In Pucok Alue Village, North Aceh, we met Mr. Abdi Abdullah—a survivor of two major disasters: the 2004 tsunami and the 2025 flash flood. When we visited him, he was tending his long bean garden beside a simple hut he had recently built.
Photo 1: Long beans farm planted by Mr. Abdi
Just two months after the flash flood struck, Mr. Abdi was already rebuilding his life. The long beans he planted a month ago are beginning to grow, and he now cares for them with quiet determination. Standing near the small garden, he showed us where his house once stood—now reduced to nothing after being swept away by the floodwaters.
Photo 2: Mr. Abdi’s house
As a farmer, Mr. Abdi previously owned around 20 goats—valuable assets that supported his family’s livelihood. When the flood came, he chose not to evacuate because he wanted to save his livestock. However, as the water rose rapidly during the night, both his house and the goat pen were carried away by the current. In a desperate attempt to survive, he climbed a coconut tree and remained there for two days until the waters receded.
When he finally came down, nothing remained except the clothes he was wearing. All of his goats were gone. Each goat was worth up to four million rupiah. Yet, with remarkable calm, he simply said, “It was not my provision.”
Refusing to give up, Mr. Abdi began collecting pieces of wood from the debris of his destroyed home. From those remnants, he built a modest hut to serve as shelter and a place to rest.
Photo 3: Mr. Abdi’s temporary house was built as a storage building and a kitchen to cook
One month after the disaster, he received multi-purpose cash assistance worth one million rupiah. He used the money to purchase a grass sprayer, long bean seeds, and fertilizer. Now, he is preparing his land once again for the next planting cycle. With enduring optimism, he shared, “Insha Allah, before Eid al-Fitr, I will be able to harvest.”
Photo 4: Mr. Abdi with the spray he purchased with the Multipurpose Cash Assistance
Photo 5: The fertilizer that Mr. Abdi bought
Before we left, Mr. Abdi handed us traditional cakes to take on our journey. “For you to eat on the way,” he said gently. Even in the midst of profound loss, he still chose to give.
Amid devastation and hardship, Mr. Abdi’s story is a testament to resilience, perseverance, and generosity—that hope can always grow again, even from land that has just been struck by disaster.