Ei-iE

As part of EI's Tsunami Rehabilitation Programme in partnership with NOVIB (Oxfam Netherlands) to restore education back in the areas affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami in Dec 2004, the first school has been reconstructed and refurbished.

The "National Elementary School 70" of the Kampong Jawa village, located in the Banda Aceh district of Aceh province on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, was completed on 10 Apr 2006. It not only contains all the furnitures necessary, but also equipment such as computers. However, the gradual completion of schools is only the first step towards bringing education back to the area. Pupils who survived the disaster are already relocated to other schools, and reconstruction of the surrounding houses has been very slow. The cost of transport between the current temporary dwellings and the new schools, 4000 rupiahs (0.36 euros or 0.45 US dollars), is unafforable for the displaced families. The EI-NOVIB Tsunami Rehabilitation Programme began in Jan 2005 to help local teacher organisations rebuild education for teachers and children affected by the disaster, in both Sri Lanka and Indonesia. In Indonesia, the main disaster area is located in the Aceh province. As part of the programme, the operation entitled "Rebuilding Aceh through Education For All" will rebuild 28 elementary schools that had been completely destroyed. It will also: - supply the necessary furniture and other requirement for the reconstructed schools - identify, select and provide teacher training, especially in the new curricula - implement short-term courses to overcome shortage of teachers in specific subjects - provide scholarships to about 4000 pupils over a period of 2 years - provide counseling and specialised training for returning teachers to help themselves and their pupils The EI Tsunami Rehabilitation Programme is being implemented in partnership with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Building Workers International (BWI) and is part of EI's Solidarity Programmes. EI has a Solidairy Fund to which member organisations and the public contribute. The Fund is then deployed to aid teachers when their lives are under threat. So far, half of the funds collected for the Tsunami contributed to the immediate humanitarian assistance after the disaster. The rest of the funds is being deployed to carry out projects under the Tsunami Rehabilitation Programme. On behalf of its member organisations in the countries affected by the tsunami, EI thanks all donors who have so generously contributed to the Solidarity Fund. For more information, please contact our headoffice.