February 6, 2006
By a CAMA worker in Southeast Asia
While jogging on the beach the other day, I heard the faint hum of a boat motor—fishermen back at work on the ocean. It was a sound I hadn’t heard until about a month ago.
My mind immediately went back to when I first arrived here after the tsunami. I’d drive past a half-finished house built of salvaged wood from the tsunami, where a man was sitting on the porch. Almost every day I’d see him, and each day he would sit in front of his house, a blank look on his face, staring out to sea. One day at dusk, I was forced to stop at his porch because of a driving rain. It was then that Daniel* told me his story and how he had lost his wife, 22-month-old son, and daughter in the tsunami. He didn’t talk much, but he was deeply depressed. I let him know that I cared about him and wanted to do whatever I could to help.
Our friendship grew, and I visited often to chat and attempt to encourage him. I found out he was a fisherman and carpenter and could do a lot with his hands. When I suggested he begin working again, he told me he had lost all desire to do so. The tsunami had taken his family, his water buffalo, his tools, and his enthusiasm for life. On his porch were three flower pots in which he had planted blooms to represent the family he had lost.
Daniel looked forward to my visits, and one day I found him making a chair. Together with my village committee, we decided to help Daniel build a boat. We promised a motor if he would build the boat. A few days later when I visited, he and a few friends were excitedly building one; within a month the boat was finished. Recently, we attended the dedication of Daniel’s boat as well as three others we had helped with. With great enthusiasm, we all pulled together to launch the boats, and off the fishermen went like kids on Christmas day.
Now as I jog on the beach and hear the hum of boat motors, I know Daniel is out there somewhere. I can see the smile on his face, and I think of his restored hope and the friendship we share. A sense of deep fulfillment comes over me. God has given me a friend—a friend with new hope, who is no longer depressed. He knows the dignity that comes from doing work with his own hands. You couldn’t pay me enough for the smile on Daniel’s face yesterday when he came to give me lobster to express his appreciation. Praise God that Daniel and others have hope again!
* name changed to protect identity