Tsunami Response

Rusmansyah's daughter provides him with a daily source of hope and joy, amidst the lingering sorrow.

Ismail Sarong and his son only survived the tsunami because they were performing a concert that morning, several miles inland from their seaside abode.

When they rushed back to their home in Gampong Pande, there was nothing left of the village Ismail had lived in since birth. The tsunami pulverized concrete homes standing in its path, taking everything they had known, and everyone they had loved, along with it.

Ismail's wife and five daughters all perished when the waves swept their neighborhood away. Only 30% of the village's 1,139 residents survived.

Following this tragedy Ismail's sorrow was so great he could barely conceive of moving forward with his life, and the music that had always been one of his greatest sources of joy became a cold reminder of his departed loved ones.

"Right after the tsunami, I was too full of sadness to play my flute," Ismail says. "I cried every time I tried to play music. It reminded me of everyone I had lost."

The barren earth in Gampong Pande still bears the scars of the tsunami's destruction, and not far away, a mass grave serves as a stark reminder of the horrific scale of this tragedy.

ADB Vice President Lawrence Greenwood and Indonesia Country Director Edgar Cua inspect new houses in Aceh.

The people of Aceh have contended with this disaster with astonishing courage, but beneath the resilient façade lurks unimaginable grief and pain.

"Ill never forget such a disaster. How could you?"asks Rusmansyah, a neighbor of Ismail's, as tears well in his eyes.

"I'm so tired. There was war, then the tsunami. It never stops. I'm so tired."

Building Back Better

ADB is working closely with communities in Aceh during every step of the reconstruction process, to help them recover from the tsunami. A key component of ADB's assistance has been a US$72.5 million program for the construction of new homes.

ADB is building 153 houses in Ismail's village of Gampong Pande, and a total of 7,500 homes in the greater Aceh area.

In addition to providing the people of Gampong Pande with quality housing, ADB is supporting the development of shrimp farming facilities adjacent to the village, so families will have a reliable source of income.

"Our long term commitment is to see Aceh prosper,"said AB Vice President Lawrence Greenwood on a recent visit to the area.

"Aceh is the third-poorest province in Indonesia, and it already faced a host of challenges before the tsunami struck. The tsunami has added another layer of challenges, but we at ADB are completely committed to Aceh's reconstruction, and we will remain committed - we're here for the long term."

Ismail Sarong, pictured here in front of his new home, has dedicated his life to teaching traditional music to the children of his village.

This assistance is helping families in Aceh slowly overcome this catastrophe, and rediscover a sense of hope.

Today Ismail Sarong is playing music again, and doing his part to help Gampong Pande maintain its heritage.

"Now I realize that I still have my life, and I want to use it to help young people keep the culture of our village going,"he says.

"I want to dedicate the rest of my life to teaching traditional music to the young people in my village. I find that it helps to heal."

Through the courage and compassion of people like Ismail Sarong, hope is progressively taking root in Aceh.

"We're happy that we can be a small part of these communities' journey to recovery,"says Edgar Cua, Country Director of ADB's Resident Mission in Indonesia.

"There are certainly many challenges that still lie ahead, but we're confident that through the resilience of the people, and with a continued commitment by ADB and the international community, Aceh's best days are still yet to come."

Not far away from Ismail's home, the local market is teeming with life again, and the sound of children's laughter can be heard above the den of passing motorbikes.

Banda Aceh is beginning to have the feel of a region on the rebound.