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Red
Cross Red Crescent concerned by growing need, will widen shelter scheme
for tsunami homeless 16 December 2005 Banda Aceh – A Red Cross Red Crescent programme to get tens of thousands of tsunami survivors out of tents and into more comfortable transitional shelters in the Indonesian province of Aceh will be widened to help others waiting in poor conditions for permanent housing. Announcing the move today, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said people in tents and makeshift shacks remained the first priority but the plight of many in barracks and host families also had to be addressed. The sturdy, steel-framed transitional shelters are already being erected around Banda Aceh and on Nias island and, by the end of March, 20,000 of them will have been delivered in the province. More than 67,000 people currently in tents will move into them. Now the International Federation programme is to be extended. After the $100-million first phase, it will focus on the homeless thousands who face deprivations in barracks and on those without short-term prospects among the people living with host families. The Federation, the world’s largest humanitarian network, will continue to monitor the situation and respond to changing need. “We must rehouse the tent dwellers first because they live in the worst conditions,” Arnulv Torbjornsen, the Federation’s Head of Delegation for Indonesia, said today. “But people in barracks are suffering, too, and those living with host families. Overcrowding in particular can lead to tension and discomfort and some movement from host families to barracks is already evident.” Torbjornsen said getting people back home was the Federation’s goal. “The prognosis for the completion of permanent housing remains unclear so we will widen our transitional shelter programme as far as our resources allow. No one should remain in emergency shelter much longer. People must be able to rebuild their lives and they cannot start to do that until they have returned to their home communities. These shelters will provide many with the opportunity.” The 26-square-metre lightweight units were specially designed by Red Cross Red Crescent construction engineers for local conditions, ease of delivery and speed of assembly. The Federation is meeting the cost of manufacture and shipment and passing the shelters on to implementing partners working in Aceh, both Red Cross and Red Crescent societies and other relief agencies. By helping meet the enduring temporary shelter needs across the affected area, the Federation hopes to encourage agencies to maintain focus on delivering good permanent housing as soon as possible. The Federation’s implementing partners are doing preparatory groundwork in the communities and selecting local workers, paid by the Federation, to erect the structures with the help of future residents. The United Nations, with whom the programme was planned, is assisting coordination. For further information, or to set up interviews, please contact: In Banda Aceh, Indonesia: John Sparrow, International Federation Information Coordinator, telephone + 62 812 108 1759 Virgil Grandfield, International Federation Information Delegate, telephone + 62 812 104 8207 The Geneva-based International Federation promotes the humanitarian activities of 183 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies among vulnerable people. By coordinating international disaster relief and encouraging development support, it seeks to prevent and alleviate human suffering. The Federation, National Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross together, constitute the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. © International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies |
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