Aceh Visit - Letter from Dian Alyan, Founder & President

Dear Friends and Supporters of Orphans,

May peace be upon you.

I returned from a five week trip to Indonesia less than a month ago. That trip was like none I had ever taken before. Seeing the home we built for our orphans and meeting the children for the first time was such a moving experience. In the beginning the children were
shy and kept their distance from me, especially the younger ones. But after spending a few days together, singing songs in the three languages, reading poems, sharing many meals, talking about their plans and dreams, we became very close.
 

The day before I left we took the children to the lake for a picnic and a swim. We took them to the lake where I used to spend happy times with my own family. As I stood there, watching them play and laugh, my heart flooded with countless warm memories of my childhood. My wish to be someone's hero was fulfilled through the eyes of those orphans. Suddenly I felt that I have the strength to be the mother they have forever lost.

The day of my departure I woke up at 4 am after 2 hrs of sleep. I kept playing in my mind the moments I spent with them. The light in their eyes and the smile they gave me were precious. The bond that I formed with them will stay with me for the rest of my life. I will go to end of the world to provide them education and help them realize their dreams. Through all this I realized that no matter how much I
give, it is I who will always receive more. I hope you will join me in this rewarding journey and that you too will find true happiness in sharing a piece of yourself with others.

Latest from Banda Aceh orphanage and other orphans we are sponsoring

GiveLight is sponsoring 146 orphans in Banda Aceh , bringing out total sponsored orphans close to 200.

Although we are pleased with how happy the orphans at our Noordeen Orphanage were, the condition of other in Banda Aceh and orphans living outside of our facility were concerning. People are living in barracks as many as 40 orphans live in one small confined room, with no beds to sleep on. We need to help more kids and remember that even two years after the tsunami, the sufferings continue for most people.

Winners of  MP3 players

Meet Miko and Nursamawi, our most intelligent and conscientious kids. They did well in Quranic memorization, English, Social studies. They are most likely the only orphans in Aceh who won MP3 players and both were overjoyed to receive the gifts.

When we said good bye, Nur whispered to me with tears: "Thank you for loving me". Miko said " I hope you will not forget us".

My children, "I love you and you are in my thoughts always."

Our lake House

The Orphanage looks beautiful, standing majestically amidst the green pine trees and overlooking a lake.

Testimonials from US volunteers who spent 5 weeks @ the Aceh orphanage.

“Saya tidak bisa, saya tidak tahu”.

(I can't, I don't know)

Fanni glanced at me, looking confused and embarrassed. It was a simple arithmetic problem, just basic multiplication, but Fanni did not know how to answer. I told him he did know and he could answer, he just had to try and work hard. Fanni looked at me
determinedly and then nodded. After that night, he never told me that he could not answer. He never again told me he was not able. He was ready to learn.

 He was a tall 15 year old with the mental capacity of a kindergartner. When I first saw him I figured he
would be one of the troublemakers. He always had this grin on his face that made it look like he was up to something. I soon discovered, however, that Fanni was one of the most amazing people I would ever meet.

 I had been teaching Quran and Tajweed in the daytime and tutoring individual children in the nighttime for
almost two weeks before I even thought of helping Fanni. He would hover over my shoulder, watching me help other children. Finally, I decided to give Fanni a small test to see how much he knew. He could not multiply. He could not divide. He could not subtract
and he could not add. I was shocked. I knew he was a bit handicapped, but I had not realized the extent of his disability. For a little while, I considered giving up on him before even trying, but I realized I had to give him a chance.

I arranged to meet him every night at a certain time.Every night he would be waiting for me, grinning, with his pencil and notebook in hand. We started with the basics and worked our way through addition, subtraction, and multiplication. Every night I was
astounded by Fanni’s ability to retain information. The impression I had been given was that he was incapable of learning. I quickly realized, however, that he had never been given the attention he needed. People had given up hope. I learned, and Fanni soon
understood, that they had been mistaken. I remember the first night I gave Fanni a small quiz. He answered every single question perfectly. I ran up and down the stairs showing his paper to every child I came across. I showed it to Pak Uddin, who ran the orphanage, I showed it to the Imam, and I showed it to the cook.
Some people didn’t believe that it was really Fanni’s paper or that I had graded it properly. Some came to watch Fanni answer more questions while others checked to make sure I hadn’t made a mistake. Fanni stood there quietly with that grin on his face.

Helping Fanni made me realize that I was not doing enough. For if we could make so much progress in just a few weeks, imagine what someone could do with a few months. I knew that I was leaving too soon, I had accomplished far too little. I knew my wife felt the
same way, although she managed to teach an eight year old how to read Indonesian. I learned, then, that these children and these orphanages require constant support. They need us. Not just for one day, not just for one month, and not just for one year. They need us for as long as we are alive and for as long as they are there. I was unable to stay in Indonesia longer than my 5 weeks, but I hoped that someone else was willing to fill that void. Because we all know that we have to help in whatever way we can. May God make it easy for us.

~Ahmed Sharif

Orphanage facilities

These are the latest pictures of  the orphanage as of 20th December 2005.  The children are scheduled to move in on the 26th December 2005, to mark the one year anniversary of  the tsunami.

Each bedroom will occupy  four children of  varying age range in order to foster family love and closeness.

This is the view of  the living quarters.

The orphanage will house 50 orphans, who will continue to attend public schools. We will  also provide extra curricular education focusing on English, Arabic and Computer skills. 

The prayer hall will be used by the children for their daily prayers and function as a multi purpose room.

Click on each image to see a larger view.

Noordeen Orphanage kids.

Children in other orphanage.

Children living in Barracks.

 Nursamawi  &  Miko

Lake House

US Volunteers visiting Aceh

The children's bedroom

Living quarters

Prayer hall

20th Dec 2005

November 2005

August 2005

July 2005

The Land

The Noordeen family has donated the land to build the orphanage. It’s located on a hill overlooking a lake and surrounded by lush greenery.

Lake view, which shows a beautiful and a well known lake in Aceh  called "Laut Tawar". This is a magnet for those who seek retreat. Our kids will enjoy the view and nature and we hope to bring back happiness into their lives again.

Lake View

Aerial View

Building Plans

Feb 2005:  The first draft of the building plans was completed.  More work still remains.

April 2005: Final architectural plans were completed by an  architectural firm.The working drawings have also been  completed and submitted to the local government for permits.This facility will house 50-60 children.

Target for building completion is November 2005.

Building Permits

The Indonesian authority has approved the permit to begin the construction as soon as we secure sufficient funding. This is a significant milestone.

Response from Local Authorities

The local Fiqh Council and district authority has provided a strong personal statement showing their support for the project and gratitude to all the supporters. They have requested that we make this one page statement available on our web site.