Providing Scholarships to Students Made Homeless by the Tsunami in Aceh
By Ian Gill BANDA ACEH, INDONESIA (16 March 2005) - Students were getting together again at the campus of Syiah Kuala University late last month, registering for the March semester. But there was a somber undertone to the reunions, as they spoke of absent friends - those who had been lost to the tsunami on 26 December 2004. In addition to the death toll, over 70,000 students - and 4,800 teachers - lost their homes in the tsunami and moved to refugee camps. Nineteen-year-old Nur Azizali, registering for her third semester of mathematics and physics, says seven friends and one of her lecturers died after the giant wave inundated much of this city. Nur is standing by a notice board with advertisements for missing loved ones. One asks about the whereabouts of Farida, an education student. Another offers a reward for information about Roni, who was in civil engineering. "It's not easy to come back to class in such circumstances," says Nur. Nur was relatively fortunate - her rental accommodation had windows and a door damaged by the tsunami, but is still livable, she says. But others who lost their homes may not be able to resume their studies. To help affected students, ADB will use part of $6 million in loan savings from an ongoing education project to provide scholarships. "The funds will help bring these students back to school and they will also be used to engage academics from other universities to replace teaching staff lost in the disaster, and to repair civil works," says Staffan Synnerstrom, Governance Advisor at ADB's Indonesia Resident Mission in Jakarta. The loan savings will come from an ADB-supported higher education project to increase the number of skilled professionals and technologists, says Mr. Synnerstrom. He notes that, with project people and a system in place, funds can be quickly disbursed. In addition, ADB will provide millions of dollars in new grant funds from its ADB Asian Tsunami Fund to rehabilitate damaged schools and build new ones in Aceh Province. The fund has earmarked $300 million in grants for Indonesia. Some 1,260 schools were destroyed or severely damaged by the tsunami in Aceh and North Sumatra. Syiah Kuala University, one of the major institutions for higher learning in Banda Aceh, lost 15% of its staff - 106 academics (including 12 PhD holders) and 108 administrative staff of a total of 1,400 - in the calamity. "We are trying to replace staff from other universities in the country," says Rector Abdi A. Wahab. "But it's not easy. Candidates ask how long they will be here, and they express concern about housing and security." Providing student accommodation "is a top priority," says Dr. Mustanir, Dean of Mathematics and Natural Science at Syiah Kuala. Many aid agencies have discussed assistance, he notes, and one Turkish group has nearly completed a student dormitory. Near the university, the laughter of children wafts from a playground. At this kindergarten, the number of children is also sharply reduced as a result of the tsunami. "We lost 10 parents and 15 children," says Suwarni, a teacher. "Only 70 children out of 100 have come back. Some didn't want to return, asking if there would be water at the school." One five-year-old girl, Sabrina, prefers to play alone. "She saw her mother carried away by the water," says the teacher, in a low voice. "She keeps asking, 'Where is my mother?'" About ADB | 
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