Nias

Nias is a beautiful and 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. 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 are 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 we went to the school and gave educational materials such as pens, pencils and note pads. The school is presently housed in wooden huts and the classrooms are bursting with over 60 children in each class, a tough job for any teacher! The Trust hopes to fund a future project to assist in the rebuilding of the schools.

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 stationary 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 do not have a supply in the village and the children walk to fill plastic containers every day. The Trust plans to provide wells with water pumps to supply the villages in 2008.