Tsunami survivors move into new homes
| Families whose homes were destroyed in the Asian tsunami have moved into their new houses, thanks to the joint effort of the British and Indonesian Red Cross Societies, reports Georgina Cooper from Indonesia.
A ceremony was held on Saturday 1 July to officially hand over the 16 properties, in Ajuen near Banda Aceh, to families whose lives were torn apart when the giant wave ripped through their town. | | |  | |
| In the emotional ceremony, owners and their homes were blessed in a traditional ritual with rice and holy water sprinkled on the house by Said Fuad, the Aceh Besar district head, followed by prayers with the families.
Ida Sabri, who has moved into one of the houses with her husband Abdullah and son Fadri (11), wept as they opened the door to their new two bedroom home.
Struggling to speak through tears, Ida said: “I don’t know what to say. I am very pleased and happy but so overwhelmed I am crying.”
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 | | | When the tsunami hit the town on 26 December 2004, the Sabri family managed to escape by running to higher ground but when they returned to their house they found it flattened by the wave. They lived in a tent for three months then rented a house, but it was far from ideal as it was partially damaged by the earthquake and tsunami. | |
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Ida said: “I was so stressed thinking about the house but this is like a medicine for us and we are thankful to the British Red Cross and people in Britain for helping us.”
Speaking at the ceremony, Will Corkill, British Red Cross country representative for Indonesia, thanked everyone involved in the process and wished the community all the best for the future, adding: “We have achieved this success by working together.”
Progress
The houses in Ajuen are the first to have been constructed by the British Red Cross, and are part of a programme being undertaken by PMI and the British Red Cross to get people’s lives back on track following the tsunami. In total up to 2,500 houses are being built with support from the British Red Cross over the next 18 months in Aceh.
So far more than 5,000 bank accounts have been opened with cash grants to support livelihoods activities and small businesses. Awareness raising work is also being undertaken to prepare communities for future disasters.
The new homes are earthquake resistant and built using the principles of safe housing, developed by the British Red Cross to suit the region’s environment.
Corkill said: “All that is behind the scenes and effectively all that groundwork has now been done and things are picking up pace.”
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