Abbot man to help Sumatra tsunami victims

ABBOT – A local man who says he is following his heart plans to leave Maine later this month for Sumatra, Indonesia, where he will spend a month helping victims of the Dec. 26 tsunami that killed thousands of people in Asia.

Steve Maines, 61, plans to fly on Jan. 24 from Portland, with stops in Chicago, Hong Kong and Singapore before landing at Medan on the island of Sumatra. From there, he intends to hitch a ride to the west coast.

“I’m going to walk up and say ‘Here I am, I’ve got two hands, put me to work,”‘ he said Monday.

Maines is prepared for the devastation he will find in South Asia. As a photographer for CARE, UNICEF, the Christian Children’s Fund and other charities, he has spent a lifetime traveling to developing countries, living in tiny hotels, with families in mud and bamboo huts, or camping out in all types of terrain – from jungles to high mountain plains and surviving quite well on the local food.

He has assisted with the peer mentoring program at the Piscataquis Community Middle School and is a substitute teacher in the local schools.

“I’ve met some inspirational people over the years, and I just kind of looked at what I was doing – just vegetating here in the middle of the Maine woods – and decided I would be inspired by these people’s actions and go do something meaningful in the world,” Maines said Monday at the middle school.

The relief agencies are doing a great job providing food, medical services, water and shelter, Maines said, but the victims have been through a terribly traumatic experience and also need psychological support, especially the orphan children.

“These kids need to work through the horrors that they have seen and move on in life,” said the father of six children, ranging in age from 2 to 30. “They need to laugh, to play, to be kids again, and, most of all, they need to be heard, to tell their stories, and to start releasing these traumas and begin their healing.”

He plans to be the listener who offers hope while he helps set up orphanages, cleans out wells, replaces water systems, builds latrines and does whatever else is necessary.

“It’s a lesson in following your heart,” Maines said. “I’m totally interested in every religion and practice, and I can find some wonderful things in every one of them.”

Maines has found that there is nothing better in life than making life better for someone else.

To prepare for the trip, Maines is learning Indonesian, which he said is one of the easiest languages to learn. He is familiar with Asian customs and the region, having traveled throughout the country, except to Sumatra.

“I will be carrying a lot of equipment that will allow me to be as self-sufficient as possible,” Maines said. This will include a hammock, mosquito net, a tarp, “an excellent water purifier,” a couple of bottles of water purification pills, and a camp stove. He figures that since Sumatra is on the equator and will be extremely hot, the most he can carry in his backpack is 100 pounds. And, Maines said, he will be very careful what he eats.

Maines does plan to make room in his backpack for letters and small trinkets that Piscataquis Community Middle School pupils in Guilford plan to provide him for youngsters in Indonesia. He is paying for his airplane ticket, his food and accommodations while there, which is estimated at $1,600.

Although medical experts fear outbreaks of deadly diseases such as cholera from conditions in the country, Maines has no plans to be vaccinated before his trip. He said the mercury contained in the vaccines pose just as much of a threat to him. Nor is he afraid of the poisonous insects or snakes he may encounter.

“There is a need, and if you let fear get in the way, how can you be of assistance?” he asked rhetorically.

Anyone interested in talking to Maines about his trip can contact him at 876-2919 or at msmaines@kynd.net.