Surf Doctors Help Out After Indonesia Earthquake
ABOARD THE SARANYA — When the huge earthquake struck the remote reef-fringed islands off Indonesia’s western coast this week, a small aid group built around the zone’s world-renowned surf breaks was already on its way.
SurfAid International – a mostly volunteer agency started by a New Zealand doctor after treating sick children during a surf trip to the islands – has been working in the area for five years and had increased its operations after the region was hit by Asian tsunami just three months ago.
When the magnitude-8.7 quake hit Monday night, collapsing hundreds of buildings and killing more than 600 people on a string of small islands off Sumatra’s western coast, the group quickly switched from the inoculations they were doing in remote villages to emergency first aid.
"We have to be ready for anything," said Ricky Waruwu, an Indonesian nurse and member of a SurfAid crew that diverted their charter boat from a routine visit to Banyak island to nearby Nias when they heard reports of bad quake damage there.
"We have been stitching people up and helping them being medevaced out of here," said Waruwu, who wore a T-shirt with the words "Malaria Sucks" on the front and "Saving Lives Every Day" on the back.
The group was among the first aid groups to arrive in Gunung Sitoli, Nias island’s largest town. But now that U.N. agencies, foreign militaries and other relief groups had arrived en masse, they’re moving on.
Waruwu, another nurse and an Indonesia doctor planned to set off Friday carrying antibiotics, vaccinations, sewing kits and pain killers up Nias’ western coast, looking for quake-hit villages not yet reached by outside help. A second SurfAid charter would head the other way along the coast on a similar mission.
The effectiveness of SurfAid in the region has attracted the attention of bigger agencies. AusAid, the Australian government’s foreign aid arm, is sending an officer with Waruwu’s crew.
"These guys have the experience and the boats," Ausaid medical coordinator Mike Penrose said. "They know the place and have people on the ground. It’s a great thing to have."
Since 2000, SurfAid has worked in the region helping malnourished children and educating villagers about diseases like malaria, and stepped up their work where disease was a risk after the Dec. 26 tsunami.
After Monday’s quake, treating people injured by falling buildings or debris became more important.
"Emergency disease and outbreak prevention was the first step and we already swept most of the villages," said Jude Barrand, the group’s spokeswoman. "Now we’re doing emergency treatment and triage."
The islands off Sumatra’s west coast bore the brunt of Monday’s quake, and the damage there appeared worse than that caused by the massive magnitude-9.0 temblor that spawned the December tsunami, which killed at least 126,000 Indonesians in Sumatra.
They are a paradise for some of the world’s most adventurous surfers: A tropical climate, big offshore breaks and so remote that only the most dedicated board riders make the arduous journey.
SurfAid was started in 2000 after Dr. Dave Jenkins first visited the Mentawai islands with only one thing in mind: catching perfect waves.
He was staying offshore on a luxury yacht with all the modern conveniences of home, living a life most surfers only dream about. That changed when he hit the beach one afternoon and found villages filled with children suffering from malnutrition and preventable diseases.
"It looked like paradise, then you go on shore and it all changes," the New Zealander said. "I was optimistic. I thought if (surfers) are coming here in big numbers, maybe there’s a way of coming and creating something unique and leaving a legacy by the surfing world."
Jenkins, 45, quit his job as a corporate doctor, sold his house and moved to the Mentawais to set up SurfAid. When not doing medical work, he and other volunteers rode the waves.
When the December tragedy occurred, SurfAid used its local contacts to get to far-flung areas where no other aid had penetrated, helping an estimated 70,000 survivors in the first two months after the disaster.
"We were there. We had the connections," Jenkins said. "This is the surfing industry’s stomping grounds."
Thanks to a surge in donations after the tsunami, SurfAid increased its operations.
"When the tsunami came … it was a big chance to expand quickly and it came through a very large wave – it was really bizarre," said Dr. Ben Gordon, 35, a SurfAid volunteer from Fremantle, Australia.
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