The Foreign Service Journal, January 2008

with the world’s largest Muslim popu- lation. Acehnese are 98-percent Mus- lim, compared to 85 percent of Indo- nesians generally, with the added dis- tinction that the population is deeply devout, observant and conservative, so ingrained in their faith that most are not fanatic about it. Launching the Project Two months to the day after the tsunami, I deplaned in Banda Aceh (the capital of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, the formal name of the province) to conduct a needs assess- ment. At first view, Aceh was, and is, quintessential Southeast Asia: rugged- ly lush, with a backdrop of mountains and rice fields forming a carpet around the airport. New arrivals would not be aware of the recent disaster if they did not know. At the airport that February morning, the remains of massive relief efforts were apparent but the scene was no longer round-the-clock frantic. Helicopters from many countries stood at the end of the airstrip, and there was a hubbub of languages among the relief workers arriving or awaiting arrivals. The abrupt opening of Aceh to the outside world is one of the lasting benefits to have come out of the disaster. Only part of Banda Aceh was destroyed. About half of the city was above the reach of the tsunami, but not the earthquake; and the rest, at sea level, is flat. As I was being driven toward town that first time, my initial impression was one of bustle and dynamism, a frontier boom feeling. However, further into the city, we drove down streets of empty shop- houses that became progressively more damaged. Toward the coast, almost everything was completely flat- tened rubble, an unending yellowish- gray sea out to the pristine blue ocean. There were cement house foot- prints amid indistinguishable junk. Here and there were fragments of standing wall. Some of these had freshly painted house numbers, the date of the tsunami, or the names and ages of children lost. The whole area was studded with small signs and flags signifying ownership. This was practi- cal, as land records were either destroyed or not there to begin with. Reconstructing ownership and restitu- tion (unlikely as that is) are continuing problems. In another sense, the mark- ers were also an affirmation that life and belonging go on. On the way to the airport to return home with several project possibilities to propose, I made a cold call on Dr. Darni M. Daud, then vice rector (and now rector) of Syiah Kuala University in Banda Aceh. Ever since his return 10 years earlier from graduate school at Oregon State University, where his daughters studied in American class- rooms, he had been dreaming — or, in his phrase, “Cet langit” (literally, paint- ing the sky) — of a replicable center for educational excellence that would serve both students and teachers, guar- anteeing the future of education for generations. Pak Darni presented his “lab school” vision, full-blown, as more than just a building. High school stu- dents would benefit from innovative teaching and modern facilities, while students in the university’s education college would have opportunities for pre-service practice under the guid- ance of master teachers. The USINDO Board opted for the lasting impact that the proposal promised. The society would collabo- rate with Indonesians on a project they wanted — a key to eventual suc- cess. Led by Pak Darni, key universi- ty staff formed the core of the project team. The university provided land on the campus — critical because obtain- ing land free and clear is a constant reconstruction stumbling block. The third major partner is the Sampoerna Foundation. One of In- donesia’s leading NGOs, it had been doing educational work in Aceh for several years prior to the tsunami. Sampoerna’s field representative, Ramang Basuki, who first arrived in Aceh on the same plane as I, has been the truly irreplaceable man on the ground. By August 2005, an MOU was signed and establishment of the Syiah Kuala University Lab School was under way. Building a school requires funds. Once the project was announced, gifts began to arrive, even from school- children. In particular, there was a pledge from Do Something, an orga- nization in New York that believes that by pooling their efforts, individual stu- dents can make a difference. These gifts were announced at a USINDO dinner in Washington for Indonesia’s 54 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 8 Painted on the remains of the house are the date of the tsunami and the names and ages of three children. Margaret Sullivan