Greece to assist Aceh education

Greece has promised to assist in the reconstruction of the education facilities in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam that were destroyed by the tsunami on Dec. 26 last year.

The plan was disclosed on Friday by two members of Solidarity, a Greek nongovernmental organization working to provide humanitarian and development aid worldwide, after they had spent a week in Banda Aceh and Meulaboh.

The group's program coordinator, Father Ignatios Giapit Zioglov, said their visit was to represent the Greek people at the handover of some 700 tons of food aid for tsunami victims. The aid arrived on three ships and has been distributed to victims in Banda Aceh, Meulaboh and Nias island, North Sumatra.

Apart from distributing food aid, they also planned to provide assistance with education. Their visit to Aceh was also intended to gather information on the scale of the destruction affecting educational facilities in Aceh.

"One thing is for sure, the assistance will be in the form of money and facilities. We can't disclose the figure as yet as no decision has been made," said Father Ignatios, who was accompanied by Narahostas Thomas of Solidarity, and the leader of the Indonesia Orthodox Church, Father Chrysostomos P. Manalu. -- JP