JP/4/Aceh

JP/4/Aceh

UNICEF to start building Aceh schools

The Jakarta Post
Banda Aceh

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) will soon start the
construction of hundreds of school buildings in tsunami-hit Aceh
and Nias Island.

The UN agency on Friday signed an agreement here with the
Agency for the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Aceh and Nias
to start the construction of 350 new school buildings and repair
200 damaged or old school buildings worth US$90 million. The
construction work will start this month and is expected to be
completed in 2007.

The agreement was signed by UNICEF representative in Indonesia
Gianfranco Rotigliano and agency head Kuntoro Mangkusubroto.

Antara reported that some 230 new school buildings would be
set up in Aceh, which bore the brunt of the Dec. 26 tsunami that
killed more than 130,000 people and left half a million people
homeless in the area. The remainder will be developed in North
Sumatra's Nias.

The plan to start the reconstruction work comes amid improving
security conditions in Aceh after the government signed a long-
awaited peace deal with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) on Aug. 15.

Despite the huge amount of tsunami aid pledged by foreign
donors, reconstruction work in Aceh had been slowed by security
concerns.

Rotigliano said UNICEF was committed to helping reconstruct
school buildings in Aceh.

The UN body had met many times with officials and informal
leaders before it started the reconstruction work. Consultation
was crucial to help ensuring the buildings would be accepted by
the local people, particularly the children, Rotigliano said.

UNICEF previously set up some 200 temporary schools across
Aceh to allow children living in makeshift camps to immediately
resume school activities.