By Marlene Cowan
Since Jan. 13, just three weeks after the Dec. 26 tsunami, the tsunami relief committee (also known as the Big Wave Committee) of The Los Altos Rotary Club has met regularly to explore worthy and reliable relief projects for the club to undertake. Big Wavers include Joe Corral, Bob Adams, Roy Lave, Allart Ligtenberg, Joanna Medin, Emily Taylor and Marlene Cowan, recently joined by Bo Kearns, who has worked in Indonesian banking for years and speaks the language. We’ve intensely searched the Internet, Rotary International’s Tsunami Disaster Management Task Force, Indonesian Rotary Clubs and our own personal contacts.
We have found an excellent project to support. Indonesia is the country hardest hit by the tsunami, with 174,000 people killed, 50,000 more missing and millions displaced indefinitely.
Your contribution will benefit the village of Lhokseumawe (Look-suh-maw-way) in the Banda Aceh region of the northern island of Sumatra, Indonesia - a city once known as “Mecca’s Veranda,” since it was the embarkation point for devout Indonesian Muslims bound for the hajj. According to the ministry of health, the death toll in this village alone was immense, with thick mud and garbage filling homes up to a mile from the coastline.
The project we’ve selected is the construction of fishing boats for the village of Lhokseumawe. This project will aid the local economy by providing construction jobs and food/income generated from the fish caught. The project will, of course, aid families, children and women by providing food, a return to local fishing traditions and the economic and emotional stability that will bring. Assisting the fishing industry has long-term implications for Lhokseumawe, and it’s even a place you may wish to visit in the future to see the benefit of your contributions. We have reliable Rotarians in Indonesia to administer the program and a well-developed economic plan.
Instead of just adding money to a huge NGO’s (non-governmental organization) work, our funds will go directly to this boat-building project in Lhokseumawe. They will be paid to local shipyards where the boats will be constructed using local labor and materials. Upon completion, each boat will be given to a fisherman selected by local committees, including Rotarians. The fishermen will be expected to make a contribution back to their community by giving a percentage of their catch to the village. The fishermen also sign an agreement to repay 30 percent of the boat cost over a period of 36 months, beginning three months after receiving the boat.
This money will be used to benefit the entire fishing community with new boats, upkeep of boats and maintenance of the quay in order to develop a sense of social responsibility.
Contributions to the fund-raising auction, headed by Red Badge Rotary members Katie Nutter and Seth Manning, already total about $23,000. Especially heartwarming was the great work by Medin’s two children and President Cindy Luedtke’s daughter Hannah to order and sell blue tsunami relief bracelets at their schools and to Rotarians.
Cowan is president-elect of the Los Altos Rotary Club.
