[Indonesia] Emergency Relief Distribution for Flood Victims — Night of Day 2 & Day 3
2026-05-28
Sawang Village
On January 18, 2026, after completing the relief distribution in two villages, we headed toward Sawang Village. As expected, traffic became extremely congested as we approached the temporary bridge. The vehicle carrying the relief supplies was expected to arrive in the village after 8:00 p.m.
As night fell during the journey, we continued toward the mountains along a winding route of paved and unpaved roads. We finally caught up with the supply truck near Sawang Village. Amir, who was volunteering as the driver, was delighted.
“We finally caught up with the supply truck!”
However, it was not easy to find the rural roads leading to the village. When we came to a road that the vehicle could not pass, we had to turn back and find another route. We finally arrived at Sawang Village at 9:00 p.m. Although it was already late at night, all the villagers had come out and were eagerly waiting for the relief supplies. We were told that this was the first time anyone from another country had ever visited the area. Some villagers had also come out simply because they were curious to see what Korean people looked like.
First, JTS Representative Park Jina checked the number of households affected by the disaster. This was an essential step because the number of relief supplies prepared had to match the number of affected households. However, no matter how many times they checked, the numbers did not add up. One FDP (Forum Dakwah Perbatasan – local NGO relief organization) activist repeatedly said that 153 homes had been completely destroyed and therefore did not need the cleaning tools, but would receive only gas stoves. However, the figure of 153 had never come up in any of the preliminary surveys conducted to date.
In the end, the village heads of all three villages were called together to reconfirm the number of affected households. Since there were no residents who spoke English, the information had to be relayed through several rounds of interpretation. After carefully checking the figures, it was finally confirmed that the total number of affected households was 118—the exact same number identified in the preliminary survey.
Only then, reassured that the numbers were correct, Venerable Pomnyun apologized to the villagers and offered them words of comfort.
Hope Delivered Through the Darkness
“We came here because we heard that you had suffered severe damage from the floods and wanted to offer whatever help we could. We had originally planned to distribute the relief supplies this afternoon, but the roads were blocked and the truck carrying the supplies arrived late. That is why we are meeting you this late at night.
“You have suffered great losses from the floods, with many of your homes swept away. JTS would like to provide the cleaning tools and gas stoves that you told us you need most urgently. You need shovels and hoes to remove the mud. You also need squeegees to push the muddy water out of your homes. And you need wheelbarrows to carry the mud out of your houses. So we have prepared these cleaning tools for you.
Because wheelbarrows are bulky, we could not bring them here fully assembled on the truck. Instead, we have brought the parts, so they will need to be assembled here. Once the wheelbarrows are assembled, you can load all the cleaning tools onto them and take them home. It is too late tonight to assemble them, so please come back here tomorrow morning after the wheelbarrows have been assembled to collect your supplies. In the meantime, the men will need to come here early tomorrow morning to help assemble the wheelbarrows.”
“We have also prepared gas stoves for cooking. I would be happiest if I could distribute them to you now so that you could take them home, but it is too dark. Please come back tomorrow morning when it is light and collect them. We were not able to prepare these supplies for every household. We have enough to distribute them only to the 118 households affected by the disaster. Did you understand everything I have said?”
“YES!”
△ Venerable Pomnyun Addressing the Villagers
“I’m sorry for keeping you waiting until this late hour. The FDP activists have worked very hard to make this possible. Normally, we would gather you here tomorrow morning and distribute the supplies then. However, because all of the FDP activists are volunteers who need to go to work, we wanted to complete the distribution today, Sunday, which is why it has become so late. I ask for your kind understanding.
You are facing a very difficult situation right now. But let us all join forces and work together to overcome these hardships. The Allah you believe in will not abandon us. If we come together and do our best to overcome these difficulties, Allah will always protect us.”
“Terima kasih.” (Thank you.)
The villagers readily accepted the situation and expressed their gratitude.
It was too late at night to distribute the relief supplies. The wheelbarrows also still needed to be assembled, which was simply not possible that night. Several FDP activists stayed behind to distribute the relief supplies the following morning, and all the villagers were sent home at 10:25 p.m. Venerable Pomnyun expressed his gratitude to the FDP activists for their dedicated participation in the emergency relief effort.
“FDP is doing so much good work in this area. Thanks to people like you, we were able to help those affected by the floods this time as well. You have all worked incredibly hard.”
“We are even more grateful that you have come to help our country.”
“Are you heading straight to Banda Aceh tonight?”
“Yes.”
“It’s late, so please drive safely.”
The Final Day
January 19, 2026, was the final day of our emergency relief activities in Indonesia. After a brief evaluation meeting to review the emergency relief efforts, the JTS team visited a building materials store in the center of Bireuën before heading to the airport.
The owner of the store is the brother-in-law of Amir, who had helped transport the emergency relief supplies. We needed to move a large quantity of supplies to the affected areas on short notice, and thanks to his generous support in many ways, we were able to complete the distribution successfully.
Venerable Pomnyun expressed his gratitude and settled the transportation costs. Amir had encouraged his relatives and family members to lend a hand in supporting the emergency relief efforts. The team then headed to the warehouse where the supplies remaining after the relief effort were being stored. This warehouse had also been made available to JTS by Amir.
Venerable Pomnyun counted the supplies stored in the warehouse one by one to confirm the remaining quantities. There were approximately 120 each of the wheelbarrows, shovels, hoes, squeegees, gloves, and other supplies.
The remaining supplies will be stored safely here and distributed to residents during the second round of assistance.
Over lunch, JTS Chairman Venerable Pomnyun discussed plans for future relief activities in Indonesia with Amir, who had handled driving and local coordination; Ayu, who served as an interpreter; and JTS Representative Park Jina. They discussed the distribution of the remaining supplies, providing the kitchen utensils that could not be supplied during this round, and ways to support residents in resuming farming by providing seeds and seedlings.
Before leaving for the airport, Venerable Pomnyun expressed his gratitude to Amir and Ayu.
“Thanks to your help, we were able to successfully complete the distribution of the relief supplies. There is still a lot of work to do, so I hope we can continue to count on your support.”
