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Community-Based Recovery Kicks Off
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Photo: USAID/Michael Bak
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Women work together at the community-based recovery program in Aceh Besar wearing shirts bearing the message: “Beudoh Berata Makmu Sejahtera,” which means “Working Together for Peace and Prosperity.”
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Dressed in matching red shirts, a dozen women role up their sleeves and get to work rebuilding a town that was devastated by the December 2004 tsunami. They are from Mukim Blangmee in Aceh Besar, a northwestern district of Indonesia’s Aceh province that was hit especially hard by the tsunami.
The women are participating in the first phase of a community-based rebuilding initiative in their village. Working together with USAID, they are taking charge of rebuilding projects and making sure the initiatives are designed with the needs of the community in mind.
These women work with local leaders to help USAID identify and prioritize the village’s needs. Once those priorities have been set, they get to work physically rebuilding schools, clinics, markets, and even irrigation system.
The idea behind this community-based recovery effort is to help villagers affected by the tsunami agree on priorities and choose the projects that are most important to everyone. With USAID’s help, the community plans, implements, and oversees reconstruction efforts. This makes the projects more transparent and gives the village a sense of ownership in the projects.
USAID has provided over $1.4 million in grants for such projects to 56 tsunami-affected villages, delivering both hope and much-needed income, as villagers come together and work as a community to develop their future.
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