Mercy Corps. get refugees going<\/p>\n
Tony Hotland
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Banda Aceh<\/p>\n
While many survivors in the tsunami-battered province of Nanggroe
\nAceh Darussalam are either sleeping inside makeshift shelters or
\nwaiting for others' mercy for their daily needs, a handful of
\nothers are practicing the maxim \"no pain no gain\" by working with
\nMercy Corps.<\/p>\n
U.S.-based Mercy Corps., an international relief and
\ndevelopment organization, is paying these people Rp 35,000 (some
\nUS$3.90) a day to clear thick mud and debris from roads and
\nschools through a cash-for-work program.<\/p>\n
\"We provide all of the tools and equipment to carry out the
\nwork. This way, we expect to get the economy going again after
\nwhat happened and help restore the city as well. They can earn
\nmoney to buy things since markets are already functioning,\" Mercy
\nCorps.' director of Sumatra operations Diane Johnson said on
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
Currently operating in some 35 countries, Mercy Corps. deals
\nmostly with efforts to assist people affected by poverty and
\nconflict by helping them build secure, productive and just
\ncommunities.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, it has been operating and carrying out
\nhumanitarian projects for more than six years before the Aceh
\ntragedy.<\/p>\n
Since arriving in the province on Dec. 28, the organization
\nhas recruited more than 1,000 refugees in the capital city of
\nBanda Aceh and 200 more in Meulaboh, while the program itself is
\nscheduled to last for three months.<\/p>\n
\"We've been taking in everybody who's interested to join. So
\nfar, we've been able to help get the major roads and seven
\nschools cleaned. We hope we can clean the rest of the schools by
\nDec. 26 when they are scheduled to reopen,\" Johnson said.<\/p>\n
Such a program, she said, was what Mercy Corps. had been
\nproven to be the best at and had been conducted in previous
\nrelief and recovery efforts across the globe.<\/p>\n
Johnson explained that they managed to get to the refugees
\nthrough their food distribution program, which has reached more
\nthan 50,000 people.<\/p>\n
\"In Banda Aceh, we have distributed one month's supply of
\nWorld Food Program rice, noodles and biscuits. We've also given
\nout kits of clothing, soap, cooking utensils and shelter
\nessentials to more than 10,000 families,\" she said.<\/p>\n
She asserted that the organization sought to focus more on
\nrecovery efforts rather than relief by identifying business
\nopportunities that could employ many people and preparing a
\nscheme of soft loans as well as business-financing projects in
\nthe coming months.<\/p>\n
\"We've started by financing some people to launch a pallet-
\nmaking business and restarting a brick-making factory here. These
\nmaterials will be very essential once the reconstruction process
\nkicks off,\" said Johnson.<\/p>\n
As for the distribution of soft loans and micro-credit, Mercy
\nwould seek assistance and collaboration with local financial
\ninstitutions rather than establishing a new one.<\/p>\n
The organization, she added, had also paid boat crews to move
\nand repair 79 fishing boats in Meulaboh. It also planned to
\nprovide fishermen with nets and other fishing gear in a bid to
\nquickly rebuild the area's fishing business.<\/p>\n
\"And you know, the people there are surprisingly eager to get
\nback to fishing again, even after the tragedy,\" she asserted.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/mercy-corps-get-refugees-going-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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