The Girls Scouts are raising money to support displaced peoples that have settled in the area of Kulim, east of Pekanbaru. The people of Kulim are eking out a living through brick making. A service agency called Global Community Friend is working to support these people, and our Girl Scouts are fundraising to support this effort. Their focus is on a project called the Learning Garden.  The Mission of the Learning Garden: “A place to study, a place to learn, a place to change, a place to interact and a place to be involved in a community” The project includes:
The Girl Scouts first fundraisers are the 2014 Rumbai Wildlife Calendar and the Tumbling Class this weekend at Frisbee. Well done, girls!
Many of the people who comprise the population of Kulim are refugees from Nias. Nias is the name of an archipelago off the west coast of Sumatra. Technically part of North Sumatra, Nias is directly west of both Pekanbaru and Padang. Nias is also the name of the largest island of the archipelago. The island has a rich ancient indigenous culture having been isolated since prehistoric times. It also is known for its great surfing, attracting adventure surfers. Unfortunately, the people of this island paradise have suffered tragically over the past decade. The tsunamis of December 26, 2004 hit the island of Nias, killing 122 people with hundreds more rendered homeless. On March 28, 2005, the island was again hit by the second most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Indonesia and among the top 10 most powerful recorded worldwide since 1900. At least 800 people were reported dead, with the possibility of more than 2,000 casualties. Hundreds of buildings were toppled and many thousands of people were made homeless. In 2007, almost two years after the earthquake, there were still tens of thousands of internally displaced persons living in camps throughout Nias. Others left the island to start their lives again in Riau and other parts of Indonesia. |
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