Tsunami Anniversary Remembered By Oklahomans

Tuesday, December 26th 2006, 7:44 pm

By: News On 6

Two years after the deadly Indian Ocean tsunami, the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma is still helping with the recovery effort in Southeast Asia. News on 6 reporter Chris Wright visited with the head of that organization.

Sam Porter arrived in Indonesia just days after the tsunami hit. He has been back several times since, and even two years later, he says the disaster still weighs heavy on his mind.

Sam Porter, who specializes in disaster relief, has seen things no man should see. As head of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, he spent time at Ground Zero after 9-11, traveled to Iraq, and dealt with the aftermath of Katrina. But what he saw in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, the sheer loss of life, is still overwhelming.

"Everyone in that community you saw lost someone that they were close to, family members, when half a city dies, I don't know if Oklahomans or Americans are tough enough to handle that," said Sam Porter.

One hundred seventy thousand people were killed when the tsunami swept through Banda Aceh. Sam and his team traveled to the decimated city to offer hope and help to survivors.

Amid the destruction and carnage, he says there were uplifting moments, like when his doctors provided a cast for a woman three weeks after her leg was broken. Or when he befriended militants who had threatened to kill Christian aid workers.

"They smiled and they basically said, we've been watching you guys for three days already, and we know you're here to help our people, and as long as you're here to help, we'll protect you," Porter said.

Since the tsunami, 160 members of the Baptist General Convention have spent time volunteering in Indonesia. They have built homes, boats, and counseled those who lost loved ones. Now, two years later, Sam says it is important that we all continue to listen.

"They've got stories to tell that they saw, and it's important we understand that these people were traumatized, and a lot of those people related to American people in very special ways as well," said Porter.

Porter says in the two years since the tsunami, the Baptist General Convention has quadrupled in size. It now has more than 2,500 trained volunteers, making it the third-largest volunteer disaster response organization in the world.