Kami sendiri akhirnya bertugas di daerah Gempa/Tsunami Aceh selama dua tahun. Untuk mengenang awal-awal penanganan peristiwa itu kami memposting artikel yang menggambarkan situasi di sebuah desa di daerah Pidie, setelah 10 bulan peristiwa itu berlangsung. Artikel yang kami tulis Nopember 2005, masih bisa diakses pada mediaonline dimana kami pernah bekerja sebagai Information Officer: http://www.act-intl.org.
Ten months after the tsunami, people yearn to go back home
By Jannerson Girsang, ACT International
Pidie, Aceh, Indonesia, November 2, 2005--After  ten months of living in barracks and tents, internally displaced  persons (IDPs) yearn to leave these temporary living quarters and to  return to their original villages. These desires are more intense for  Indonesians during these times of Muslim and Christian religious  celebrations (Idul Fitri and Christmas) because of the custom of  gathering in one’s hometown.
The desire  to return home had been previously constrained by the lack of shelter,  water and sanitation, earnings and other reasons. Now, some of these  constraints have decreased. 
Among the  people who want to return to their homes are residents of one small  village in Indonesia’s Aceh province that was hit by the Dec. 26  earthquake last year, measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale, and the  ensuing tsunami.
“I get  fish enough for our daily needs and installment payments,” said  30-year-old Ramli with sparkling eyes on a day in late October. Three  days earlier, the resident of Lampoh Kawat in Pidie district had moved  into a new, 36-square-meter house after he and his family had lived in a  settlement of barracks and tents for several months.
Ramli explained that he lost his house and boat in the tsunami, but he has been able to resume his job as a fisherman.
“We are  very happy. We have our own house now. Compared to former days, now we  have our private water and sanitation facilities,” said the father of a  3-year-old son. Ramli is a beneficiary of the shelter and  livelihood-recovery program of Church World Service (CWS), one of three  members of the global alliance Action by Churches Together (ACT)  International responding to the tsunami in Indonesia.
Another  fisherman, Zakaria, 45, is also involved in CWS-ACT’s shelter and  livelihood-recovery program, which has provided him with a boat to  return to work. “If we went to the sea for several hours, we can catch  fish, and in the afternoon we could go to the field or conduct other  activities for additional income,” said Zakaria, whose house and all his  possessions were swept away in the tsunami. 
“I am  thankful to CWS. The boat helps my family. I have now more choices to  earn money,” he said. Zakaria’s other activities include transporting  people to the market on his motorcycle and volunteering for the ACT  member in its house-construction program. 
Zakaria  said he has participated in all the phases of house construction with  CWS-ACT, from planning to implementation. “I myself participated in  interior design and also the supervision of the construction. I am  satisfied with my house-to-be,” the father of three school-aged children  explained. 
Ramli and Zakaria are two of the many people who have expressed out grateful they are to be going home.
Ramli and Zakaria are two of the many people who have expressed out grateful they are to be going home.
Everybody is busy earning an income in various ways while they wait for their new houses to be built. Some have even provided carpentry services themselves to hurry the construction along.
Ummiah Abbah and Ainsyah Amin are two examples of women who are actively supporting their families economically while waiting for their new houses to be completed.
While  harvesting oysters in the river beside Lampoh Kawat sub-village, Ummiah,  45, said she does not feel comfortable in the temporary barracks where  she has been living since the tsunami struck.
“My house was destroyed by the tsunami, but I miss this place to live and to work again,” she said, referring to the river near her original home. “It is too far from the barracks to work here. No place can replace the harmony in this village. When can I occupy my house, sir?” she asked with slight impatience.
Ainsyah, a  60-year-widow, slashed sike (a plant used as a raw material for woven  products) next to her house, which is under construction. Ainsyah can  make three mats from sike in ten days and sells them at the local  markets. She is living in a temporary shelter built from the ruins of  her house, like many other families in this village.
“I prefer  to stay here because I can do my routine job and socialize with people. I  miss the harmony of life,” said Ainsyah, whose husband died several  years ago. Some of her five adult children are married, some of whom  also live in this village.
The village where Ummiah and Ainsyah live is 200 kilometers southwest of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province. The village is two kilometers off the main road. When the earthquake and tsunami struck here ten months ago, houses and property - boats, cattle, shrimp ponds and personal belongings – were damaged or destroyed. One woman was killed, and many people were injured. Before the tsunami, Lampoh Kawat was rich in resources. It is located near the coast of Malacca Straits, where people catch fish in abundance, raise shrimp in ponds, raise animals and grow coconuts. Plenty of pandanus trees, used as a craft material, also grow naturally in this tiny village of 34 households.
The village where Ummiah and Ainsyah live is 200 kilometers southwest of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province. The village is two kilometers off the main road. When the earthquake and tsunami struck here ten months ago, houses and property - boats, cattle, shrimp ponds and personal belongings – were damaged or destroyed. One woman was killed, and many people were injured. Before the tsunami, Lampoh Kawat was rich in resources. It is located near the coast of Malacca Straits, where people catch fish in abundance, raise shrimp in ponds, raise animals and grow coconuts. Plenty of pandanus trees, used as a craft material, also grow naturally in this tiny village of 34 households.
CWS, with  the support of partners and ACT members around the world, began working  here in April and has contributed to a significant change of the lives  of the village’s residents. 
Beginning  with health services provided through mobile clinics, CWS started a  livelihood program and has distributed 26 boats to fisherman to replace  their boats that were swept away by the tsunami. In its livelihood  program, CWS-ACT cooperates with PASKA, a local foundation. Fisherman  who receive a boat also participate in a community-based revolving loan  system as a token of social accountability to the community. 
“Every  time when the earnings of the fisherman is more than Rp 50,000 [US$5],  they should contribute 15 percent of the excess earnings to this  community-based revolving fund system, compiled by chosen members of the  community,” explained Evy Kaban, CWS-ACT’s livelihood-recovery program  coordinator in Banda Aceh. “The money collected from all fishermen will  be used as a revolving fund to the 16 people who haven’t had earnings  yet. They can use the money as seed capital for small enterprises.”
Since August, CWS-ACT has completed some of the 34 houses in the shelter program for the families of Lampoh Kawat whose houses were destroyed. CWS-ACT plans to build 300 houses across Aceh, but is finding it difficult to locate the right land for new houses. A lack of coordination and persistent claims from other donor agencies over land ownership has led to confusion among the local authorities and community members.
Since August, CWS-ACT has completed some of the 34 houses in the shelter program for the families of Lampoh Kawat whose houses were destroyed. CWS-ACT plans to build 300 houses across Aceh, but is finding it difficult to locate the right land for new houses. A lack of coordination and persistent claims from other donor agencies over land ownership has led to confusion among the local authorities and community members.
Constructing  houses in Aceh is not a simple task. Indra, CWS-ACT’s technical shelter  officer stationed in Banda Aceh, said he faces constraints in providing  materials for the housing construction. “We have to take legal logging  material from Medan. It takes time to deal with administration of  things,” he said. 
In order  to increase the local income, CWS-ACT also outsources the work of  windows and doors to local carpenters and the construction to the local  people and the owners of the houses. “It is easy to build houses if not  considering the local participation. We just let contractors build, but I  worry if we do so, the continuation and sense of belonging will be  different,” said Indra. 
One factor  in the success of the CWS-ACT housing program, according to Indra, is  that the small sub-village is easy to manage and monitor. “They are very  cooperative and contribute their talents that make this construction  take place well,” said Indra. 
Indra said the government and local people are working together to preparing land and when it comes to construction. 
In the  village, the French Red Cross is taking care of the drinking water  supply with water trucks and a tank. However, the long-term supply of  drinking water for the village is uncertain. CWS-ACT is ready to take on  this responsibility, but has to consider many other players and  factors, such as other agencies competing and the fact that the  government’s rehabilitation and reconstruction program began late.
Source: http://www.act-intl.org.