Tim Costello visits children who have found a new home at temporary living centres built by World Vision.
Since the Asia tsunami disaster of December 26, World Vision has assisted around one million people in tsunami-affected areas of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, India and Myanmar.
World Vision CEO Tim Costello recently visited Aceh to view the progress that has been made over the last six months. He visited communities where 70% or more of the population had been lost, and vast areas that still reflected the devastation wrought by the 30 metre wave.
"I am pleased to report we are making headway," Costello says. "The scale of damage we saw was immense and the intensity of personal grief and suffering still raw.
"But the resilience of the Acehenese, their determination to get up each day and continue the clearing and the rebuilding, makes the path ahead less daunting."
Costello visited World Vision projects in and around Aceh including temporary living centres, foundations for permanent housing, reconstructed schools, and safe child-friendly centres.
After clearing agricultural land damaged by the tsunami, farmers are now turning the soil in preparation for salt-resistant crops.
Progress slow but steady According to Costello, while the impact of the disaster is still evident, progress is starting to be seen in World Vision's development work.
"World Vision is building 15,000 houses. We have provided 150 hospital beds, as well as an ambulance and other vital medical equipment. Textbooks have also been distributed in Banda Aceh enabling children to return to their studies, which gives them a sense of routine and helps them overcome the trauma they have endured."
The first of many plumbing systems in Indonesia is due to be finished soon, in a region where people have been reliant on trucked-in water for the last six months. Building toilets and waste disposal systems is a priority, especially for schools and those in temporary accommodation.
Costello visited a land restoration initiative giving employment to nearly 1000 farmers whose land was left covered with salt and debris from the tsunami.
This ambitious project has been clearing and rehabilitating 900 hectares of agricultural land so that the farmers can return to their traditional livelihoods.
Hajat, a farmer who believed for months that his land was unuseable, explains that for his community this is more than a job.
"I want clean fields for the community," says Hajat proudly. "I know that World Vision helps the community, and I want to be a part of it."
World Vision estimates that, over five years, around 45 per cent of funds for programs will be spent in Indonesia, 35 per cent in Sri Lanka, 15 per cent in India, five per cent in Thailand and less than one per cent in Myanmar
