New Tsunami system may help children in Indonesia

12 Nov 2008

A new tsunami early warning system has been launched in Indonesia, designed to give people in coastal areas enough time to escape tsunamis before they reach land. It has been nearly four years since the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami in the Indian Ocean killed a quarter of a million people.

As with most major disasters, SOS Children was quick to respond to the tsunami devastation and welcomes this news because children were among the most vulnerable victims. Many were separated from their families, orphaned and left without any shelter, food or medical care. Relief and reconstruction efforts aimed at rebuilding the livelihoods of affected children and families began immediately.

In total, 12,700 Indonesian children and their families benefited from our long-term tsunami relief work. We constructed new homes for more than 200 families, built a community centre which includes a primary school for 320 children, a hall, a library, a nursery school and a small mosque. We also built a much needed community clinic in Banda Aceh where 190 families now receive the health care they need. In response to the numbers of children orphaned by the tsunami, we built three new SOS Children’s Villages which now care for hundreds of children.

Experts have warned that the new system will not protect the whole of Indonesia, and that places like the province of Aceh, are still vulnerable. That is why, even though SOS Children is not a designated emergency relief organisation, we will be ready and able to respond should another disaster happen. We will make sure that children and their families can get the material, medical and emotional care they need during or after a disaster strikes.

Relevant Countries: Indonesia.