One teacher's story: life after the tsunami

Teacher M’Nur, 35, lost everything in the waves of the tsunami – his wife, their sons, aged three and six, and their family home. They were at home when the earthquake struck:

“I was cleaning in the yard, and my wife was washing clothes. I grabbed my little son, and the six year-old ran to his mother. People were shouting that the water was coming. I tried to run, but the water was too fast. I got tumbled by the wave, and lost grip of my son.

“When I finally came to the surface, I managed to hold onto a fridge that was floating past, until I came to a palm tree. I believe God gave me strength to climb 12-metres before the second wave came.

“I never found my family.”

Children provided design ideas for their new school

When M’Nur first returned to teaching after the tsunami, he faced his class of six and seven year-olds and cried.

“They were crying too. It was hard for me the first time I had to teach them, but now I manage to control my emotion,” he recalls.

M’Nur now has hopes for the future, with a new school, a new house and a new bride.

He recently married 30 year-old Musriati. “I wasn’t looking for a wife, but I had a crush on her as soon as I was introduced by a friend who was matchmaking.

I feel she is the right person for me, and there are some similarities between her and my late wife. We live in barracks and hope to be re-housed, and have children,” he says.

The children at M’Nur’s school were consulted by Plan for ideas and designs for their new school, which is being built by Plan to replace the current temporary tented premises. Involving children in re-building their community is important: it helps them in the recovery process of post-traumatic stress.
 
M’Nur says; “The children are very excited, I like the idea of them being involved in the school reconstruction because they give input, these things make them enthusiastic and better students. They want facilities for volley-ball, ping pong and dancing.”

Gill Martin reporting from Indonesia on her visit to Plan’s programmes.