LAHUSA SCHOOL REVISITED
Lahusa's new school was completely destroyed in the March 28th quake
Michael Simonoff is one of ELM-UV's longest serving volunteers. He has just come back from Gomo and Lahusa in Nias where our team have been busy while they wait for the Rotary boxes to arrive. Michael took the chance to visit the school where we dropped zinc, timber and tools donated by AUS AID some weeks before and he was amazed to find 6 functioning class rooms and hundreds of very happy school kids... here is his account of how he found the school last month. (We should soon have photos of the new building)
AUS AID material being stored in the headmaster's office
MICHAEL's LAHUSA REPORT - 08 MAY
After spending some time on Nias in the Lahusa district the abundance of children on the island became quite obvious. As the Electric Lamb Mission pushed forward with the distribution of aid to areas of Gomo and Lahusa, we saw the critical need to help and give aid to schools.
As I worked on the beach and oversaw loading of trucks headed to Gomo and other areas to distribute aid, young gentlemen constantly approached me with pieces of paper attempting to entice our mission to supply aid to their specific areas. Schools were no different: headmasters, their representatives, and even friends or former students came and approached me. As it happened one day, after a long day of loading and joining two truckloads to Gomo district, I returned to the North Beach, ready to return to the Batavia when a young man approached me. His name was Appraisman Ndruru.
He was a 19-year who attended college in Teluk Dalam, but had been raised in Lahusa district and attended SMP Negeri 2 in Lahusa for middle school. As we had already noticed the abundance of children in the area and the apparent damage to many larger buildings, including schools, I promised to meet him the next morning in order to assess the damage of the school. I found it truly endearing and meaningful that a college student who resided more than 30 kilometers from the region had such close ties to this school and cared so much that he came out to the beach to search for aid to help a school he no longer attended.
The next day Ali, Appraisman and myself set out for the school via motorbike. We stopped at another school on the way that had asked for help. This was the only high school in the district, and although it had lost one of its main buildings, the government had built a new building in its place but the school was still in need of school supplies, desks, and concrete to finish the building. I had pity for these students and teachers, but knew that this school was being looked after and felt I had to see SMP Negeri 2 that Appraisman had been so keen on finding help for.
We continued our journey out through the main city and north on the main road for about 8 kilometers, over broken road and passing damaged homes and rubble on the way. After the trip, we arrived at the school, or should I say remnants, of the middle school that once stood there.
The school at one time consisted of two large concrete units that made up 6 large classrooms, as well as a wooden, smaller building in the front that acted as the faculty office. What was left of the school was not much. One entire concrete complex of 3 classrooms was completely destroyed. The other building had been cleared out, as the students and faculty feared from other earthquakes and the building had obvious structural damage. Meanwhile, the faculty had built a small, open air, classroom to the side of the main buildings. The faculty office, which was slanting quite noticeably, had been converted into a classroom.
And another area on the field covered by tarps was housing a few desks. The students were in high spirits nonetheless, and when I arrived, they seemed so grateful that I even visited what was left of their school. The school had some 240 students, as well as close to 30 faculty members who were all being strongly affected not only by the destruction to their homes and roads, but to the building they spent most of their time away from home at, this school that bound them together in an attempt to take their mind of the suffering of their people, and an epitaph that showed life must go on.
As soon as I saw the place, I decided this would be the school we would help, in any way possible. Later that night we returned with a truck full of the rest of or ship's lumber, zinc, and included a bunch of tool sets and nails. Although it was only a paltry amount of aid, it was my belief that it would begin to help rebuild these people's lives, at least help to rebuild a place that they could go to continue their studies and try to take their mind off the devastation that surrounded them.
That night, after we all finished loading in a courageous effort that included help from our own mission's volunteers, along with teachers, students, and family members we stood back and praised each other for our honorable lifestyles. These people were truly amazing, with the will to work hard into the night, knowing when they return home, it may only be a tent waiting, possibly without a meal for dinner that night. After all my admiration for these people, then came the rooster.
Although I misunderstood at first, and stated vehemently I could not stay for dinner, then the headmaster walked out of the house with a beautiful rooster under his arm. I begged that I could not take it, but as is the custom, I would only be rude to refuse it. So, after tying up the roosters legs, (it was the most beautiful rooster the man owned), we head back to the boat that night, all feeling very proud and very grateful to have come across a group who needed exactly what we had to offer.
Postscript: Michael named the rooster "Rickie" and he took good care of it.... for about a 4 days. The UV team then voted on the noisy bird and promptly ate it for lunch! I am trying not to read anything into this.....
AUS AID material being stored in the headmaster's office
MICHAEL's LAHUSA REPORT - 08 MAY
After spending some time on Nias in the Lahusa district the abundance of children on the island became quite obvious. As the Electric Lamb Mission pushed forward with the distribution of aid to areas of Gomo and Lahusa, we saw the critical need to help and give aid to schools.
As I worked on the beach and oversaw loading of trucks headed to Gomo and other areas to distribute aid, young gentlemen constantly approached me with pieces of paper attempting to entice our mission to supply aid to their specific areas. Schools were no different: headmasters, their representatives, and even friends or former students came and approached me. As it happened one day, after a long day of loading and joining two truckloads to Gomo district, I returned to the North Beach, ready to return to the Batavia when a young man approached me. His name was Appraisman Ndruru.
He was a 19-year who attended college in Teluk Dalam, but had been raised in Lahusa district and attended SMP Negeri 2 in Lahusa for middle school. As we had already noticed the abundance of children in the area and the apparent damage to many larger buildings, including schools, I promised to meet him the next morning in order to assess the damage of the school. I found it truly endearing and meaningful that a college student who resided more than 30 kilometers from the region had such close ties to this school and cared so much that he came out to the beach to search for aid to help a school he no longer attended.
The next day Ali, Appraisman and myself set out for the school via motorbike. We stopped at another school on the way that had asked for help. This was the only high school in the district, and although it had lost one of its main buildings, the government had built a new building in its place but the school was still in need of school supplies, desks, and concrete to finish the building. I had pity for these students and teachers, but knew that this school was being looked after and felt I had to see SMP Negeri 2 that Appraisman had been so keen on finding help for.
We continued our journey out through the main city and north on the main road for about 8 kilometers, over broken road and passing damaged homes and rubble on the way. After the trip, we arrived at the school, or should I say remnants, of the middle school that once stood there.
The school at one time consisted of two large concrete units that made up 6 large classrooms, as well as a wooden, smaller building in the front that acted as the faculty office. What was left of the school was not much. One entire concrete complex of 3 classrooms was completely destroyed. The other building had been cleared out, as the students and faculty feared from other earthquakes and the building had obvious structural damage. Meanwhile, the faculty had built a small, open air, classroom to the side of the main buildings. The faculty office, which was slanting quite noticeably, had been converted into a classroom.
And another area on the field covered by tarps was housing a few desks. The students were in high spirits nonetheless, and when I arrived, they seemed so grateful that I even visited what was left of their school. The school had some 240 students, as well as close to 30 faculty members who were all being strongly affected not only by the destruction to their homes and roads, but to the building they spent most of their time away from home at, this school that bound them together in an attempt to take their mind of the suffering of their people, and an epitaph that showed life must go on.
As soon as I saw the place, I decided this would be the school we would help, in any way possible. Later that night we returned with a truck full of the rest of or ship's lumber, zinc, and included a bunch of tool sets and nails. Although it was only a paltry amount of aid, it was my belief that it would begin to help rebuild these people's lives, at least help to rebuild a place that they could go to continue their studies and try to take their mind off the devastation that surrounded them.
That night, after we all finished loading in a courageous effort that included help from our own mission's volunteers, along with teachers, students, and family members we stood back and praised each other for our honorable lifestyles. These people were truly amazing, with the will to work hard into the night, knowing when they return home, it may only be a tent waiting, possibly without a meal for dinner that night. After all my admiration for these people, then came the rooster.
Although I misunderstood at first, and stated vehemently I could not stay for dinner, then the headmaster walked out of the house with a beautiful rooster under his arm. I begged that I could not take it, but as is the custom, I would only be rude to refuse it. So, after tying up the roosters legs, (it was the most beautiful rooster the man owned), we head back to the boat that night, all feeling very proud and very grateful to have come across a group who needed exactly what we had to offer.
Postscript: Michael named the rooster "Rickie" and he took good care of it.... for about a 4 days. The UV team then voted on the noisy bird and promptly ate it for lunch! I am trying not to read anything into this.....
posted by Island Aid at
6:02 pm
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