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Children to Benefit
From Washington Woman's
Tsunami Relief Plans
By Oksana Dragan
Washington, D.C.
07-January-2005 2201

Throughout the United States
there has been an outpouring
of sympathy and aid
for the victims
of the deadly tsunami
in the Indian Ocean
two weeks ago.

Among those galvanized to action
by the disaster
are immigrants
from the countries most affected:
Indonesians,
Thais,
Sri Lankans,
Indians.

New American Voices
talks with one Indonesian American
who's working to help
at least a few of the many,
many thousands of children
who have been orphaned
by the killer waves.


Ambar Abbink,
a slender, dark-haired woman
in her early thirties,
has devoted a lot of energy
in the past two weeks
to raising funds
for the survivors
of the tsunami
among members
of the Indonesian community
in the Washington, D.C. area.


Her approach is direct:
she asks people
to donate money
that they would otherwise spend
on something frivolous
for themselves.


"You know,
sometimes it's hard,
because most people live
from paycheck to paycheck,"
she says.


"I don't want to put pressure on them,
because they need a life, too.
But I want to send the message,
that it may be very hard
to give one hundred
or two hundred dollars
for a donation,
if you just take it out
of your paycheck,
but if you sacrifice something,
it's easier.

Like for example
if you go to a restaurant
twice or three times a week,
then cook at home
for a few weeks,
and save the money
that you used to spend
at the restaurant
to give to a relief fund
for the people who lost so much."

Setting a good example,
Ms. Abbink asked people
invited to her grandniece's
first birthday celebration last week
not to bring gifts,
and instead donate the money.

As for herself,
she says she was ashamed
to buy a new dress
for the Indonesian community's
New Year's Eve party,
as she had intended.

Instead,
she wore an old one,
and gave the money
to the relief fund.

Given the tragedy in Indonesia,
the New Year's Eve party itself
turned into a fundraising event,
with $7000 collected so far
and more coming in constantly
from pledges given that night.

Ms. Abbink, who works as a financial analyst
for a major airline company,
says her American colleagues
have been very supportive,
as well.

"Actually,
from my office today
my boss said
why don't you send an e-mail
to everybody in the building,
because I'm sure they'll want
to contribute something,"
she says.

Aside from helping
to raise funds
for the immediate relief effort,
Ambar Abbink believes
that many victims
of the disaster
will require help
over the long term.
She is especially moved
by the fate of children
whose parents were killed
by the tsunami.

Accordingly,
she is organizing a program
to find people
who would sponsor individual children,
providing them
with regular financial support
while they are being raised
by members of their extended families
or their communities in Indonesia.

"Thinking about their education,
their health,"
she muses,
"probably I could not bring them here,
because I cannot give them what they need,
but I can let local village people raise them,
and we can donate money
to make sure that these children
get a good education,
a good life.
I can start with maybe five children
in the beginning.

I'm not going to see
exactly what's going to happen
with that money,
but if I raise them,
I want to know
whether they're going to be a doctor,
or politician,
or whatever.
I would be happy."

The impetus behind Ambar Abbink's plan
to help Indonesian orphans
is her own experience
as the youngest of ten children,
whose father died when she was eleven.

She says she has her older brothers
and other caring people
to thank for being where she is today.
Ms. Abbink studied Indonesian literature
at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta,
specializing in ancient manuscripts.

Initially she came
to the United States in 1989
on a one-year contract
to work on an Indonesian exhibit
at the Smithsonian Institution
in Washington.

"It's so funny,
because when I was in Indonesia,
I had so much conflict,
knowing that the government is not open,
not having many choices,
as a woman,"
she says.

"So when I came here,
I felt so good that I could dream,
I could have hope."
Having tasted life
in the United States,
Ms. Abbink says she fell
into a depression
when she returned to Indonesia,
and resolved to immigrate for good -
which she did in 1991.

She found a good job
teaching the Indonesian language
to diplomats,
military officers
and World Bank officials.
But then,
about six years ago,
she decided to change her profession.

"I said to myself,
I would like to have more.
For example,
if I had to move somewhere --
I'm lucky now,
because I live in Washington,
so many people
in a metropolitan city,
but if I move,
for example to Ohio,
or wherever,
not many people will want
to study Indonesian there.

So I have to find a career
that I can have anywhere.
So, with my limited English,
I thought accounting
probably would be best for me,
since I have a good head for numbers.

So I taught Indonesian,
and at the same time
I went to school
for an accounting degree,"
she explains.
Ms. Abbink says
that she has a very full life,
what with two jobs --
in addition to her accounting work
for the airline,
she continues to teach Indonesian
evenings and on weekends --
her involvement in the activities
of the Indonesian community,
and her friends.

Of her large extended family
only one nephew
is in the United States,
the rest live in Jakarta,
and she's thankful
that they were not affected
by the tsunami.
But she knows
that the tsunami will have a lasting impact
on her own life.

"My life right now is at an intersection,"
she says. "
I guess everybody faces that
once in their life,
and I think right now I'm facing it.
I'm 34, still.
And it seems to me
that life is whatever you want it,
and how you evolve it.
So lately I feel like I'm called,
you know.
This is a good time
that I want to build something,"
says Ambar Abbink,
of embarking on her new project
to enlist American sponsors
to help orphans
in her native Indonesia.