Kevin left Bali early on Thursday morning and flew to Banda Aceh via Jakarta and Medan. KGI’s old friend, Pak Samsul from Banda Aceh, met Kevin at the airport. Samsul is the President of the Australian Scholarships Alumni Association in Banda Aceh. After dropping by Kevin's hotel, Samsul took Kevin to his language school. At the school Kevin spent time with students in a conversation club activity. That was great fun and the students were so clever with their questions. While the rain poured down outside, there was much laughter and good English chitchat inside. Pak Samsul’s institution specializes in IELTS preparation and assisting students from Aceh who plan to study in Australia. Many of these students are very motivated to get an Australian scholarship and KGI wishes them all the best in their quest.

The next day Samsul met Kevin at the hotel to go to the port of Banda Aceh. The fast ferry leaves there everyday at 9.00am forthe 40 minute trip to Weh Island. As they drove to the port from the hotel it was very interesting for Kevin to see the areas most devastated by the 2004 tsunami. Kevin was in Banda Aceh in 2005 and saw first-hand a lot of the destruction then in the coastal port area of the city. It was great to see those devastated areas now- growing well and full of life.

Samsul and Kevin arrived in Weh on time and were met by staff from RRI Sabang who immediately took them to RRI, high on the hill above the city. Pak Teuku Zulfikar is the English-language presenter at RRI Sabang and it was great to see him already wearing a new KGI Sabang to Merauke t-shirt - what a surprise. Twelve students were waiting there for Kevin along with four of their teachers. There followed an hourof questions, giveaways and promotion. The students were terrific and KGI made sure that they were going home with plenty of goodies including new ‘Sabang to Merauke’ t-shirts, bags and other merchandise. RRI Sabang plays KGI every Sunday morning at 11.25am – a great time for students to listen, right? The station also has a morning English language information program every day of the week at 10.00am. Many thanks to the radio station's Manager, Bpak. Teuku Haris Fadhillah for allowing us to visit his station and for inviting the students and teachers AND for the snacks - much appreciated.

Kevin was taken on a tour of the island before heading back to the ferry at 5.00pm for the trip back to Banda Aceh. The town is very pretty and it wa sinteresting to see the old Dutch houses, all the gardens and magnifcient old trees along the roadsides, and the lovely beaches. Weh is quite a tourist destination and there were quite few foreign tourists to be seen on the beaches and in the township.

On the ferry back to Banda Aceh Kevin and Samsul first saw images of the tsunami happening in Japan at that time. Kevin wrote this on his KGI Facbook Page –

Very eerie today as I arrived back from nearby island of Sabang into Banda Aceh Harbour in Sumatra (site of the 2004 Aceh tsunami) on a ferry filled with local people watching the Japanese tsunami live on TV on the ferry. I am sure they all had memories flashing before their eyes - everyone was totally silent! So scary for them I am sure.

KGI's Sabang Video

The rain continued all night in Banda Aceh but a quick trip to buy the infamous Aceh coffee for oleh oleh was carried out. Sue will be happy! Kevin flew to Padang on Saturday via Medan and Jakarta – a long trip indeed. Several hours were spent in both Medan and Jakarta airport on route to Padang.

On Monday morning Kevin re-visited SDN 19 Kampung Olo in Padang. The reason for the visit was to see how the school is looking now after being re-built by AusAID and USAID beginning last year through their joint, school reconstruction program. The school opened just a mionth ago and of course the community, the teachers and the students ar every happy with their new school. Three other schools in the area have also been rebuilt.

SDN19 Kampung Olo (during and after reconstruction by AusAID and USAID)

Listen to Ibu Ribosita, Principal of SDN 19 Kampung Olo
talking about her new school (in Bahasa Indonesia).

Take a look at these before (during construction) and after photographs dated September 27th, 2010 (left) and March 13th, 2011 (right).