August 03, 2006

On the road again...

I kissed my mother goodbye and walked mournfully to the gate. My heart is heavy with missing her, my boyfriend, and all the wonderful friends I re-discovered in Montreal.

So here I am, at Gate 79 of Trudeau Airport, waiting for my flight to Banda Aceh, in the Province of Aceh, on the Island of Sumatra, Republic of Indonesia.

In the meantime that I have some of my own, I borrowed a new header (promise not to use it for too long!)

My mum heard on the radio yesterday from a representative of Care Canada that there are over 420,000 people that are still homeless in the aftermath of the 2004 Boxing day Tsunami.

Think about it.

Half a million people have been homeless since December 26th, 2004. It's been 18 months. Wow.

A few other quick facts:

Before the ocean broke loose, Aceh was the site of endless civil war, once again based on religion. Aceh is 2,500km away from Jakarta, the capital. While JKT remained unscathed despite the disasters, all the infrastructure in Aceh has been destroyed, making it very difficult for humanitarian organizations to effectively conduct relief efforts.

To the side, a picture found on the Musicianaries' website.

This time, I can't say I'm leaving home with much enthusiasm. But thinking of the work ahead is keeping me motivated. There is so much to be done... and so little means.

The Beaver

My guest map is wonderful ! And you'd all be wonderful to post, all of you lurk mode readers!
Thanks and may the winds of Fate blow your way !

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

safe travels for you deah! and say hi to my friend Charles in Medan while you are out there :)
that is one scorching header! :D

Victoria said...

I wish you the best of luck! I was really glad to be able to meet you... I'm sorry we didn't see each other more. Next time, next time...

Salt Water said...

Hi, Beav. It is sad to think how nice this life could be for all if we could find away to be nice to each other. Thanks for all you do. At least this time you should like the food. The Indonesians can cook.

Frog with a Blog said...

I'll be looking forward to reading about your adventures in Aceh, please be careful there, ok? and good luck, car ce ne sera certainement pas tout rose tous les jours.
PS: be careful with dengue there, we wouldn't want you to become sick again.