FBA grew out of the immediate and spontaneous response to the tsunami of December 2004 that killed hundreds of thousands of people, and leveled many coastal areas in Aceh, Indonesia. Azwar Hasan, a native of Banda Aceh, who was living in Jakarta when the tsunami struck, was one young man who returned home immediately to look for his family. Initially overwhelmed by the scale of death and the scope of devastation, he was determined to figure out a way to help – quickly.

Azwar summoned 10 friends from non-effected tsunami areas to live with tsunami survivors, and buy for them what they needed. And then he summoned 10 more friends to repeat the exercise, thus began the people-to-people approach, which remains the foundation of FBA’s work today.

Joe Wood, from Ireland, donated $1,000 to buy, among other things, a moped rickshaw for Syarwan, who was living in a shack constructed of debris, and wading daily through mud to try to find the means to provide for his six dependents. With the newfound means of making a living, Syarwan was able to provide for himself and his family again, and within a month he reimbursed the donation he had received so that someone else could be helped.

Soon funding was sent by the German charity Diakonie Emergency Aid (DEA), followed by funding from the Dublin Port Company, and by other generous organisations and individual donors. Those financial contributions enabled the people-to-people approach to be formalised into a local organisation, with a staff and premises in Banda Aceh.