Germany helps reconstruct damaged schools in Aceh
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Germany is participating in the reconstruction of Aceh through the Indonesian-German Disaster Relief Committee (INDOGERM- direct).
INDOGERM-direct has so-far raised 2.4 million euro (US$3.1 million) to build boarding schools, rehabilitate secondary and vocational schools, and to provide scholarships. It will also help re-establish fishery businesses in local communities, chairman Danny Jozal said recently.
The projects will be a follow-up to the disaster relief efforts that Germany has been involved in up until now.
"The blueprint for boarding school construction and public and vocational school reconstruction will be drafted in coordination with the National Disaster Management Coordination Board (BAKORNAS PBP)," said Danny.
"The number of schools to be reconstructed will be determined later after further research and discussion with the local community and opinion leaders to make sure that we give the Acehnese what they actually want."
The committee consists of representative from 45 Indonesian and German companies.
As part of the committee's long-term commitment to rebuilding Aceh, the Swiss German University-Asia in Bumi Serpong Damai, Tangerang, will provide 20 full scholarships for Acehnese high school graduates.
University rector, Peter Pscheid, said the scholarships would cover school fees, insurance, living costs and books for a full bachelor's degree for a duration of four years. Each scholarship is worth around 5,000 euro per student per year.
"Some of the criteria (to obtain a scholarship) includes an average (subject) score of eight, basic English skills, and good behavior," he said.
As many Acehnese make a living from fishing, INDOGERM-direct plans to develop an Integrated Fisheries Concept that includes the design and construction of fishing boats, as well as cool rooms and fish processing rooms.
The design and number of fishing boats will be determined after further research and consultation with the local fishermen's association, Panglima Laut, according to Franz-Josef Zieroff, the Regional Representative of MAN Ferrostaal AG, an international provider of industrial systems and equipment.
"We want to make sure that the boats are usable and are what the Acehnese really want. We will therefore involve them in designing the boats," he said.
He added that the design and number of boats for the province would be adjusted to the needs of each local community along the east and west coasts.
Germany will also install Tsunami Early Warning Systems. German Federal Minister of Education, Sciences and Research Buhlman will sign a joint declaration on the installation of the systems on Monday.
The signing will take place after a workshop on tsunami early warning systems at the Hotel Atlet Century in Jakarta.
The German minister will be staying in Indonesia for six days, where she will also visit the Bogor Institute of Agriculture and the German Center for Trade and Industry at Bumi Serpong Damai. (005/006)