TAKEN FROM THE CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR NATION (80TH BIRTHDAY

BOOKLET)

SAIRAM (Social Action Initiative Relief and Mercy) ACEH

FREE MEDICAL SUPPLIES FOR BANDA ACEH TSUNAMI VICTIMS
26 December 2004, The world's most powerful earthquake in more than 40 years struck deep
under the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Sumatra, triggering massive tsunamis that
obl iterated villages and seaside resorts in several countries across southern and Southea st Asia.
Particularly hard-hit were the countries of India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Tourists,
fishermen, homes and cars were swept away by wall s of water, unleashed by the 9-magnitude
q uake. Over 150,000 people and still counting were killed, hundreds of thousands more were
injured and over one million were made homeless. More than half of the victims were from the
province of Aceh in Indonesia.

Members of the Sai Organization sprang into action by formulating immediate relief and
rehabilitation plans for the Tsunami victims in the devastated regions of Aceh. Three task forces
were formed. One was based at Medan, the closest city to Aceh. One in Jakarta, the capital of
Indonesia and the third to concentrate for access into Meulaboh – one of the worst affected
areas in the province.

Victims of the Tsunami

28
 “Do not look on when you find someone in pain or grief. As far
as possible, relieve the pain, console the grief-stricken.”

Cargo in Banda Aceh Airport Team in Crisis Center Banda Aceh

Handover of Medicines in Aceh Hospital

(1st trip)

(2nd trip) (3rd trip)

29
TAKEN FROM: HEART-TO-HEART JOURNAL
Housing Needs
The Sai Organization of Sri
Lanka, following Swami’s
command “Good work
should never be
postponed”, immediately
authorized the
procurement of 500
fabricated housing units to
provide homes for the
refugees in North and
North Central Zones. In
addition to the housing, the Bedsheets ready for distribution in Sri Lanka
Sai Organization is also providing all basic necessities
to the refugees who will settle in the 500 housing
units. For this purpose, a container load of utensils, a
container load of mineral water and 2000 cartons of
chlorine tablets for the purification of drinking water
are being imported from Chennai, India.
Presentation on the Seva Needed
Mr. A. Pulendran, Chairman of the Central Council
Sri Lanka, made a presentation on the extent of
damage caused by the tsunami and what needs to be
done immediately. Certain priority areas for relief
work such as providing shelter, water purification,
construction of houses, providing trauma counseling,
providing medical assistance, and taking care of
infants and mothers were identified in consultation
with SSSO Zonal Presidents in Sri Lanka. Matters
related to sending specialized medical doctors to
conduct camps were also discussed.
Dr. Goldstein emphasized that the law of the land
should be kept in mind when carrying out all Seva
activities and requested the youth to continue their
good work under the guidance of elders. He thanked
the SSSSOSL for the wonderful Seva done so far and
assured all possible assistance in the near future.
Dr. Reddy briefed on the proposed visits of medical
experts to Sri Lanka and assured all assistance by way
of sending medical experts, medical equipment and
medicine to affected areas. He also emphasized that
we should always render service with love
remembering God and closely follow the guidelines
Heart 2 Heart Special Issue
OVERSEAS SEVA REPORT
of service given by
Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai
Baba.
Then Dr. Goldstein and
Dr. Reddy accompanied by
the Sri Lankan central
coordinator visited the
affected areas in and
around Colombo to see the
damages caused by the
tsunami.
Medical Taskforces
Dr. Upadhyay, Member of the Sri Sathya Sai
International Medical Committee visited the affected
areas to make a field assessment of the medical needs,
and will be returning soon with a medical team from the
United Kingdom. A taskforce of physicians and
volunteers, headed by Dr. Brahma Sharma, President of
the USA Sai Medical Committee, visited the affected
areas. Following their recommendations two relief
teams of Sai workers from Canada and USA are going to
Sri Lanka on January 29th and February 10th.
INDONESIA
In Indonesia, the deadly tsunami on December 26th
2004, swamped the northern and western coastal areas
of Sumatra, and the smaller outlying islands off Sumatra.
The trauma faced by the victims and the trail of
destruction left by the tsunami was devastating.
Nearly all the casualties and damage took place within
the province of Aceh. As the largest city to receive the
full fury of the tsunami, Banda Aceh is struggling to wake
from a nightmare. Over-flights of the Aceh coast have
reported a virtually destroyed coastline, with bodies
floating at sea. In many towns and villages concrete pads
are all that is left of substantial structures, while scattered
corrugated iron roofs crumpled like paper are the only
evidence of flimsier houses. A few intact mosques rise
eerily from wasteland.
The first tasks of the government and humanitarian aid
agencies were to bury the massive numbers of dead and
prevent an epidemic of communicable diseases. Other
63
 OVERSEAS SEVA REPORT
high priorities were delivery of medical supplies and
personnel to overwhelmed hospitals and clinics; tent
shelters; clothing to people who have lost their houses
and belongings; and food, especially baby food.
The Relief Seva
Offers of aid poured in from Sai organizations across
the globe. Chairman of the Prashanti Council, Dr.
Michael Goldstein, along with the Regional
Coordinator, Dr. V.K. Ravindran of Malaysia,
empowered the chairman of the Indonesian council,
Bro. Mohan Mirpuri to mobilize relief action
instantly.
Two Taskforces
On the eve of 27th December 2004, members of the
Sai Organization, sprang into action by formulating
immediate relief and rehabilitation plans for the
tsunami victims in the devastated regions of Aceh.
Two taskforces were formed. One was based at
Medan, the closest city to Aceh, and the other in
Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. Dr K.H. Yeoh of
Singapore was appointed as the Medical Coordinator
for the Aceh taskforce.
Emergency Relief Supplies
On the 30th December the first taskforce, comprising
of 20 Sai devotees were deployed from Medan Center.
They distributed emergency relief supplies such as
food, water, medicine, clothes, blankets and other
basic necessities. They visited Lhoksuemawe, one of
the severely hit regions and did an initial assessment
f o r u p c o m i n g
reconstruction projects.
They returned with
horrifying reports of the
catastrophe, accounts of
large scale devastation and
destruction, and tales of
pain and despair. Aceh was
in dire need of aid.
Medical Supplies
On the 31st December the
second team from Jakarta
swiftly arranged bulk
medical supplies that were
Hand over of medicines at Fakina, Indonesia
Heart 2 Heart Special Issue
urgently required by the only 2 hospitals in operation in
Aceh. Since the influx of injured victims was
overwhelming, medical supplies were quickly depleting.
Replenishment was hampered due to obliterated roads
and a damaged transport system. However, with
unshaken faith in Bhagavan’s bountiful compassion, the
taskforce set out to undertake the difficult task of
supplying the hospital with medicines on the day of its
urgent requirement. Bhagavan Baba’s Divine grace was
witnessed as all preparations for the trip were arranged
by HIM. Much needed antibiotic medicines were quickly
availed, and air tickets were arranged, all in a matter of
few hours.
On the 1st of the New Year 2005, a team of 7 Sai
devotees flew to Banda Aceh, personally carrying life-
saving medical supplies for thousands of the injured
victims. The Crisis Centre in the capital city of Aceh,
informed that there were only 2 operational hospitals in
the region with a capacity of housing 300 patients in
total. They admitted that the hospitals were
overwhelmed with the increasing rate of casualties, and
lacked essential medicines and doctors and nurses, many
of whom lost their lives in the tsunami.
On the 3rd of January 2005, Medan taskforce made their
second trip bringing staple food and water. This time the
team went further into North Aceh regency and
surveyed 4 towns and surrounding villages. The result of
the survey concluded that the most important aid
required in the region, after medication and food was
water. Thus the team, assisted by professionals, set about
making necessary
arrangements for the
installation of a water
purification unit.
On 5th Jan, Jakarta
taskforce with Dr. Yeoh
and Dr. Victor Seah of
Singapore along with Dr.
Arul Jyoti of Malaysia made
their second trip to Banda
Aceh. They carried with
them fresh supplies of
broad based antibiotics,
anti-depressants and
64
 OVERSEAS SEVA REPORT

urgent medicines as Bangkok, and other Sai

advised by the Ministry devotees and parents
of Health in Jakarta. and students from the
Sai School in Thailand.
Water Purification The bus went straight
Units to Krabi, one of the
On 9th Jan, in Muara worst hit areas in
Baru village of North Thailand, and
Aceh regency one preparations were
water purification unit made to open a kitchen
was installed by the for distribution.
Medan taskforce. Medical supplies,
Eight more are soon to clothing, blankets,
be installed. During water and food were
the two days that the taken to the site. All
taskforce was there in Handing over medicines at Sultan Iskandar Muda Hospital,Indonesia volunteers met
the area, doctors and together with the local
Sai devotees from Medan also organized a 2 day people and a plan of action was conceived. The plan
medical relief camp serving 1,487 refugees in 6 included three areas in which Sai Service was very much
villages of North Aceh regency. needed.

On 13th Jan, Jakarta taskforce managed to hand over Assisting Bereaved Relatives
another batch of antibiotics and much needed The first was at the Pracha Santhi Suk Foundation,
vaccines to the hospitals in Banda Aceh with the help which had been converted into an area to receive the
of the Singapore Air Force stationed in Medan. remains of hundreds of people who did not survive the
tsunami. Sister Lorraine Burrows and other Sai devotees
Action plans are also being formulated to provide worked from morning until night assisting the people
further relief aid to other inaccessible areas in the who were searching for their relatives. There was a
Western Coast of Aceh. desperate need for volunteers who could speak both
English and Thai, as well as other European languages,
THAILAND in order to assist the
thousands of foreign
On December 29th, visitors who were
2004, a team of twenty- looking for their loved
five Sai devotees left the ones.
capital for the South.
They traveled in one of Hospital Translation
the Sathya Sai School Work
buses and another The second area was at
vehicle. The group Krabi hospital. Here
included Sister Loraine also there was a great
Burrows, Brother need for translation and
Suppachi, President of understanding of the
the Sai Organisation of patients and foreigners
Thailand, Sister Puntip in the hospital. The
Nitising, President of hospital also served as
the Sai Centre of one of the focal points
Donated water purification unit, Muara Baru village, Indonesia

Heart 2 Heart Special Issue 65

OFFICIAL REPORT - SEVA FOR VICTIMS OF PANGGANDARAN (WEST
JAVA) TSUNAMI

SAI STUDY GROUP INDONESIA

(CENTRAL COUNCIL INDONESIA)
Jln. Pasar Baru Selatan No. 26 Jakarta 10710, Indonesia
Phone: (021) 3842313; Fax: (021) 3842312
E-mail: ssg.indonesia@gmail.com

NEWS FROM SAI CENTRAL COUNCIL OF INDONESIA

To : Dr. V.K. Ravindran – Central Coordinator Zone 4 Region 41 –

Prasanthi Council
From : Udayo Untarya Wijaya – Deputy Secretary
CC : Dr. Pal Dhall – Zone Chairman (Prasanthi Council)
Prof. G. Venkataraman – Radio Sai
Prof. Yeoh Kian Hian – Zonal Medical Advisor
Bro. Esvaran – Central Council of Singapore
I.Ketut Nurcahya – Chairman
Mohan Leo – Deputy Chairman
Ashok Nanwani – Deputy Chairman
Mohan Mirpuri - Advisor
Phoa Krishnaputra - Advisor
Pritham Kishordas – Advisor
Vashdev Lachmandas - Advisor
Danesh Ram Vatwani – Emergency Relief Tasks (Unit Head)
All National & Regional Coordinators of Sai Council Indonesia
Date : 24th July 2006
Subject : Emergency Relief Tasks for South Coast Java Quake & Tsunami
(Recap of reports from 19th to 21st June 2006)

Fact Sheets:

• The southern coast of Java was hit by an earthquake-triggered tsunami Monday

afternoon (17th July 2006), killing at least 533 people, 952 injured, 308 missing,
61,352 misplacedi and destroying houses and buildings along the coast from Comment [UUW1]: New data
West Java to Yogyakarta.

• A series of earthquakes, the strongest measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale -- the
U.S. Geological Survey put the quake at 7.7 -- triggered a tsunami that reached
as high as four meters along parts of the southern coast.

• The earth-quake details as provided by U.S. Geological Survey:

Magnitude 7.7 (Major)

• Monday, July 17, 2006 at 08:19:28 (UTC)
= Coordinated Universal Time
Date-Time
• Monday, July 17, 2006 at 3:19:28 PM
= local time at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location 9.222°S, 107.320°E

i Data from United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) – Situational

Report No.7 dated 21st July 2006

1
 Depth 34 km (21.1 miles) set by location program
Region SOUTH OF JAVA, INDONESIA
230 km (145 miles) NE of Christmas Island
235 km (145 miles) SSW of Tasikmalaya, Java, Indonesia
Distances
250 km (155 miles) S of Bandung, Java, Indonesia
345 km (215 miles) S of JAKARTA, Java, Indonesia
Location horizontal +/- 7.5 km (4.7 miles); depth fixed by location
Uncertainty program
Nst=234, Nph=234, Dmin=>999 km, Rmss=1.12 sec, Gp= 40°,
Parameters
M-type=teleseismic moment magnitude (Mw), Version=Q
Source USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID usqgaf

• The worse-hit area appears to be the idyllic Pangandaran resort town in Ciamis
regency, West Java, where witnesses said hotels, restaurants and other
buildings were destroyed by the waves.

• The location map:

2
 Situational Report as per 19th July 2006 (source: OCHA Sitrep No.5)

Actions undertaken by Sai Central Council of Indonesia (sorted chronologically):

Day-1: Tuesday, 18th July 2006

• Sai devotees from two Centers in West Java (namely: Sai Study Group Bandung
and Sai Devotional Group Dago) conducted a survey at Pangandaran area (beach
resort).

Pangandaran Beach Resort (before tsunami)

3
• Emergency meeting were conducted to propose action plans on how Sai Council
Indonesia could provide humanitarian tasks for the victims. The resolution
drawn-up was to supply preliminary aids in the form of food supplies.

Day-2: Wednesday, 19th July 2006

• The following items were dispatched together with several volunteers to an

emergency camp (with 2,500 inhabitants) set-up by Indonesian military in the
area of Cikulu (at Kabupaten or regency of Ciamis) which took around 5 to 6
hours drive (± 200 kms from Bandung, capital city of West Java):
o Rice: 500 kgs
o Eggs: 200 kgs
o Vegetables: 500 kgs
o Cooking oil: 100 liter
o Drinking (mineral) water: 100 boxes.
o Sugar: 10 kgs.
o Cooking spices.

• Based on the information provided by the local officials, currently there is no

immediate need to set-up another emergency camp, as most all of the victims
could still be accommodated by the camps already erected in place.

• Majority of the residential houses did not suffer major damages due to the
tsunamis. The most severe catastrophe is mostly localized to the buildings
nearby the sea-shore (which mainly consists of kiosks, temporary shelters, etc)
until the radius of ± 2 kms.

General view of Pangandaran Beach (after tsunami)

4
 Aerial view of Pangandaran Beach (after tsunami)

• Sai devotees were conducting more surveys in other areas, particularly at

Cipatujah (where another emergency camp were set-up by the military
accommodating around 800 victims).

• It has been decided: another batch of food supplies will be provided at the
camp mentioned above on Friday, 21st July 2006 (consisting of vegetables, Comment [UUW2]: Ammende
cooking spices & oil and several ready-made food). d

Day-4: Friday, 21st July 2006

• The following food supplies were distributed at the emergency camp located in
the area of Cipangangesih in the village of Kelapa Genep, Cikalong district in
the regency of Tasikmalaya: ii
o Mineral (drinking) water: 50 boxes.
o Cracker: 6 bales.
o Cooking oil: 3 jerrican.
o Sugar: 10 kgs.
o Fresh vegetables & cooking spices.

• Reconsidering the relatively huge percentage of damaged houses in the

surrounding area, SSG Bandung & SDG Dago will be conducting more surveys will
on Monday, 24th July 2006 in order to justify the necessity to arrange further
aids in the form of temporary shelters (camp).

• News from Bro. Danesh: Sai Council Singapore will be contributing certain
amount of funds to help Sai Council Indonesia especially in providing basic
humanitarian tasks related to tsunamis victims only.

iiBased on the information provided by MetroTV news (21st July 2006), in the district of Cikalong, the
casualties recorded are: 82 houses were totally shattered by tsunami, 8 houses heavily damaged and
31 houses partly damaged. As much as 49 died, 27 injured, 2 suffered severed injuries and 25 minor
injuries. 5 villagers were reported to be missing. (Please find the attached news in Bahasa Indonesia).
5
 &()&%!


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 Pekalongan

Bandung Tegal Pekalongan

Kuningan
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TAKEN FROM SANATHANA SARATHI - SEP 2006
"SanathanaSarathi".The
July 2006 issueof
selflessservicerenderedby the dedicatedSai
devoteesin lndonesiacontinues:
On 1st June 2006.one publickitchenwas
set up in Klatenand anotherin GunungKitul.
ln addition,largequantitiesof food,healthcare
materials,and clothes were delivered.Sai
Medical Teams increased from three to
six. On 3rd June 2006, Sai devoteesfrom
Jakartabegan to manufacturebricksfor the
As manyas 120teachersfrom 14schools reconstructionof many houses that were
participatedin the TeacherTrainingConference destroyed.The flow of relief materials,food
conductedin Casablanca, Moroccofor andclothesaccelerated. On 4thJune2006,Sai
introducingSri SathyaSai Human Values
in the curriculum. devoteesfrom Baliset up manytentsto house
homelessvictims. Working with Sai Youth,
everyone participatedenthusiastically. The
they began reconstructing damagedhouses.
teachers made sincere efforts to incorporate
On sth June2006,rebuilding and rehabilitation
SathyaSai HumanValuesinto their training
work was initiatedby Sai devoteesin several
sessions and even in their interactions
villages,and Sri SathyaSai CentralCouncil
duringthe conference.Later,variousschools
providedfinancialaid, buildingmaterialsand
discussedtogetherand reportedbackon how
financialresourcesto rebuildhouses.
they wouldtake SSEHVJurther.A resolution
was made to translateSSEHV books into
Frenchand Arabiclanguagesto facilitatetheir
use in schoolsin Morocco.At the end of the
conference,all the teacherswere extremely
enthusiasticand eagerto implementSSEHV
as oartof the curriculum.
INDONESIA .i

SinceDecember2005,Indonesiahas been
repeatedlystruckbytsunamis andearthquakes.
There is a great need for humanitarianhelp
in these devastatedislands.Sri Sathya Sai
Organisation in Indonesiahas been tirelessly
providing disaster relief and medical care
to the victims. The exemplaryand timely To ptovide relief to the victimsof the tsunami
mobilisationof massiveresourcesby the Sai thatstruckthe south-western coastof Javaon
Organisationin responseto these sequential 17th July 2006, Sri Sathya Sai Organisationof
Java drew up a plan and stafted implementing
naturalcalamitieswas partly reportedin the
it immediatelv.
" . ) * ' . , 1 , .^. . 4 * . " + n . .. crlrel..A.o. ...[* ...^."-* '..*... r. /*.,n,l:.4.*rr
^ *,r * *
Scptcmber 2006 289
 As this disasterreliefwas beingrendered, needy.Duringthis camp,400 patientswere
the south-westerncoast oJJava was again hit seen. Preventivehealthscreeningwas done
by a tsunamion 17th July 2006. Sri Sathya for diabetes,hypertension,
osteoporosis,
etc.
Sai Organisation again rose to the occasion. Groupsof devoteesvisiteda nearbynursing
Office bearers visited the devastatedareas, home for the elderlyand providedlove and
assessedthe damage,ascertained the needs, careto the residents.
drafteda plan to providethe urgentlyneeded On 12th August2006, a free Sai Medical
humanitarianaid, and began,withoutdelay, Camp was held in St. Louis, Missouri in
to implementthe plan. Withstandingthese which 227 patientswere seen. In additionto
horrendousnaturaldisasters,the people of treatingthose in need, healthcareeducation
Indonesiahave been comfortedby the loving and preventative healthcare screenings
careof BhagavanSri SathyaSai Babaand His were provided. Most importantly,a booth
devoteesfrom lndonesia. was set up in the MedicalCamp titled "Sai
u.s.A. HumanValuesand Health."Information about
Swami'steachingon humanvaluesand health
Jasper,a smalltown in the Stateof Texas, in English
and Spanishlanguageswas made
was hit by HurricaneRita. Six monthslater,
available.Dr. WilliamKincaid,the Directorof
the populationis still recoveringlrom the
Healthfor the Cityof St. Louis,Missouricame
destruction
andwater-borne diseasesresultino to the medicalcamp.On
behalfof thecityof St.
Louis,he expressedhisgratitudeto Srl Sathya
Sai Organisationfor conductingthese free
medicalcampsfor the peopleof St. Louis.
- Prasanthi Council

BHARAT
AndhraPradesh:Anantapur districtconducted
Bal VikasChildren'sJoy Festivalat Anantapur
on 1stand2ndJuly2006in which400 children,
110 Gurus and 100 active workersfrom all
overthe districttook part.50 childrenhad the
A child being examinedin the medicalcamp opportunityto show their creativityin making
held at Jasper,a small town in the Stateof
Texas,which was hit by HurricaneRita. variousarticleslikeflowerpots,bouquets,wall
hangings,greetingcards,paintings,etc.,with
from the hurricane.In responseto this major wastemateriallike usedCDs,leavesof diJferent
calamity,Sai devoteestrom the Sai Centres trees, flowers,etc. Some childrenwrote Sai
in the Statesof Arkansas,Oklahoma,Texas Ram on rice grains.14 studentsimpressively
and Louisiana,working together selflessly spoke on Swami'schildhood,IndianCulture
conducteda medicalcamp on 41h February and the importanceof Bal Vikas. Some
2006 providingf ree medical care for the childrenshowedtheirtalentin heritagesports
(1)lcoo4ce),o)}co(t46o(r4cc)re e*eooolcoooloc,
46o(e+e.oo460or*60ooloo(r4ecro4coo4cooleen
290 September 2006