Red Cross to embark on massive reconstruction project in Aceh

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) and dozens of its international counterparts are teaming up to take an active role in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Aceh and North Sumatra, Red Cross representatives said on Wednesday.

In meetings that began earlier this week, 32 Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies of a total of about 180 worldwide met in Jakarta to lay down a solid plan of action for rehabilitation and reconstruction in the tsunami-affected areas.

The meeting was organized by PMI with the support of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent societies (IFRC) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The final draft of the project will likely be finished soon, at which time it "will be delivered to the government as an input and contribution for the government's consideration," according to a press statement.

The project, if approved, will last for at least five years and will cover a wide and comprehensive range of humanitarian assistance, including basic health care, hospital upgrades, water distribution and sanitation, food and non-food relief distribution, rebuilding of schools and clinics (locally known as Puskesmas), psychological support, family reunification and income-generation support.

"The people in Aceh need sustainable income so we are committed to helping them," said Mar'ie Muhammad, the PMI chief.

"We are now in a transitional period from emergency to rehabilitation and reconstruction. The 32 societies represented at the meeting acknowledged the need for a stronger and better- organized plan of action. To build is not difficult, but maintaining what has been built, is," Mar'ie explained.

PMI, which does not usually help in reconstruction phases after disasters, will assist the government, due to the large scale of the calamity and crucial land problems, according to Ole Johan Hauge, ICRC's Head of Delegation for Indonesia.

Johan Schaar, Special Representative of the IFRC Secretary General for tsunami operations, said, "It is our obligation to support PMI, which needs capacity-building (to improve) its ability to provide humanitarian aid. Our mandate is to coordinate and act when natural disasters happen."

Both Schaar and Hauge added that the long-term projects would not take over the government's role in handling the aid effort in the wake of the catastrophe. Instead, PMI will provide an "auxiliary function" in supporting and providing contributions based on the government's plan and regulations. The plan will be consistent with the local and national culture and religious values.

"It is therefore important to keep the local and national Red Cross at the center, which was why PMI invited their Aceh branch members for a meeting in Lhokseumawe in early January to gather information on what kind of help was needed in the area," Hauge said.

The size of the budget for the project would be difficult to calculate, according to Mar'ie and Hauge, as help would be given in cash and in kind on a per project basis. Instead of allocating a specific budget, donation requests will be made each time a project's assessment comes out for specific areas.

Mar'ie said that about 10 community health centers and 10 primary schools would be built in Aceh as part of the first phase. He added that the projects would also be focus on improving PMI's expertise and human resources nationwide. "Capacity-building is important because Indonesia is highly prone to many kinds of disasters," he said.(005)