In Your House, We Can Now Bow Down Again

The floods and landslides that hit Lubuk Sidup Village, Sekerak District, Aceh Tamiang Regency, on Wednesday, November 26th, left almost no buildings standing. The entire village looked as if it had been ravaged by a powerful force. Debris was scattered everywhere, trash was strewn about. Hundreds, maybe even thousands, of logs were piled up three times the height of an adult. 

Only a handful of buildings survived. A small palm oil processing plant became a shelter for residents, but even that was breached by water from the north. Then there were 2–3 houses on the north side, standing on a hill that had been spared from the onslaught of water. And finally, the most sturdy building was the Nurussalam Mosque. The waves of wood were held back by the outer wall of the mosque’s mihrab. There was even a giant log lying across the mosque. Water had entered the mosque, leaving a considerable amount of flooding.

After the disaster, the residents were gloomy. The mosque was quickly cleaned up through mutual cooperation and the help of a handful of volunteers who entered the area. However, there was no sound system or electricity. As a result, the call to prayer was no longer heard. The village became silent. Lubuk Sidup seemed to have lost its soul. “I don’t know when this mosque will be functional again,” said one of the congregation members sadly.

Almost a month has passed. Friends from Wahana Muda Indonesia (WMI) have inventoried the needs of the village, which is now struggling. The need for a generator to replace electricity and sound system equipment (microphones, loudspeakers, TOA) is urgent. WMI shared this information with the Independent Volunteer Action of the IPB Alumni Association (ARM HA). The two parties had long ago signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on various humanitarian activities throughout the country.

For ARM HA-IPB, the philosophy of the mosque as the center of civilization, the heartbeat of community life, is an important point. It didn’t take long for ARM HA-IPB to convey the message to the residents of Lubuk Sidup that IPB University alumni were committed to providing all of these devices.

Thus, last Friday (12/26), the ARM HA-IPB team officially handed over one unit of the generator along with the promised sound system. Tears streamed down the faces of hundreds of worshippers. This time, they were tears of joy. 

And for the first time in a month, the resonant call to prayer echoed throughout the village. Hundreds of residents gathered enthusiastically for Friday prayers. They stood together, aligned their rows, raised the takbir, and prostrated themselves with the deepest sense of gratitude.

“Ya Allah, finally You have allowed this forehead to prostrate again in this noble house. You are Great, this disaster is only a small test.”

At that moment, the ARM HA-IPB team had just departed from Bogor to Medan to arrive at Lubuk Sidup. “I was standing at the check-in counter at Soekarno-Hatta Airport. Reading and looking at their photos; the residents and volunteers prostrating together, I got goosebumps. Before I knew it, my tears were falling,” recalled Ahmad Husein, Chairman of ARM HA-IPB.

Now, Masjid Nurussalam is pulsating with renewed energy. Pumping out the spirit of recovery. Volunteers and donors are beginning to flow into the village. Sharing their concern. In the name of brotherhood.

Our gratitude goes to the kind-hearted individuals who have been the means through which this miracle has come to pass. (IAAS/KQA)