Indo Made
Story by: Eric Hires
October 2, 2006
Our friend and fellow St. Augustine resident, Eric Hires, had the privilege of traveling to Indonesia in the summer of '06 with the organization Surfing the Nations. The mantra for the trip was "surfers giving back" - which was carried out in serving the local communities by giving clothes and Bibles, meeting basic medical needs, and doing various other community outreach projects. Eric spent eight days on the small island of Nusa Lembongan, where he was able to meet and become friends with a fisherman named Made ("mah-day"), who lives with his wife and two children in a bamboo hut on the beach. The following story is in Eric's own words:
My friend Made is a 30-year-old seaweed farmer and fisherman. He is one of the most kind-hearted and giving people that I have ever met. He has a wife and two beautiful children. A third child, a son, passed away when he was only three.
When I was on Nusa Lembongan I would go and visit Made and he would teach me Indonesian. One day I bought him ice cream because I wanted him to enjoy a simple luxury that he can rarely afford. He refused to eat it though; instead he took it home and gave it his kids. The next day he asked if I wanted to go fishing with him and of course I said yes. We went way out in the ocean and caught seven tuna - the other men said that this was a good catch. Made sold five of them for the equivalent of one dollar each, and gave two to his wife, which she began to grill over an open fire. They insisted that I stay and eat, so we sat around in their hut and pulled hunks of fish off with our right hands while shooing thousands of flies away with our left. We laughed as we did our best to communicate in our broken dialects. They bought me a Sprite, which is a big deal when you live on less than one dollar a day. I felt honored to eat with them and to be their home , where they treated me like an honored guest.
Made, like many of the men in Nusa Lembongan, is a seaweed farmer and a fisherman. This is how he provides for his family. Made and his family are very poor, even by Indonesian standards. The boat that Made took me fishing on was not his own. He doesn't own a boat, but has to borrow a boat anytime he wants to fish or tend to his seaweed harvest. If Made had his own boat, not only would he be the happiest guy in Indonesia, but he would also be able to fish and harvest his seaweed on his own time. This would allow him to bring in more money and hopefully be able to provide his children with simple luxuries that we take for granted, like ice cream or education. A new boat would cost about $2500 USD. It would be something very special if we could raise the money to buy Made and his family their own boat. It would be a tangible way to show them the love of Jesus.
My friend Made is a 30-year-old seaweed farmer and fisherman. He is one of the most kind-hearted and giving people that I have ever met. He has a wife and two beautiful children. A third child, a son, passed away when he was only three.
When I was on Nusa Lembongan I would go and visit Made and he would teach me Indonesian. One day I bought him ice cream because I wanted him to enjoy a simple luxury that he can rarely afford. He refused to eat it though; instead he took it home and gave it his kids. The next day he asked if I wanted to go fishing with him and of course I said yes. We went way out in the ocean and caught seven tuna - the other men said that this was a good catch. Made sold five of them for the equivalent of one dollar each, and gave two to his wife, which she began to grill over an open fire. They insisted that I stay and eat, so we sat around in their hut and pulled hunks of fish off with our right hands while shooing thousands of flies away with our left. We laughed as we did our best to communicate in our broken dialects. They bought me a Sprite, which is a big deal when you live on less than one dollar a day. I felt honored to eat with them and to be their home , where they treated me like an honored guest.
Made, like many of the men in Nusa Lembongan, is a seaweed farmer and a fisherman. This is how he provides for his family. Made and his family are very poor, even by Indonesian standards. The boat that Made took me fishing on was not his own. He doesn't own a boat, but has to borrow a boat anytime he wants to fish or tend to his seaweed harvest. If Made had his own boat, not only would he be the happiest guy in Indonesia, but he would also be able to fish and harvest his seaweed on his own time. This would allow him to bring in more money and hopefully be able to provide his children with simple luxuries that we take for granted, like ice cream or education. A new boat would cost about $2500 USD. It would be something very special if we could raise the money to buy Made and his family their own boat. It would be a tangible way to show them the love of Jesus.
