ACT Dateline

Indonesia 11/06

Carpenter builds again for his family's future

By Lesvi Roselim, ACT International

Hilina'a village, Nias, November 13, 2006--The sound of wood-cutting machines echoes in the air as we approach a carpentry workshop in Hilina'a village, in the sub-district of Gunung Sitoli on the island of Nias. Children run out to greet us, followed by a man with a rag in his hand. The old, simple wooden structure is filled with half-finished windows and doors, timber materials and various small carpentry machines.

Hezisokhi Zebua, a carpenter, has been with the Church World Service (CWS) livelihood-recovery program since April 2006. The CWS program in Indonesia is a member of Action by Churches Together (ACT) International, the global alliance of churches and church agencies working in emergencies.

At the moment, Hezisokhi is working on some orders from the community, making window frames in the workshop, which he built some eight years ago. Unlike his half-brick, half-wooden house that collapsed and can no longer be occupied, his workshop, which stood next to the house, survived the earthquake in Nias on March 28, 2005. The powerful quake struck just three months after the catastrophic tsunami had devastated many other parts of the main island to the north of Nias.

After the earthquake, Hezisokhi and his family - his wife and five children who range in age from a 9-year-old boy to a 10-month-old girl - had to stay in a camp that the government had set up near Gunung Sitoli, the island's main city, for three months. Difficulty accessing clean water, poor sanitation facilities, and illnesses his children caught were only some challenges they faced in the camp.

The terrible living conditions prompted him to rebuild his house in the village using scraps and debris from his destroyed house. "Although the place will never look and feel the same again, we are happy to be back," says Hezisokhi.

"For three months we didn't have electricity in the house, and I was out of a job for six months. Although the workshop was fine, all the machines were damaged, and we were dependent on aid provided by the government and NGOs, and my savings from before the earthquake," he adds.

Hezisokhi, who is 40 years old, has been a carpenter for more than half his life. When he finished high school, he started working as a laborer on construction projects, building schools and community houses. He started his own business in 1998 and was making a reasonable income until the quake struck.

Hezisokhi says he can make two windows a day and three doors a week. For every window or door, he earns around Rp. 90,000 to Rp. 100,000 (US$9-10). He also makes furniture, such as tables and chairs, upon request.

"People in Nias have limited wood-carving skills, but I've been working with people from outside Nias, like people from Sumatra and Java, and learned the skill by watching them do it," says Hezisokhi, explaining that certain tools and machines for wood carving that he needs can be procured only outside Nias.

"I was having trouble restarting my business because I had to use all my savings during the first six months, since I had no income. Then, CWS came to our village, sat down with different representatives of our community and then started a livelihood-recovery program. I was one of many others that participated in the program," says Hezisokhi.

"CWS provided tools and materials and other small machinery, such as a wood-cutting machine, wood-smoothing machine and parts of machines to restart my business," he adds, pointing out the machinery.

Hezisokhi is grateful that he can operate his business again. He is able to earn an income to meet his children's needs while saving a little as well.

Before the quake, he had employed six workers. Now, his wife, Ernawati Jaya, 26, and his eldest son, Erisona Zebua, are the only workers he has. They help him with simpler tasks, such as drilling holes for door locks or sanding wood. For the carving on windows and doors that requires more skills, Hezisokhi does that himself.

Before the whole family sends us off with friendly smiles and waves, I ask about his hopes for his children. "I want to be able to put them through school as high as possible," he says while putting his hand around his son's shoulder.

(ends)

Lesvi ("Vivi") Roselim is an information officer for Church World Service Indonesia, a member of Action by Churches Together (ACT) International.

ACT is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide. The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.

Delicio.us  |   Digg  |   NewsVine  |   Reddit                                                                                  Permalink