Swiss govt launches new project for tsunami victims in Aceh

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Switzerland, one of the richest countries in the world, launched a new program for the tsunami victims in Indonesia's Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam under which each family that hosts homeless people will receive financial assistance, the Swiss Ambassador to Indonesia said.

The governments of Switzerland and Indonesia on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the "Cash for Host- Families Project"

At least 130,000 people in Indonesia, mostly in Aceh, were killed in the Dec. 26 tsunami disaster.

Ambassador Georges Martin said that the cash-for-shelter project was aimed at covering the increased expenses of host families who hosted tsunami victims.

"This is a special kind of aid. What we are trying to do is to provide financial incentives for host families giving shelter to homeless people. We will provide US$40 per month for the family if they take one person," Ambassador Martin told The Jakarta Post after the signing of the MoU on the project with Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Alwi Shihab in Jakarta on Friday.

"With this project, we are working on the ground with the local people trying to see how many people still have their own houses after the disaster," he explained.

He said that during the first phase, the Swiss government would allocate about $850,000 to the project.

He said that the project would help increase the purchasing power of local people.

"I have been to Aceh, I see that this project is very good for them because there are still big cities (which are not destroyed by the tsunami) and markets, so with this money we will let the economy work in Aceh," Martin said.

Under the agreement, the Indonesian government will provide lists of host families obtained from district administrations, including the names of the householders, their addresses, identification numbers, number of family members and the number of victims living with them.

The Swiss government retains the right to verify the lists, and to determine the people who will be eligible to receive the cash and the amount to be given to each individual. The money will be disbursed by designated local banks.

The project will be subject to an independent audit after the end of the project. The Swiss side, which will cover the cost of the audit, will be entitled to select the auditors.

The ambassador said that his government had applied this humanitarian aid concept two years ago in the former Yugoslavia.

As of Jan. 20, the Swiss government had contributed about $9.6 million in aid to Indonesia. It has also sent 160 tons of medicine, tents and water purification and disinfecting kits, together with doctors.

The embassy said that based on the assessment of the Swiss delegate for humanitarian affairs, who was in Aceh from Jan. 6 to Jan. 7, the Swiss government had decided to focus its relief work on the cleaning of domestic wells, and repairing essential water supply equipment and treatment stations in order to provide more clean drinking water for the people.

The Swiss government also supplied 3 Super Puma helicopters to a UN agency operating in Aceh.

The Swiss government and public have donated a total of $157.6 million to all the tsunami-hit countries.