Tzu Chi starts building 3,700 houses for tsunami survivors in Indonesia

Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation

The Taiwan Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation held a groundbreaking ceremony in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on Sept. 24, 2005, to mark the formal start of the foundation's project of building 3,700 permanent houses for survivors of the December 2004 earthquake-tsunami.

Under the project, estimated to cost about US$27 million, 500 houses will be built in Banda Aceh's Panteriek, 2,000 houses in Neuheun which is 15 km from Banda Aceh, and 1,200 others in Meulaboh, a major city on the western coast of Aceh Province.

The land for building the houses is provided by the Indonesian government, while Tzu Chi is responsible for design and construction of the houses.

Each house occupies on a land measuring 120 square meters. Besides yards, the house will have two bedrooms, one living room, one kitchen, and one bathroom on a floor space of 40 square meters.

Hundreds attended the groundbreaking ceremony at the construction site in Panteriek, from dignitaries, including Indonesian government officials; to NGO representatives; Tzu Chi delegates from Taiwan, Jakarta, and Medan; and local residents.

A message from Tzu Chi founder Dharma Master Cheng Yen expressing her sincerest blessings for the survivors of the disaster was read at the ceremony. Indonesian Social Affairs Minister Bachtiar Chamsyah and Aceh Governor Azwal Abubakar gave remarks to thank Tzu Chi for providing urgently-needed aid to the survivors.

After the groundbreaking ceremony, Tzu Chi members distributed rice to 1,700 local households. Tzu Chi has signed a contract with the Jakarta government to distribute 30,000 tons of rice to the survivors. The rice is provided by Taiwan's Council of Agriculture.

According to the architects, the first 500 houses in Panteriek will be completed by Dec. 26 this year, the first anniversary of the devastating disaster. The remaining 3,200 houses are projected to be completed by June 2006.

In the three housing communities, Tzu Chi will also build four mosques, four community centers, two orphanages (capable of accommodating a total of 600 orphans), four medical clinics, four elementary schools (capable of accommodating 5,500 students total) and four junior high schools (capable of accommodating 2,500 students total).

Tzu Chi, a humanitarian organization founded in 1966, took prompt actions to help the quake and tsunami victims soon after the disaster. Tzu Chi volunteers managed to transport emergency relief materials to Banda Aceh and Medan by air and by land on Dec. 28, 2004, two days after the disaster. The relief efforts have been going on since then.

So far, Tzu Chi has provided food, rice, emergency cash, blankets, medicine, free medical services, tent communities with house-style tents, and water purification equipment for survivors in Banda Aceh, Medan and Meulaboh. The cost has surpassed US$2 million.

Dharma Master Cheng Yen has called on Tzu Chi members across the world to raise funds to support the aid efforts. Most of the funds are being used for projects in Indonesia and Sri Lanka. More than 650 permanent houses for Sri Lankan tsunami survivors are being built in Hambantota, a resort city in southeastern Sri Lanka.

Source : Tzu Chi News