Boxing Day Tsunami 20 years on: Plan International Australia remembers global solidarity

Twenty years on from the devastating Boxing Day tsunami, Plan International Australia remembers the global solidarity that emerged from tragedy.

December 26 marks 20 years since the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, which claimed the lives of 230,000 people and left 1.7 million homeless on Boxing Day 2004. The earthquake struck 150km off the coast of Aceh, Indonesia. It was the most powerful the world had seen in a generation.

Plan International raised US$47.3 million to assist affected people and communities focusing on childcare, education, healthcare, housing, water, sanitation, psychosocial support, livelihoods, and child protection.

During this time, Plan and its partners assisted an estimated 650,000 people across Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

In Indonesia, Plan distributed emergency water supplies to 81 camps for 8,000 internally displaced people and rehabilitated a major gravity-fed water supply system to ensure over 6,000 people in eight villages had access to safe clean water.

Throughout the emergency phase Plan and its partners distributed hygiene kits (soap, shampoo, toothpaste, underwear, sanitary commodities, etc) to people in temporary camps. A supplementary feeding program for children under-5 and to pregnant, or lactating, mothers was established as well as a vitamin and mineral supplements program for 400,000 people in Aceh Jaya and Aceh Besar. Additionally, Plan focused on revitalising Aceh’s public health system.

In India, some 1,500 people (including 350 children) in the tsunami-affected areas benefited from the establishment of mobile medical teams and specialised medical care. In addition, more than 550 pregnant women received antenatal and post-natal care.

In Thailand, Plan provided mobile psychosocial support for school children with the Puenkaew Child-Friendly Association, which visited 14 schools, providing 1,361 students with psychosocial support.

Aceh-born Andina Syifa, a senior program manager with Plan International Australia, was just 20 years old when she was travelling in a car with her family when the tsunami hit her home province. She joined the response to try to assist people who had been affected; even though their home was severely damaged and they were searching for their own family members. Her aunt and uncle sadly died.

“I thought it was the end of the world (apocalypse), I didn’t know about tsunamis before, most Acehnes have never heard of it, Aceh was so closed to the outside world before the tsunami,” she said.

“It was really a game changer that led to conflict resolution while also bringing new life and opportunity for young generation of Aceh. I made a pact to myself that whenever I can, I will always pay back to the enormous support from around the world that has been given to Aceh.”

Australian Richard Sandison, who led Plan International’s disaster response in Aceh for two years, recalls the devastation faced by the local community months and even years after the tsunami hit.

“When I first arrived in Banda Aceh after the earthquake and tsunami devasted the region, I was struck by the widespread social, economic, and environmental destruction to the already vulnerable communities,” Mr Sandison said.

“Everywhere along the coastline was just destroyed—buildings and lives—and I wondered where you start given such an enormous disaster that’s spread over hundreds of kilometres.

“I listened to and still vividly recall today many stories from local people on how women and girls were unable to cling onto trees or other objects and perished due to the massive surges of water. I also heard stories about ‘local heroes’ who put their own lives at risk to help save others.

“What also struck me was the outpouring of support from the Indonesian government, local Indonesian volunteers and organisations and the spirit and resilience shown by the local Acehnese population to rebuild their lives after such a tragedy. This support was critical in effectively providing initial humanitarian assistance and the longer-term recovery and reconstruction programs,” he said.

Plan International Australia deputy CEO Hayley Cull said: “The Boxing Day tsunami unleashed destruction on an unprecedented scale which resulted in a worldwide surge of compassion, with the Australian public donating around $375 million to aid agencies—more than they ever have.

“Some of this support helped us to rebuild schools and early childhood centres in Aceh, all of which are still operating today.

“Twenty years on, the world is now seeing this same need with multiple crises such as the conflicts in Gaza and Sudan, the hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa—not to mention the devastating impacts of climate change on vulnerable communities.

“We encourage Australians to dig deep this holiday season, as they did back in 2004, and remember our global family need us more than ever,” she said.

MEDIA:

Available for interview:

• Andina Syifa, Aceh survivor and program manager, Plan International Australia
• Richard Sandison, Former Aceh response lead, Plan International
• Hayley Cull, Deputy CEO, Plan International Australia

For more information or to arrange interviews please contact Jackie Hanafie on [email protected] or +62 8123 1371 949