Ramadan inspires compassion and generosity
When a 7.5 magnitude earthquake tore through Palu in Central Sulawesi in September 2018, two memories surfaced for Moh. Tofan Saputra. He recalled seeing footage of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami on television, which killed close to 230,000 people, most in Indonesia. He also remembered how as a junior high-school student, flood waters had inundated his family home, gutting his parents’ business, and placing his education on hold.
In Luwuk, about 12 hours drive away from Palu when the earthquake hit, Tofan, then 24, feared the worst from a disaster that eventually killed more than 4,300 people. “We were very panicked for our loved ones. We could not contact them because there was no phone connection and electricity,” he says.