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After the devastating tsunami of 2004, AmeriCares established an office in Indonesia to help administer the funds that had been donated to aid the population so destructively hit by the giant waves in the Aceh region.
Working with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), AmeriCares dedicated $2.3 million toward a Livelihoods Program, aimed at creating employment and income opportunities in the local community. One beneficiary of the program is Pak Rahmat, 29, a tsunami victim from the Bireun District in Aceh. Once a farm worker, he has been trained by IOM in the principles of organic farming, as well as composting and recycling, which Rahmat is turning into a related business. He and his wife not only grow and sell organic vegetables, but produce compost and collect chicken manure which they use as fertilizer, or sell to local farmers.
When he was offered the opportunity to participate in the AmeriCares-funded program, Pak Rahmat requested a bicycle rickshaw, with which he collects recyclable materials and makes deliveries.
As intended by the Livelihoods Program, Pak Rahmat’s life is improved thanks to his own efforts, with a little help from caring partners.