ACT stories

South & south east Asia/Indonesia 14/05

Slices of life of tsunami survivors

Yeresmia’s story

Another lonely day at Pelita YEU [YAKKUM Emergency Unit, a member of Action by Churches Together (ACT) International] clinic. I was surprised to see a little boy standing near the door of the clinic. His body was small, his face dirty, and he was wearing a sack for his pants. I came up to him to ask for his name, but he only stood there, looking at me as if I were some alien speaking in a strange language. And maybe that was true for him - perhaps he didn’t understand Bahasa Indonesia. Fauzanolo, a YEU household staff member, asked him if he would like to have some lunch. When he nodded, I rushed to the kitchen to prepare some food for him.

He was not there alone. He was with his older sister, who was even less responsive than him. There was a somewhat mysterious aura about her. All she did was sit in the corner and weep quietly. No one was able to get any reaction from her.

Yeresmia, four years old, sat on the bench and ate his food quietly. Helena, another YEU mental health staff member, came up to him. Another staff member had bought some new clothes for both of the siblings.

He was delighted to receive new, clean clothes. Since we didn’t have any time to bathe him properly, wet tissue had to do.

His sister’s name was September, and she still did not want to touch her food, or even the new clothes that had just been bought for her.

There are so many people who need help, but often it is the young people, like these two children, who get overlooked in the course of our work. It is then up to us to be able to see these little things, get up and actually do something about it.

What makes things worthwhile is that we are able to help these children, even though it was only some rice and fish and a friendly smile.

A little attention can go a long way.

-- Vina Titaley, part of the Nias Team for YAKKUM Emergency Unit

Other stories in this series:

• Wounded inside and out: Profile of a tsunami survivor in Tanah Pasir
• The journey of a stethoscope

 

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