March 28, 2026 – Distribution of Relief Supplies in Indonesia
Hello. Today Sunim spent the day visiting three villages in the Aceh region of Indonesia to distribute relief supplies.
Even though four months have passed since the cyclone caused flood damage, residents still cannot live their daily lives in their homes. The soil that entered houses from landslides remains, and debris carried by the floods still lies along the roads.
Sunim began the day with morning practice and meditation. At 7 a.m., he came to the dining hall for breakfast. Rain was pouring outside. Since this was the day to visit villages and distribute relief supplies, it was necessary to monitor the situation to see if the distribution could proceed smoothly as planned.
At 8 a.m., the group departed for the location where relief supplies would be distributed.
Looking outside while riding in the car, flood recovery work was in full swing. Excavators were busily moving, transporting piles of soil and building debris.
At 9:10 a.m., the group arrived at the first village, Meunasah Mancang. The distribution was scheduled to take place at a kindergarten. Villagers had arrived early and were waiting to receive supplies. Fortunately, it wasn’t raining. Rather, it was somewhat cloudy, making it good weather for distribution. Relief supplies were planned to be distributed to 108 households in this village. One household had been completely destroyed by flood damage.
After arriving at the village, Sunim carefully examined the distribution items. Eighteen types of items had been prepared. The items were arranged by type and the flow was organized so that after checking the coupons brought by villagers, they would first receive a wheelbarrow, then follow the movement path to receive kitchen tools (basin, wok, steamer, plates, soup bowls, cups, utensils, ladle, spatula, rice paddle, electric rice cooker, gas stove) and cleaning tools (gloves, boots, shovel, hoe, squeegee) in order.
Following the suggestion of Representative Park Gina, activists from FDP (Forum Dakwah Perbatasan), JTS’s local partner organization, had prepared everything down to the smallest details.
“It’s wonderful to meet all of you. I saw on the news that you suffered great damage when your homes were flooded in the recent major flood. I heard that houses were buried in soil and all household goods were swept away. Although we were far away in Korea, our hearts ached when we heard about your flood damage. So we first prepared items like wheelbarrows, shovels, and hoes to help clear the soil. We also prepared daily necessities like electric rice cookers and gas stoves. Though these are small items, we hope they will help you as you rebuild your lives. Things are difficult now, but in time, the day will soon come when we return to normal life and enjoy good times. Thank you.”
The distribution of supplies began at 9:20 a.m. Distribution was first conducted for residents who had lost their homes, followed by the remaining residents.
JTS activists and local volunteers carefully distributed items one by one. The local volunteers consisted of flood victims from the village. The volunteers distributed supplies until the very end and received their own items last. Thanks to the volunteers’ good preparation, the distribution to all 108 households was completed in just 15 minutes.
The group immediately moved to the second village, Meunasah Lhok. They arrived at the distribution site, a mosque, at 9:50 a.m.
Since the distribution preparations were not yet complete, JTS activists worked with villagers to finish setting up the supplies. Preparations were made to distribute 16 types of relief supplies to a total of 307 households in this village, including 2 households that had been completely destroyed.
Once the distribution preparations were complete, Sunim gave a greeting to the residents.
“We heard that you suffered great damage from the recent cyclone. A landslide occurred on that mountain up there, and soil came down and buried all the houses. We came immediately after hearing the news, but we couldn’t enter because the road here was blocked. Several months have passed. The roads have been cleared, but the soil inside the houses hasn’t been removed. So we prepared wheelbarrows and cleaning tools to help remove the soil from your homes. We also prepared household items since your belongings were buried and swept away. Though these are small items, we hope they will be helpful in your lives. Please make good use of them.”
The flood victims received the supplies and pulled their carts past, smiling brightly at Sunim and saying “Thank you.” The residents who received the supplies looked happy.
The plan was to visit a third village, but since the supplies were not fully prepared, the visit was postponed to 4 PM. While waiting for the supplies to be ready, Sunim and the JTS volunteers stopped by their accommodation to rest.
At 3 PM, they departed for the third village. After about a 30-minute drive, they arrived at Pantee Lhong village. They planned to distribute supplies to a total of 286 households, including 19 households that had been completely destroyed. Due to heavy rain, residents had taken shelter in the mosque and were sitting in small groups waiting for Sunim and the JTS volunteers.
At 3:45 PM, the rain began to subside. Mr. Azar, the program manager of FDP, introduced Sunim and the JTS volunteers who had come from Korea.
After the introduction, distribution began immediately. The 19 households that had lost their homes did not need cleaning supplies, so only kitchen supplies were distributed to them. The remaining households received 17 items consisting of kitchen supplies and cleaning tools.
Sunim also helped distribute the supplies.
At 4 PM, it was time for Muslim prayers, so they decided to take a break. Since the local volunteers were Muslim, they paused the distribution work for prayers and resumed at 4:15 PM. By 4:40 PM, the distribution of supplies was completed.
Though the carts were heavy, the residents’ faces were bright.
Sunim, the JTS volunteers, and FDP volunteers moved to a restaurant for a meeting.
“Thank you all for your hard work in the distribution activities. Thanks to your volunteer work, everything went smoothly. It’s not easy to volunteer while working at your jobs. Because we make time to volunteer like this, we can be of great help to those in need. While we provide support because the flood victims are facing difficulties, we were able to do so because of volunteers like you. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you once again.”
Sunim expressed his gratitude and provided accommodation and meal expenses to the volunteers who had worked hard for three days. The JTS volunteers had brought Choco Pies from Korea, which they shared while continuing the meeting.
“Who here is from this village?”
“Four people here are from this village.”
“There are many rice fields here, right? Were the irrigation channels damaged in this flood, or are they still intact?”
“They say they were damaged. The irrigation channels throughout the entire village were destroyed.”
“Is it far from here?”
“It’s about 10 kilometers from here.”
“Was the water intake from the river damaged? Where exactly were the channels damaged? I have about two hours tomorrow morning. Could you show me the damaged channels?”
“Yes.”
Sunim and the volunteers agreed to inspect the damaged irrigation channels and surrounding area between 9 and 11 AM tomorrow. Sunim explained that checking the channels was necessary because water needs to flow through them for the next farming season. Sunim excused himself from the volunteers and left the restaurant first. He walked back to the accommodation and concluded his day with work and rest. The FDP and JTS volunteers who remained at the restaurant had dinner together and shared their thoughts about the distribution activities.
Tomorrow, Sunim will participate online in the Jungto Sutra Course entrance ceremony and give a Dharma talk. Afterward, he will inspect the village irrigation channels before traveling to Korea. Since there was no Dharma talk today, this post concludes with a Dharma Q&A session from the Special Division Members’ Day at Jungto Social and Cultural Center on March 15th.
“Congratulations on the establishment of the Jungto Social and Cultural Center Special Division. About ten years ago, all Dharma assemblies were offline, and only the International Division held online assemblies. However, the world has changed in ten years, and now all assemblies are online, with only the Jungto Social and Cultural Center Special Division holding offline assemblies. When we held assemblies centered around Dharma centers, securing and managing space was a major issue. People also spent a lot of time commuting. In the past, when we had about 160 such centers nationwide, rental costs were high. Now, those costs have disappeared.
While there’s the advantage of no rental expenses, there are also drawbacks.
Practice is about learning through meeting people and experiencing the fragrance of character, but online makes this difficult and only accumulates knowledge. The Jungto Social and Cultural Center Special Division was established to fill this gap. We aim to utilize this space to revive the characteristics of the previous offline Dharma centers. Anyone can participate at the Jungto Social and Cultural Center regardless of where they live. If you have the intention to participate offline, you can fly from Jeju Island or take a train from Busan. On the other hand, even if you live next to the center, if you don’t want to come, you can belong to a regional division online. From this perspective, we named it the Special Division, and you have all gathered here like this. While online assemblies have expandability, they lack practical power. Through offline assemblies, I think the Special Division will become a division that stands out for its practical power even if it lacks expandability.”
“The combination of both is you. Just keep doing it while disliking it like that.”
“That’s who you are.”
“It will be fine even if you do it while making it a problem.”
“Since a new Special Division has been established, nurture it well for three years. If space becomes insufficient, you can build a building. If you end up having to set up tents due to lack of space, doing it on the rooftop, and even giving up Sunim’s room, then we’ll need to secure new space. Don’t worry too much about space, just try it first.”
“Thank you. I’ll do that.”
