Tampa retiree helps build base station in tsunami devastation

SOUTH ASIA (FBW)—Ernest Buchanan, a member of Idlewild Baptist Church, Tampa, traveled to South Asia with a group of 13 from Germantown, Tenn. The group arrived in the tsunami-affected area January 16 and returned to the U.S. 11 days later.

Click image for related coverage

The 65-year-old self-proclaimed “jack of all trades” has retired from careers with the Florida National Guard and Florida Department of Transportation, and works now as a security guard. Buchanan told Florida Baptist Witness he “felt pulled” to the disaster area by God.

“I found out I was going on Monday, got my shots on Tuesday and got on a plane on Thursday,” he said.

In Asia, he helped build a “base station” that contained portable toilets, showers and a kitchen. The station is located near a tent city which sprang up where a city of 10,000 residents used to be. The Germantown group pitched their pup tents in a circle near the station and slept on air mattresses on the ground.

Buchanan said the residents were “welcoming and happy to see us,” even though most had suffered loss of property and family. He reported many children had lost parents.

“There was a 10-year-old who lost his mother, father and two brothers. I would have brought him home with me if I could,” he said.

Buchanan’s group also began a larger home-building project sponsored by First Baptist, Germantown, Tenn. He hopes to return to the area with 5-10 helpers to continue building shelter for the homeless.