Red
Cross psychosocial support helped a young Indonesian boy regain
his self-confidence after losing his parents and his dream during
the 2004 tsunami.
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,” he says. “It was
always my favourite 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 the 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 neighbours—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 programme (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 programmes
in their communities. Today, American Red Cross 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 programme 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 favourite 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 football pitch
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.”
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Azarhi,
an Indonesian youth who lost a leg during the tsunami,
kicks a soccer ball as Manan Kotak of the American Red
Cross looks on. (p16684)
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| 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.” (p16714) |
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| 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. (p16715) |
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