West Sumatra: Daughter’s Schooling Before House Repairs
By Rebecca (Becca) Young
SUMATRA, INDONESIA — Policeman Abiudin Gulo is an active member of the West Indonesia Protestant Church whose church building is being used as an ACT International humanitarian relief post. He dropped by the post Wednesday morning to chat with fellow church members working there and to see the activities at this “post that never sleeps”. While chatting with friends, he began to share some of his experience during the recent disaster.
 Mr. Gulo At the time the earthquake hit, Mr Gulo was sitting at home with his family, relaxing. He recalls that his daughter was sitting working on her homework from school. She is a student at the local university, studying to become a midwife. His teenage son was also in the room chatting with him and his wife. When the earth began shaking, the four of them jumped to their feet and ran out into the front yard, just a few meters away. Moments after they were clear of the house, the upper level walls fell down into the living room where they had just been sitting.
The family discussed what to do next. For everyone who lives along the coast of southwestern Sumatra, the tsunami of 2004 experienced by their neighbors to the north is still a dreadful memory, even though it did not reach Padang. Whenever there is a strong earthquake, they fear a tsunami is soon to come. Mr Gulo’s wife, son and daughter wanted to jump on the family motorcycle and head to higher ground. Mr Gulo said he preferred to stay and guard the house, but he let his family do what they needed to feel safe, which was to run to the hills. He remained at home, sitting up all night with neighbors in an informal vigil to keep one another company in the dark.
Mr. Gulo explained why he was not worried about a tsunami. “Whenever I started to be the least bit afraid, I remembered the story of Jesus on the Sea of Galilee. I imagined in my mind Jesus also reaching out over the ocean here, calming the seas, which helped to calm me just as it calmed the hearts of the disciples long ago.”
By 11:00 p.m., the government had called off the tsunami warning, so his family returned home. Together they cleaned out the debris from a downstairs bedroom and went to sleep together in the single room. Unlike most Padang families who are scared to sleep inside their houses, Mr Gulo was once again not afraid. He said whatever was going to fall had already fallen during the quake, so he did not need to worry.
When asked what plans he had to find a way to repair the house, Mr Gulo had already discussed it with his family and made a decision. Allowing his daughter to continue studying at the university is the most important part of his life right now. He will delay making any improvements until she is through with school in two more years. In the meantime, the family will live downstairs and make do with the way things are. “When it rains, only a little bit comes in through the cracks, so we can handle it until she graduates,” he reflected sanguinely. Mr Gulo’s rainbow, which he eagerly anticipates after this disaster has abated, is the image of his daughter walking down the aisle in her cap and gown.
PDA is responding to the earthquake in cooperation with our local partners in Indonesia. YTBI, YEU and Church World Service (CWS) Indonesia are PDA’s mission partners and fellow ACT members leading the response.
Rebecca (Becca) Young is a PC(USA) mission co-worker in Indonesia. Becca is assigned to the Jakarta Theological Seminary, but the seminary graciously yields a portion of Becca’s time to allow her to help in disaster situations. Becca is now in Padang supporting the ACT forum of members and the wider alliance on the gathering and coordination of information and communications materials. |
