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Mission Minute - Indonesia
Husni's Story

January 19, 2006

 
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Husni's four year old son became infected with polio as an infant and was never able to walk. When the tsunami hit, Husni carried him in her arms as they ran from the oncoming wave, but she couldn't run fast enough to escape its force. Remarkably, Husni was able to hold onto the child as the wave tumbled them over and over for distance of nearly a half a mile. But when the water finally receded, Husni realized that the child had not survived being held underwater for so long.

With the child still in her arms, Husni stumbled around in a daze for an hour or two until she

  Photo of Husni
Husni. Photo: Rebecca Young
 
 

was reunited with her sister. The two of them began to search for a an appropriate spot to bury the child. They walked for six hours until they found such a place, only to realize that they had nothing to dig with. So they began to dig with their hands, and finally buried him.

The next day at an IDP camp, Husni was reunited with her husband, who had been fishing near the shore when the wave hit and lost his boat. CWS staff met Husni when her husband signed up to be part of their plan to provide boats to fishermen. CWS just happened to be in need of kitchen help at their Banda Aceh office, so they hired Husni. Between her husband's fishing and her income from CWS, Husni is putting her life back together and is pregnant again, a sign of her hope for the future.

  Photo of Husni working in the kitchen
Husni working in the CWS Banda Aceh office kitchen. Photo: Rebecca Young
 
   
 
 

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is responding to the ongoing needs from the December 26, 2004 tsunami as a member of Action by Churches Together (ACT International). Local ACT members and PDA partners in the Indonesia include: Church World Service (CWS), Yayasan Tanggul Bencana (YTB), and YAKKUM Emergency Unit (YEU).

 
   
 
  This report was written by the Rev. Rebecca Young, Liaison for Tsunami Recovery.  
             
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