JANUARY
25TH UPDATE
On
January 22nd, we spent the whole day packing 3, 2-ton trucks
with supplies to be shipped to Sibolga. Scuzz arrived in
Sibolga on the morning of the 23rd and spent the day with
captains trying to get cargo boats organized to transport
the 3 truckloads to northern Simeulue. He has been working
closely with CARE International, an organization that has
been covering the entire island and has plans to be there
for the next 2 years. They are completely stoked with what
Scuzz is doing, and are using him as an information source
for the 8 villages in the Alasan/Kecamatan area.
Over 4,600 people in this area were displaced after the
tsunami. They have lost everything, but, as with most villagers
Scuzz has encountered on these surveys, they are happy and
smiley. It simply amazes him. We will have pictures of these
areas soon as Adam, Alyssa, and Matt George just arrived
back in Padang from their trip to the area. When they get
settled and have a chance to forward them to the Slayer,
he will put them on the site.
On January 24th, we sent out a 45-ton cargo boat from Padang
to the same area (northern Simeulue). We have a list that
is nearly 3 pages long of all the items that were loaded
onto the trucks and cargo boat, but in the interest of saving
web space we will not include it all in this update. However,
at the bottom of our January
21st update you can read a general list of the
items that we are purchasing. It is very difficult for the
big organizations to mobilize quickly, which is why they
are asking the private individuals and small companies for
their help. We have spent nearly all of the money SurfAid
has funded us and signed a contract for payment for receipts
today.
Adam
(AK) is traveling back to the U.S. as this update is being
typed. Everyone who donated money at the benefit in Ventura,
CA can know that AK was there in person to make sure it
was put to good use. AK was able to type out a brief summary
of his travels at the hotel before he headed for the airport,
which is included at the end of this update (in italics).
Also, we wanted to thank Claudio Franca, Mike Vann, and
all the students/pros at Claudio Franca Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
(www.claudiofrancabjj.com)
for their recent fundraising effort that raised over
$1,000 for IDEP and Doctor’s Without Borders. Truly
a great, unselfish effort!
Thank
you to everyone, and we’ll keep you posted.
AK’s
Update:
Hello
all. Adam (AK to many) here, reporting from Padang. Just
got back in from a long trip, furthering the Sumatran Surfariis
effort. We set out of the river with an absolutely fully
loaded Asia (a Sumatran Surfariis boat). Food and supplies
were touching the roof, bunks were too full to sleep in
let alone walk near.
In twenty hours we were in Taluk Delam, dropping off helicopter
fuel and buying out stores with the money from our Ventura
benefit. Then we set off for Gunnungsitoli to unload Asia
and get the goods distributed to the hard hit areas on Nias.
This one was most likely the largest drop up to that time
to an area over 90% affected by the tsunami.
From
there it got interesting as Lil (Alyssa) and I boarded the
boat The Makumbah, which was backed primarily by the surf
industry folks, to head further north. It was an extremely
amazing adventure from there. The mix of people turned out
to be an epic group of photographers, journalists and doctors.
The few days traveling north were even eventful. One morning
while surveying coast we came across a body on the shore.
It was mostly bones and looked almost fake but disturbing
and thought provoking nonetheless. It was also a reminder
that we were coming closer to devastated areas. Later that
day we saw something floating in the distance and went for
a closer look. Sure enough it was a floating body. This
one was more disturbing as it looked much more “real”
then just the skull and bones. As we motored away from that
we noticed more bodies in the waters. They must have been
floating down from mainland Aceh. This was heavy. After
this we surveyed a hangout for local fisherman on a small
island. No sign of anything there. The waves had destroyed
the place completely and it seemed nobody was around or
coming back to this small gathering spot anytime soon. The
only real adventure there was being stared down by two massive
wild pigs. They would’ve kicked my arse for certain
but after some stares and grunts they went back on their
way. Finally we made it into north Simeulue. Long story
short, this place was trashed. An amazing show of the power
of nature and the tragic lives these people now live. We
supplied 8 villages with things like fresh veggies, cooking
equipment, clothes, fish, fishing gear, sleeping mats and
the list goes on and on. Each family got their fair share
of the ration and it was truly cherished. Villagers were
seen throughout the day putting the goods to use. Tools
were being used to rebuild, ibu’s were seen cooking
and clothes were immediately worn. The highlight of all
this had to have been the doctors. They treated over 400
people in 4 days of serious work. They saved lives for sure
and treated some hardcore disease and sickness. Words can’t
really express what we saw and experienced there. All of
this support here and from home is making a bigger and bigger
difference with each day. Lives are being saved. We motored
back home, surveying and making plans to do more good.
This is a very short story of a way bigger trip. I’m
a bit exhausted but if anyone’s interested, we will
have a full day-by-day journal as well as heaps of pictures
up on the web upon my return to the states on the 27th of
January.
Everyone has been so amazing. The king and queen Chris’
have made more of a difference here then anyone I’ve
met. Also, the inspirational stories of compassion from
you all back home are as important as anything in helping
aid these people.
They’ll be a short film from this to add to our current
video project so hang in the if you’re at all interested
in that. I’ve also added just a few of the shots I
took out there, so hopefully we can get them up on the web.
Keep in mind a more detailed account is on the way but I
gotta get some sleep for now. Feel free to contact me at
ak_water@hotmail.com if you think there’s anything
I can do to help you guys with anything back home.
Too many people to thank and the people I’d thank
most aren’t looking for that anyway. You’re
all amazing and we hope you’re doing well. Thanks
for staying tuned. To be continued…
Thanks!!!
AK
