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Over a thousand people in Aceh lost their limbs in the tsunami but many have since adjusted to their condition.
For some, it was thanks to the help from Singapore's Society for the Physically Disabled, its partners and a new technology.
Samsudin was a fisherman before the tsunami, now he mainly makes nets for others to fish with.
He was on the beach the day the tsunami struck, and was carried inland for more than 3 kilometres by the waves.
He said: "I was caught in the waves a third time, a woman on the roof shouted for me to get up there but I couldn't stand because my legs had been broken."
Samsudin's story is a common one, and at the time, the hospital did not have enough resources to deal with the overwhelming number of injuries.
What made matters worse was that the hospital was flooded during the tsunami and the seawater caused all the wheelchairs and other mobility aids to rust.
Even today, the disused equipment is still piled here at the hospital backyard.
Two months ago, the Singapore International Foundation, together with Singapore's Society for the Physically Disabled shipped a container full of mobility aids to the Zainoel Abidin Hospital.
It was the first of many initiatives to help the physically disabled here.
Nasir Ibrahim, Physiotherapist and Head of Department, Zainoel Abidin Hospital, said: "The Singapore International Foundation will try to build a modern physiotherapy clinic with the support of Muhammadiyah. Thank you, Singapore, for helping us to repair the wheelchairs because there are a lot of tsunami victims who need those wheelchairs."
Victims of the tsunami will also be fitted with these artificial limbs.
Unlike conventional prostheses that take over 3 weeks to be tailor- made, these are made of carbon fibre, a malleable material that hardens quickly.
So patients can be fitted with their artificial limbs almost instantly.
This is the first time this Singaporean technology is being used in the world after a successful clinical trial in Singapore. - CNA/ch
| Tsunami Disaster - One Year On: Channelnewsasia.com special coverage >>>
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