1. Tsunami disaster: Potowa Center helps the
victims
By Guido Schwarze.
Repercussions from the biggest natural disaster in the history of Indonesia continue. Aceh, located
150 km south of the epicenter of the earthquake, was the hardest hit by the December 26
earthquake and tsunami; these took the lives of over 170,000 people and left more than 500,000
people, a tenth of its population, homeless. Many of the victims are poor fishermen and their families
in small seashore fishing villages.
The scale of devastation caused by the tidal wave goes far beyond our imagination. Banda Aceh,
the capital city and economic center of Aceh Province, was reduced to rubble within a matter of
minutes by the 60-foot tidal wave. The local government collapsed, the infrastructure was completely
destroyed, and its economy utterly paralyzed. Indonesia lacks the system and resources for handling
emergencies of such magnitude.
Monks visit a tsunami victim in hospital.
The world has come together to give help to Asia’s tsunami-stricken areas. The Indonesian
population at large is extremely grateful for the massive outpouring of sympathy, the generous
donations and the humanitarian work rendered by individuals and governments from around the
globe. But one of the dire needs that have to be met quickly is the shortage of doctors, especially
orthopedic surgeons, since many of the survivors have suffered broken bones that are largely left
untreated and, in many cases, eventually must be amputated. There are also frequent cases of
patients who have their lungs filled with seawater that can’t be removed due to lack of medical

2. facilities. Most of the temporary shelters are packed with too many people, and the supply of
medicines is terribly inadequate.
Many fear that several months after the outburst of generous donations, “donor fatigue” will set in. A
more sustainable and long-term relief effort will certainly be required, for a period of one to two years
at the very least.
Psychological assistance
Members of FPMT’s Potawa Center in Jakarta Barat first visited refugee camps in Medan-North
Sumatra shortly after the tsunami hit. Four members joined in the voluntary aid efforts organized by
Majelis Buddhayana Indonesia (MBI), one of Indonesia’s largest Buddhist organizations. They noted
the need to help with the refugees’ mental health. So in collaboration with MBI, a team of eight
volunteers, including professional psychologists, went for the second field visit.
We conducted a four-day preliminary assessment of refugees’ mental health as well as counseling
sessions and a crash course in counseling for local volunteers, a few of whom are teachers of the
refugee children.
The team met with the refugees in person to get an insight into the situation. We are only able to
cover a fraction of the people in need, hundreds if not thousands are still left untouched because of
the lack of manpower and time constraints.
The few refugees that we interviewed are generally all right in that they still have hope to live on, but
for some, especially children, there is reason for concern. When asked to draw a picture, one child
drew scenery with the sun crossed out. Others drew the sea in which appeared a ghostly being.
These children, if left untreated, will experience considerable emotional difficulties in the future.
Potowa Center is implementing a long-term fundraising program to be able to offer help in the form
of counseling to meet the psychological and spiritual needs of refugees, who are suffering from
various traumatic disorders and depression resulting from loss of family and everything they ever
relied on for their livelihood. Potowa Center is developing a program to provide regular counseling by

3. sending psychologists on a rotating basis, as well as conducting courses on basic counseling for aid
workers and volunteers.
Very importantly, people will also be assigned to share the Buddhadharma to plant seeds and help
others to eventually change their lives.
Most of the current aid covers the refugees’ obvious physical needs, but providing psychological and
religious/spiritual counseling was clearly identified to be of utmost importance for them to regain their
mental health to help them to reclaim their lives. MBI, on the other hand, intends to focus on
providing school tuition sponsorships, shelter, employment, and medical care for the refugees.
We at Potowa Center are also doing Medicine Buddha pujas and the practice of animal liberation, as
recommended by Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
Appreciation also goes to Potawa volunteers, Witarsa, Hendwi Wijaya, Naomi Sutikno, Lisa, Fenny,
Melly, Shanti and Liana.