Benefit dinner offers food, facts, chance to contribute

Published Tuesday, January 18, 2005.

Two Ohio University student organizations helped aid the victims of the Dec. 26 tsunami by hosting a benefit dinner Sunday for students and Athens community members.
Permias, the Indonesian Student Association and SEASA, the Southeast Asian Studies Association, organized the Aceh Tsunami Relief Benefit Dinner, which was presented in Baker Ballroom in Baker University Center.

Adrian Budiman coordinated the event, which sponsored a variety of speakers so those who attended the dinner could learn about the effects of the tsunami through pictures, letters and personal accounts of life in Aceh, located 65 miles from the epicenter. The speakers urged the audience to take a proactive approach in aiding the victims by donating to relief efforts.

The dinner was organized in buffet style with some of the 30-50 volunteers serving traditional Indonesian food. The presentation portion of the night opened with Budiman thanking everyone for coming. The area of Aceh was struck by a force equivalent to 20,000 nuclear bombs, he said. "Every dollar collected will assist in the long healing process," Budiman said. "This tsunami has brought out the worst of nature but the best in humanity." Karen Kray, who spoke for SEASA, said that the fund-raising dinner was good not only because it helped bring much-needed funds to victims in Aceh, but it also brings attention to other areas also devastated by the tsunami. Speaker Teuku Zulfikar said victims need physical and psychological treatment more than money.

OU President Roderick McDavis also spoke of the importance of helping disaster victims.
"It seems we have to have a crisis for the best part of us to come out ... we are all tied together in our bond of humanity," McDavis said. "If we get up and believe we can make a difference, then I believe we can change the world. I believe that we can bring hope to the hopeless." After McDavis spoke, Indonesian children of Athens, ranging from indergarteners up to 7th graders, read letters they wrote to Acehnese children.

Zulfikar went to school in Aceh and explained the aftermath of the tsunami while showing pictures of the area through a PowerPoint presentation.
Zulfikar left the area just days before the tsunami hit. He said some of his professors were among the more than 100,000 killed. The disaster also displaced about 700,000 and orphaned about 70,000. "The people have to start at zero," Zulfikar said.

All proceeds went to Nurani Dunia, a humanitarian organization that that aids areas of Indonesia affected by social conflict and natural disasters. For the tsunami victims, the foundation helps with emergency aid distribution, crisis communication facilitation, disaster response education and orphan care. As of Jan. 15, the OU groups collected $13,000 from donations, mail-in checks, their Web site and campaigning at College Gate. The dinner portion of the fund-raiser sold 300 tickets at $10 each. There was also a silent auction where people could bid on hand-made crafts from Indonesia and items donated by local businesses.

Source: http://thepost.baker.ohiou.edu/Articles/Culture/2005/01/18/640/