In February, the ICR team flew from London to Aceh, Indonesia, and the relief for the children began in earnest. Brother Imtiaz Palekar and Sister Nizma Scoffield were supported by ICR local volunteers Sister Indra, Brother Pramudya and cameraman Brother Heri, as well as Brother Fathun Qarib from the Hidayatullah organization. This was the first time that the ICR team entered Lhoong, a subdistrict in Aceh Besar whose population was decimated in the tsunami and which later became the site of our first orphan shelter project. Several other ICR missions were to follow, including a visit by Brother Nawaf Ibrahim to Aceh. One of the most important lessons we learned from these missions was the need to cooperate well with other organizations, and over the months we were assisted in our work for the orphans by the following:

At this stage, ICR cooperated with those organizations mainly to provide emergency relief. Together with Islamic Relief and Hidayatullah, ICR volunteers brought to Lhoong 92 family aid packages (each containing 15 kg of rice, a bottle of cooking oil, baby formula, sweetened milk, salted fish, sugar, dried shredded meat, etc.), 164 cartons containing large bottles of mineral water, 192 packages of hygiene kits (containing a towel, soap, toothpaste, a toothbrush, sanitary napkins, and underwear), 45 cartons of baby formula, 10 cartons of baby food, and 10 cartons of exercise books.

Soon after the ICR team arrived in Lhoong, it became evident that the orphans there needed immediate help. On Wednesday, February 2, 2005, 88 orphans and poor children between the ages of 5 and 16 were transferred to Banda Aceh from Lhoong , which was already overcrowded and where many refugee children were vulnerable to abuse because of the absence of supervision. Lhoong subdistrict head Mahdi said he was letting them go with a heavy heart because while he wanted to keep the children in Lhoong, he did not have enough resources to cater for over 350 orphans from among 1,611 children in Lhoong. Most infrastructures including school buildings were destroyed in the tsunami, and a child had to use only one exercise book for all subjects given in the makeshift classrooms in the tents. ICR responded to the immediate needs of the children, although not all could be met. These included:

• Financial support for living and education costs for approximately 300 orphans and poor children.

• The establishment of an integrated boarding school for the orphans (mid- and long-term).

• Books, school supplies, text books (math, science, Islamic etc.) and IQRA’ (instructions for reading and writing in Arabic) for kindergarten and elementary school children.

• Psychologists and counsellors for traumatized children, teenagers, and teachers. ICR organized, for instance, the visit of a London-based psychologist, Sister Hana Hussain, to Lhoong.

• Toys for pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, and elementary school children.

After the initial findings, ICR initiated a program to provide a temporary library and play center using two tents (8x12m) obtained in Lhoong from UNICEF. To furnish the above project, the following were sourced: four fans for the tents, one or two generators to power systems in the tents because there is no electricity, maintenance costs for the library and play center, fuel for the generators, and living expenses for volunteers.

• On the follow-up trip to Lhoong by Sister Nizma, the team distributed a large consignment of toys and books which for ICR demonstrated greater commitment and further good public relations with the subdistrict.

• Ongoing activities in Lhoong: Hidayatullah volunteerBrother Fathun Qarib, works on several tasks including the creation of a database of orphan profiles and continues to act on behalf of ICR as well as Hidayatullah. He also serves as our contact person.

Following its early stage of involvement in Aceh, ICR identified the need to take immediate action in developing an orphan project in Lhoong since the subdistrict is considered very vulnerable. This project is the orphan shelter, which is being carried out with the full support of Hidayatullah. It was Hidayatullah which proposed the establishment of the Gampong Aneuk Shaleh (literally, “the village of good children” but which we translate into the Family-Friendly Village because it emphasizes the concept of caring for the children with the help of all elements of the community, from the masjid to the school).

The organization also provides the manpower—including the carers and mentors for up to 50 children sheltered in a makeshift dormitory—as well as the curriculum. Unlike the ICR sponsorship scheme in eastern Indonesia,where children remain with their families or relatives while enjoying ICR financial support throughout their schooling years, the orphan project in Aceh relies greatly on the children being cared for and supervised 24 hours a day by our experienced volunteers.

In September 2005, ICR solicited the support and involvement of Hidayatullah people in renting a house in Lhoong for a secretariat or field office; a library and a play center; and a temporary shelter for orphans for the establishment of Gampong Aneuk Shaleh.

The orphans were then invited to stay in the shelter (officiated during Sister Nizma’s trip to Lhoong in September); as of today, a total of 50 orphans are living in the shelter and being cared for by a team under the coordination of Brother Fathun Qarib.

Long-Term Project

In sha’ Allah, ICR and Hidayatullah will build ‘The Friendly Village’ in the Lhoong subdistrcit of Aceh Besar. We created a shelter for the tsunami orphans and the poor in Lhoong and called it the Gampong Aneuk Shaleh (literally, ‘“the village of good children”)’ or simply the Family Friendly Village project. This is actually a development of the Islamic concept which states that it takes a village (including the mosque, the school, the sports hall, the home and the neighbors etc.] to raise one good child or, in Arabic, ‘waladun salih). Why a shelter? Because together we learned that this scheme is the most suitable for Lhoong in sha’ Allah.

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