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The ELECTRIC LAMB MISSION - Aceh
MISSION STATEMENT
There is an URGENT need to help sick and injured people who are so traumatized that they have lost all hope.
Boats are the only way to bring supplies in to sections of the SW Aceh coast where there are no roads and to the hundreds of islands to the West and South of what can only be described as ground zero. The US/AUS/UK/RI military will be stretched to deal with the carnage on the North West Coast and that area will continue to attract most of the attention and the bulk of the aid.
Our mission is to fill that gap starting with what we have at hand. We can make a real difference but we must move fast.
Direct contributions are already partly funding 2 surf boats that set out from Padang on the 1st of January. The crew and doctor/paramedic on board have now spent several days helping island communities that have been in a state of shock since the quake and tsunamis hit on the 26th. The majority of the people are poor and very isolated.
They have lost their food, clothes, fishing gear and boats.
Many have lost their houses and all their possessions.
Up till 2 weeks ago the wrecked villages we are helping were places that our surfing guests liked to visit. Our arrival was always announced by a circle of raucous happy kids. The total lack of fences, gates, locks and even doors always impressed our well healed clients.
What left a lasting impression was the atmosphere of independence and tranquility........
.......a kind of balance that our frantic lives never seem to quite achieve.
All that has gone.
The villagers dont understand what has happened to their world. Our crew keep telling us that the people they meet are deeply afraid of the ocean that has sustained them for generations. Captain Pili said the people are suffering from "ganguan jiwa" .... a disturbance of the soul..... I could tell that Pili was on the point of tears despite the distortion on the sat phone.
It is very clear that the victims need human comfort as much as they need material support, food and medicine. Nobody knows how many are physically injured or how many have already come down with malaria and dysentery but as the number killed keeps climbing so does the number who are in danger of loosing the will to live.
After two very long days and nights in the Banyak Islands our crew and the doctor on board are absolutely clear about what we need to focus all our energy on doing. It is very simple and it is very very urgent.
The critical thing NOW is to bring HUMAN COMFORT, FOOD & HOPE to these shattered communities.
We need to be VERY VISIBLE and we need a lot of people to cover the vast area involved.
We need to build a sea transport network that by-passes the damaged infrastructure now being clogged by a land based approach.
We need to find ways to move those who's only chance of living is the intensive care a hospital can offer.
Padang has over 2,000 hospital beds available. Sibolga has about 200 beds available.
No sick or injured have been able to reach those beds yet.
We need to bring in comprehensive on-site care to help heal the communities who otherwise will end up in refugee camps leaving their traditional homes and islands abandoned for generations.
This comes down to getting appropriate survival kits and teams of qualified volunteers IN
&
Distressed, injured and critically sick tsunami victims OUT.
We need to get support teams to many hundreds of communities and keeping them there. The doctors, engineers, disease control can move from place to place but we need to establish a PRESENCE
Technically this is not hard to achieve and not very expensive and it can be put in place in a few days.
SEA LINK PLAN OUTLINE
The objective is to save a great number of lives and alleviate awful suffering.
It could avoid the mass evacuation of scores of towns and villages in remote locations.
1. MOTHER SHIP
Raja Enganno car ferry (750tons?) can load up with 200 tons of food and materials and steam to the most critical area. It can move from village to village and move to protected anchorages at night. The rear loading ramp can be lowered into the water to launch outboard utility boats to land supplies on the beach and the passenger deck can be converted into a floating field clinic. The fuel capacity is about 100 tons and speed is 12 knots so it is not out of the question for the boat to bring a load of people to Sibolga if required.
2. SHUTTLE
Mentawai Express is a 170 passenger fast ferry to move sick and injured to either Sibolga or Padang. It is a bit small for the job but it could do the job until bigger faster boats can be mobilized. Range is about 500 nm so most refuelling can be done in Sibolga. If the boat is required to run to Padang, the mother ship can refuel it.
3. CHARTER FLEET
There are already 4 surf charter boat in the area and more are ready to leave. These boats can reload food and materials from the mother ship and distribute to the towns and villages that are further away or too small to justify relocation of the mother ship.
4. AIRCRAFT
Amphibian or Land Based.
We can make both work if we combine with speedboats and charter boats.
There are air steps on Simeulue, Nias and Telos for evacuation of seriously sick or injured patients.
Sibolga has a strip that can handle a C130 if we need that capacity.
Each component can work as a stand alone or combine with others.
Please help finesse the plan. It is not perfect but it is way better than what we have now.
