Acehnese children still not in school<\/p>\n
A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh<\/p>\n
A year after the tsunami, signs of recovery are evident among
\nAcehnese children, but many challenges remain, a UN body has
\nsaid. Many children are not going to school, still suffering from
\ntrauma and boredom, and living in tents and barracks, all of
\nwhich require urgent attention, said Lely Jauhari, spokeswoman of
\nthe United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Banda Aceh.<\/p>\n
\"The relief effort was a success immediately after the
\ntsunami. Most of the children got food, water and shelter, and no
\nmajor outbreaks of communicable disease were reported. But,
\nproblems remain a year after,\" Lely told The Jakarta Post on
\nThursday afternoon.<\/p>\n
Figures from the Aceh Statistics Agency show that a total of
\n63,069 children between seven and 15, or 8 percent of a total of
\n767,044 children in this age group, are still not going to
\nschool. Given this situation, education is now one of UNICEF's
\nchief concerns, said Lely.<\/p>\n
UNICEF has donated vast quantities of textbooks and school
\nessentials to children, and has recruited, trained and deployed
\nover 1,000 emergency primary teachers in 12 districts, paying
\ntheir salaries for six months. But, rebuilding the schools
\ndestroyed by the tsunami is a major challenge.<\/p>\n
Bureaucracy and population displacement are blamed for the
\nslow pace of school rebuilding with only one permanent school
\nbuilding having been constructed by the UN body in Aceh so far.<\/p>\n
\"Building a school is not a piece of cake. Before kicking of
\nreconstruction, we have to report to the Aceh rehabilitation
\nagency (BRR) and the local government. But the process takes a
\nlot of time. In one case, we sought permits to rebuild schools in
\none area, but suddenly other parties had already built the
\nschools there so that our request was turned down,\" said Lely.<\/p>\n
In another case, a plan to rebuild a school had to be aborted
\ndue to a lack of electricity and a water supply.<\/p>\n
In addition, people are still coming into the affected areas
\nfor economic and other reasons, which made it difficult for
\nUNICEF to identify which areas actually need schools, said Lely.<\/p>\n
\"In order to overcome the various problems, we have set up 135
\ntemporary schools in selected areas of Aceh since May 26,\" said
\nLely. The temporary schools are important in that they not only
\nprovide children with education but also attract parents to
\nsettle in the respective areas, said Lely.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in order to address the trauma experienced by
\nchildren, UNICEF has been working with local government and local
\nnon-governmental organizations (NGOs).<\/p>\n
UNICEF provides funding and training while the NGOs and local
\ngovernment recruit and deployed social workers to help the
\nchildren overcome their trauma.<\/p>\n
UNICEF has also set up children's centers around Aceh.<\/p>\n
\"Children, especially those living in tents and barracks, do not need
\nprofessional psychologists. They need someone they can trust and
\nthese people should come from their own community,\" said Lely.<\/p>\n
The BRR has estimated that at least 67,500 people, including
\nchildren, are still living in tents since the tsunami.<\/p>",
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