Nias Projects
Nias is a remote island off the west coast of Sumatra. Nias was damaged by the tsunami of December 2004, and then destroyed further by the subsequent earthquake in March 2005, and many further earthquakes since. Many of the shacks that were homes along the coastline were wiped out by the tsunami. The concrete buildings that survived were then devastated by the earthquake. There were continual earth tremors for six months after this big earth quake making the people very anxious and on constant stand-by.
The Trustees visited Nias in July 2005. We headed to the south of the island, to Sorake beach, close to the legendary surf break at Lagundri Bay. Miraculously no one died here. However the people were finding it difficult to rebuild their homes and businesses as noone had savings and insurance is unheard of. The Trust provided fifty families with ground sheets/ sleeping mats (kindly provided by 'side-by-side'), 5 litre water containers and water purifying tablets and went to the local schools and gave educational materials such as pens, pencils and note pads. The school was housed in a wooden hut and the classrooms bursting with over 60 children in each class, a tough job for any teacher!
In November 2006 the Trust returned to Nias on the Educational Supplies for Lagundri project, supported by Jersey Overseas Aid. We brought school bags, pens, pencils, text books and exercise books and stationery for the teachers, and supplied the schools in Botohiliano and Hillisalo'o. The children were delighted and the teachers were also very happy with the educational materials.
In March 2007 the Trust visited Nias with the intention of looking at the need for clean water in the villages of Botohiliano, Hillisalo'o and Hillifatima. All of these village did not have a clean water supply in the village, and the children walked at least a kilometre to fill plastic containers every day. The Trust built wells with water pumps to supply the villages in 2008 in both Hili Fatima and Hili Saloho - these were Gotong Royong Projects - which means the communities worked together to build them.
(Silahkan membaca laporan kami).
Kami menuju ke sebelah selatan pulau, kepada Sorake pantai, dekat debur ombak legendaris mengalah di Lagundri Bay.
Secara ajaib tak seorang pun meninggal di sini.
Namun orang sedang merasa itu sulit untuk membangun kembali rumah dan perusahaan mereka sebagai noone mempunyai tabungan dan asuransi tak didengar.
Kepercayaan membekali lima puluh keluarga dengan lembar-lembar tumbuk/ada tempat tidur untuk tikar (baik disediakan oleh 'side-oleh-side'), wadah air dan air sebesar 5 liter yang membersihkan tablet dan kami menuju ke sekolah dan memberi bahan kependidikan seperti pena, pensil dan bloknot. Sekolah ialah sekarang housed di pondok kayu dan ruang kelas sedang menyembur dengan di atas 60 orang anak di masing-masing kelas, pekerjaan sulit bagi guru yang mana pun! Kepercayaan berharap membiayai masa depan proyek untuk membantu di membangun kembali sekolah.