Home  »  Campaigns  »  Asia Tsunami: 3 Years On  »  New homes for 4,500 People

After the disaster the most vulnerable people were those who did not own their own land and had been renting accommodations or squatting on unused ground.

To date, Islamic Relief has built over 846 permanent homes throughout Aceh. Providing new homes for displaced people has been one of Islamic Relief’s largest projects in Aceh, with more than 4,500 people currently living in new homes. All the new housing settlements have basic amenities including roads, water sources, waste disposal systems, green spaces and public areas.

The new houses have all been built to be earthquake-resistant, limiting the damage that future disasters could cause. The construction of new homes has also been integrated with the provision of education, income generation projects and healthcare services to encourage people to leave their temporary accommodations and to ensure the sustainability of the new settlements.

Our approach towards providing new homes has been participatory and driven by the needs of the community. From planning to construction, the local community has been involved in every step of the process, participating in decisions concerning the use of the land, planning of the site and design of the houses.

Syuhada’s story

It was the day of the tsunami when Syuhada and his wife were on their honeymoon, enjoying a walk along the beach. Suddenly they began to feel the ground shake violently beneath them. 

‘”After the earthquake my wife and I decided to go back to Banda Aceh by motorbike to see if there was any damage,” Syuhada said. ‘We were worried that buildings may have collapsed.”

While on their way back to Banda Aceh the full scale of the disaster was revealed. People, cars and motorbikes were blocking the roads, buildings had collapsed and everywhere people were panicking.

Devastating news

Syuhada and his wife desperately started to search for his family, but ten days later they found no trace of his missing relatives. Then came the devastating news that Syuhada’s uncle, aunt and cousins had drowned during the disaster. Distressed by the loss, Syuhada made a two-day journey to the village of Meulaboh to search for his father.

In Meulaboh Syuhada found his father and two of his brothers alive but was told that his mother, sister and another brother had died.

With the family home in Meulaboh destroyed, Syuhada and his wife returned to Banda Aceh with no choice but to live in barracks in the village of Kajhu Indah. This village was completely destroyed by the tsunami.

They were still living in this temporary accommodation when Syuhada’s wife gave birth to their first child in late 2006.

Moving into a new home

In April 2005, Islamic Relief began the construction of more than 150 new homes in Kajhu Indah.  The community was actively involved in the process and many villagers also received construction training. 

By February 2007, Syuhada and more than 150 other families were able to move into their new homes, each with its own clean water source and sanitation facilities.

Although it will take time for families to readjust to their new village, gradually Syuhada and the rest of the community are settling into life in their new homes.