A heart work journey

Four and a half years ago today, I started my journey of the heart work. Yes, a heart work, because this work was really special to me.

Mercy Corps' Project Supervisor has a chat with elementary school kids while doing a road project inpection next to the school. Photo: Glory Sunarto/Mercy Corps

Being born an Indonesian and living my whole life on Java island gave me the chance to live closer to the center of information, great access to knowledge, the comfort of city life and the routine of a high-speed city commuter, but still something was missing; a value, a dream, something deep down inside. I knew that I still needed to do something more meaningful.

The tsunami disaster that hit Aceh Province — at the far northwest tip of Indonesia's Sumatra island — in December 2004 brought that chance to me, the chance to be someone that could do different things. Not directly though, not yet; I knew my limitations, and at that time I was not ready to deal with emergency response. So, almost a year later — on December 2, 2005 — I left the hustle-bustle life of a city girl and started my journey with Mercy Corps in Meulaboh, West Aceh.

Knowing very little about the real situations at hand, I was ready to deal with whatever. I determined to do something useful for the tsunami’s survivors, as well as finding the real value that was burning inside me.

I first started a job as an Education Program Officer for Mercy Corps' Education in Social Revitalization Program. In this initial position, I learned a lot about the greater values of this organization and was amazed with the fact that so many people out there were trying to help and becoming our donors. And so my amazing new life began immediately: the river, beaches, muddy fields, community center floors and jungle were my playgrounds. My life became about the communities we served and my colleagues — the beautiful people I worked with everyday.

A community laborer working on a latrine project at Rima Jeuneu Village, Peukan Bada Sub-district, Aceh Besar District. Photo: Glory Sunarto/Mercy Corps

Within months, the nature of the tsunami recovery program for which I was working shifted to the development phase. There I found myself joyously embracing the new challenges and becoming the part of Community Development Program, slowly expanding our reach not just for the needy ones in coastal areas, but also those living up in the hill — far inland, conflict affected and living in deep poverty for years. Using Mercy Corps’ community mobilization strategy, we tried to support the community, build their capacity and personally touch their lives with our warm hearts and hard-working hands.

This has not been an easy journey though. There were times when I felt heartbroken and shed my tears, frustrated and exhausted. But those moments easily swept off by the smile, welcome hands and ‘thank you’ words from our partners, the communities that we served. On my latest field visit just a couple of weeks ago with Mercy Corps' Aceh Director, he said this to me: "We often become stressed about the work, but it’s just because we love what we are doing and we are trying to do the right thing."

He was right, indeed. I love what I have been doing here.

Four and a half years — not a short time at all — and I would say I’m proud of our team here in Aceh. We have done around 600 community projects, varying from social development, economic development, water and sanitation, and community infrastructure. But most importantly, we have been developing the community. Now the Community Development Program in Aceh has officially finished —yet not really, because it’s a continuous process — but the heart work remains.

I am grateful and proud to be part of this team and this organization that has put the values and action into rebuilding the the foundation of communities that had been destroyed by the tsunami. Today, I know that I found what I was missing years ago.

I have been living my dream.