South Asia, the East-West Center (EWC) swept into action. With the cooperation of First Hawaiian Bank, the EWC established the East-West Center Tsunami Relief Fund. Two years and some 507-thousand dollars later, the EWC is preparing to close its books with the distribution of the final 2 percent of the money donated by private citizens, including local school children, and businesses throughout Hawaii, the U.S. mainland, and the region.
At the time of the tragedy Charles E. Morrison, EWC president, said “We want to do what we can to help the victims on the ground.” The Fund enabled the EWC to do just that. The donations collected were disbursed to selected non-profit organizations undertaking relief efforts in the affected areas. None of the money was used for EWC administrative expenses or to fund EWC unilateral activities.
Shortly after the disaster, East-West Center staff and students were on-the-ground lending a hand in the recovery efforts and assessing firsthand the physical and human toll of the tsunami, especially in Indonesia’s special autonomous region of Aceh, one of the hardest hit areas. One of those early arrivals was Terry Bigalke, director of the EWC’s education program. He quickly sent back what he called the overriding message from the region: “We need help with our schools.” Bigalke noted that many faculty members and students were killed, buildings destroyed, books and computers lost. He added, “It was clear the need was for more than the mere bricks-and-mortar variety … addressing the human issues was just as imperative.”
The observations and assessments of Bigalke and others on-the-ground made clear the role the EWC would play. Morrison noted, “The priority now is shifting from short-term emergency relief toward longer-term rebuilding … we are readying a package of activities related to reconstruction and to preparedness against future disasters.”
In addition to funneling funds to specific non-profit organizations to help rebuild the traditional educational infrastructure and replace lost supplies, the EWC moved quickly to help on the human side of the equation. Fifty senior undergraduate students in Aceh were awarded scholarships, allowing them to move to the Indonesian capital of Jakarta to finish their teacher training. “This allowed the students to complete their training and to return to Aceh,” Bigalke noted, “to replace the decimated teacher corps in the province.”
Karen Knudsen, director of the EWC’s office of external affairs and whose office oversees alumni affairs, also notes that “with the help of our alumni chapters in the region, especially in India and Sri Lanka, we were able to identify other areas of need helping several local organizations address immediate and longer term needs.” She notes that in addition to “enabling local communities to repair or replace lost school equipment, we were also able to supply new fishing nets, and boats to contribute to the ongoing livelihood of the affected communities.”
The East-West Center will soon be closing its books on the Relief Fund, but the work goes on.
The original contact made with educational institutions in the region has led to the establishment of on-going projects. Using regularly budgeted funds, teacher and scholar exchange programs with the affected areas continue. The EWC has made it possible for scholars from the Ar-Raniry State Institute of Islamic Studies in Aceh, who had never been to the United States, to come to Hawaii for brief periods to study social and economic issues.
The former rector of the Islamic institution, Prof. Rusjdi Ali Muhammad said, “We are grateful for the aid and cooperation and we are confident that this relationship will be a lasting one for both of our institutions and countries.” One reason for that optimism may be that, according to the former rector, “of 500 foreign delegations to have visited (the Ar-Raniry State Institute of Islamic Studies) after the tsunami, only two have followed up with specific on-going support. The East-West Center is one.”
Appropriated and private foundation funding also allows for the continuation of teacher exchanges among educators in the United States and the tsunami-ravaged areas in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Namji Steinemann, director of the EWC’s AsiaPacificEd program, notes that the Center-sponsored Schools-Helping-Schools (SHS) initiative, “connects teachers and students in partnerships that support long-term recovery and fosters ties between cultures.” She adds that “Firsthand experiences of that deadly day live on through their teaching.”
Another SHS project is the support of 90 orphaned students in Aceh. Another 80 Thai students have been given bicycles to use to travel to and from school after having been resettled far from their schools by the Thai government. Steinemann notes that “Many of the affected schools that have received SHS support remain in touch with their U.S. counterparts via letters and email.”
Other EWC activities include “After the Tsunami: Human Rights of Vulnerable Populations,” an assessment of possible human rights issues carried out through the Center’s Research Program; and the work in the affected regions by the Pacific Disaster Center, then managed by the EWC.
The Center has also published a book of photographs by award-winning Hawaii photographer Marco Garcia entitled “Hope for Renewal.” Taken in Aceh immediately after the tsunami and then several months later, the book “is a lasting memorial to the victims” of the deadly earthquake and tsunami. PT Bank Bumiputera Indonesia and EWC board member Tun Daim Zainuddin provided the funding for publishing project.
Morrison notes, “Obviously there are still many difficult challenges ahead in the tsunami-affected areas, as well as for the world community as we seek better means of preparing for and responding to disasters.” But, he adds, “No observance of the tsunami should take place without remembering the many individual human acts of love, heroism, and courage; the dedicated public service during the emergency by so many in the armed forces, local and national governments, and NGOs of many nations; and the incredible public generosity as the whole world shed tears and opened their hearts for the victims and their families.”
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Charles E. Morrison can be reached at (808) 944-7103 or via email at morrisoc@EastWestCenter.org.
For daily news on the Pacific Islands, see www.pireport.org. For links to all East-West Center media programs, fellowships and services, see www.eastwestcenter.org/journalists.