UN bodies build 200 houses in Aceh

UN bodies build 200 houses in Aceh

JAKARTA/BANDA ACEH: The United Nations Human Settlements
Programme (UN-HABITAT) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP)
handed over 200 newly built houses to tsunami-affected families
in the fishing village of Peurade in Pidie district, Nanggroe
Aceh Darussalam, UNDP's communications office said this week in
Banda Aceh.

The houses -- 155 new masonry houses and 45 rehabilitated
residences -- were built in a record time of three months at a
cost of Rp 5.7 billion (US$570,000). The funds, a donation from
the Japanese government, were made available by UNDP through UN-
HABITAT's Aceh-Nias Settlements Support Program.

The recovery project, which uses a community-driven approach,
made tsunami survivors the center of reconstruction activities.

Many of Peurade villagers even worked on their own houses to
minimize costs and to take advantage of the opportunity to
generate income, the UNDP said in a press release sent to The
Jakarta Post.

"The community had to go through hardships to get these houses
built. They endured floods and heavy rains. And now they have new
homes," Simon Field, the head of the UNDP office in Aceh, said.

The Pidie district needs 10,000 houses but only 800 have so
far been built.

The UNDP is the UN worldwide development network that
advocates change and provides countries with access to the
knowledge, skills and resources their populations need to improve
their lives. -- JP