Friday, September 21, 2007 — Sitting with his grandfather during a break from a game of soccer, 12-year-old Azarhi talks about his new dream for the future.

"Now, I want to be a doctor," he says. "I want to be able to help people in need."

For much of his life, his dream had been different. "I wanted to be a pro footballer [soccer player]," he says. "It was always my favorite sport, because I could run and play as hard as I wanted during a game."

That dream began to fade on December 26, 2004, when waves from a powerful tsunami hit his village in Calang, Indonesia, a port city on the west coast of Sumatra. Suddenly, Azarhi found himself trapped under the debris. Unable to move, he screamed for help. People rushed to assist him, but they couldn't lift the heavy debris off his leg.

A split-second decision had to be made, one that would change his life forever. Azarhi's left foot was amputated in order to free him and save him from drowning.

In the space of a few horrifying minutes, Azarhi lost his mother, his father, and his dream. He also lost many of his friends and neighbors—more than 12,000 people in Calang died, nearly 70 percent of the population.

Trying to Gain Trust

Almost immediately following the tsunami, American Red Cross Psychosocial Support Program (PSP) workers began assisting survivors to help them cope with the trauma they had experienced. PSP teams also began to train local school teachers and community members to identify needs and facilitate emotional support programs in their communities. Today, PSP teams continue to work in 28 schools and 17 villages around Calang.

"PSP is really very simple—it's about helping communities, children and individuals in need to cope with grief," says Manan Kotak, a psychosocial support program specialist for the American Red Cross.

A PSP-trained school teacher soon recognized that Azarhi would go home the moment his friends began to play games. Embarrassed by his condition and with no access to prosthetics, Azarhi would tuck his amputated leg into a rubber boot and avoid sports altogether. The teacher spent the next few months trying to gain Azarhi's confidence.

One of the ways the PSP team engaged Azarhi was through the game of chess. "He picked it up right away," Kotak says. "He's a great young chess player. He can definitely beat me."

The discipline and strategy of the game appealed to the young man. "My favorite piece is the pawn, because it's so simple but can do so much," Azarhi says. "You can't win without it."

Returning to the Soccer Field

With the support of friends and family, and by working with the PSP team, Azarhi slowly began to find his confidence again. Eventually, he summoned the courage to do what had seemed unthinkable only months before—return to the game he had always loved.

"Once he started to regain his confidence, it was up to those around him to help him take that next step," Kotak says.

Today, Azarhi no longer shies away from sports. He runs and kicks with the same enthusiasm he displayed three years ago, before the tsunami changed his life.

"Trust does not happen overnight," Kotak says. "We have to let it build and remain consistent and honest in our dealings with people. If we do that, eventually the trust grows."

As part of the world's largest humanitarian network, the American Red Cross alleviates the suffering of victims of war, disaster and other international crises, and works with other Red Cross and Red Crescent societies to improve chronic, life-threatening conditions in developing nations. We reconnect families separated by emergencies and educate the American public about international humanitarian law. This assistance is made possible through the generosity of the American public.