On the outskirts of Banda Aceh, Ibu Nurida, her young daughter and sister sift through the rubble of their old neighbourhood. There’s almost nothing left. Their home lies in ruins. Many of their family members perished in the tsunami.
But like hundreds of thousands of people affected by the catastrophe, Nurida wants to get on with her life. In the temporary camp that’s now her home, she’s earning a living producing lead weights for fishing nets. She melts and moulds lead into chains to sell to fishing shops around Banda Aceh.
Ibu Nurida
I like what I’m doing. It’s better than having to beg for help from others every day. I don’t want to beg, I just want to have my own business.
Through business start-up courses and vocational training, the International Labour Organization is helping tsunami survivors get back to work. Small grants go to restart businesses on the condition that they create jobs.
The Indonesian government realized early on that job creation was central to any reconstruction effort. Just weeks after the disaster, the ILO set up the first in a network of Employment Service Centers to help tens of thousands of people looking for work.
Peter Van Rooij: ILO project coordinator
We estimated an approximate 600.000 jobs lost because of the tsunami. Then, we were requested by the government to revise the strategy to get people back to jobs. We provide direct support through employment services, vocational training and helping people how to start their own business.
Pak Tamizi lost seven family members when the waves wiped out his fishing village. Replacing the lost fleet of boats became a priority for the community now he oversees one of several projects that create jobs for the village and enable people to return to the places where they used to live.
Pak Tamizi
In two weeks, we hope that the boats are done and can be given to the people. We will give them to the people so they can go back to making a living.
Ibu Nerida and her family hope one day to return to their village as well, putting tragedy behind them and looking towards the future.
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