Team visits Tsunami and Earthquake-Hit School Reconstruction Programs

February 28, 2007

Team visits Tsunami and Earthquake-Hit School Reconstruction Programs A symbolic "brick-laying" ceremony for the construction of a 1,000 student school in Jogjakarta, Indonesia was attended by members of Qatar-based charity, Reach Out To Asia (ROTA) last week.  The six-member team was undertaking a five-day field trip to review progress on their current projects in Indonesia, a country which has suffered from a number of natural disasters in recent years, including a devastating tsunami and a major earthquake. The school is located in the village of Bayat Klaten,  30km south-east of the densely populated city of Jogjakarta on the island of Java, where 6,500 people were killed and over 1 million people lost their homes after the May 2006 earthquake which measured 6.2 on the Richter scale. ROTA has pledged to secure access to education for children affected by this disaster through the reconstruction of an integrated primary and secondary school facility, and the provision of all necessary equipment and educational material.
ConseUt enim During a ceremony attended by local dignitaries and media, Sheikha Sara bint Hamad Al Thani, Program Coordinator for the organization's ROTAQ activities, laid a brick in the wall of the main school building, along with Mr Sunarma SE, Regent of Klaten, Mr Djoko Sutrisno, Head of the Department of Education for Klaten, Mr Drs. Sugito M.Si, Head of the Department of Education for Jogjakarta, Mrs Omnia Nour, Director of ROTA, and Mr Bob Yanyuar, Chairman of Titian Foundation, ROTA's delivery partners for the project. To improve the quality of education in crisis-affected countries by promoting new or improved teaching techniques and tools, facilitating the sharing of expertise among educators, and helping to ensure that schooling prepares young people for the realities of local and global economies.		Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, Qatar Foundation is built on the principle that a nation's greatest resource is the potential of its people, and it aims to develop that potential internationally through a network of centers devoted to progressive education, research and community welfare. Together with partners, volunteers, and local communities, ROTA works to ensure that people affected by crisis across Asia and around the world have continuous access to relevant and high-quality primary and secondary education.

A symbolic "brick-laying" ceremony for the construction of a 1,000 student school in Jogjakarta, Indonesia was attended by members of Qatar-based charity, Reach Out To Asia (ROTA) last week.  The six-member team was undertaking a five-day field trip to review progress on their current projects in Indonesia, a country which has suffered from a number of natural disasters in recent years, including a devastating tsunami and a major earthquake.

The school is located in the village of Bayat Klaten,  30km south-east of the densely populated city of Jogjakarta on the island of Java, where 6,500 people were killed and over 1 million people lost their homes after the May 2006 earthquake which measured 6.2 on the Richter scale. ROTA has pledged to secure access to education for children affected by this disaster through the reconstruction of an integrated primary and secondary school facility, and the provision of all necessary equipment and educational material.

During a ceremony attended by local dignitaries and media, Sheikha Sara bint Hamad Al Thani, Program Coordinator for the organization's ROTAQ activities, laid a brick in the wall of the main school building, along with Mr Sunarma SE, Regent of Klaten, Mr Djoko Sutrisno, Head of the Department of Education for Klaten, Mr Drs. Sugito M.Si, Head of the Department of Education for Jogjakarta, Mrs Omnia Nour, Director of ROTA, and Mr Bob Yanyuar, Chairman of Titian Foundation, ROTA's delivery partners for the project.

Sheikha Sara bint Hamad Al Thani lays a brick in the school wall at Bayat School in Jogjakarta, Central Java.

Attendees were entertained by the children of Bayat School who performed a number of traditional Javanese dances and demonstrated their skills in the local crafts of batik and terracotta pottery making.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed with the school for a 5-year educational enhancement program which will involve teacher training and development of the curriculum.

The delegation also visited Lamreh village in Banda Aceh province, at the northern tip of the island of Sumatra, where the unprecedented December 2005 tsunami leveled entire towns across 800km of coastline, killing 132,000 people and displacing more than half a million Acehnese people. ROTA has constructed a Learning Center which will serve as a library for the 260 local schoolchildren, as well as a learning resource for the entire community - encouraging a passion for reading, connecting them with the outside world and enriching them with new knowledge. The children will be offered regular guided learning activities such as reading time for the very young, book club, keyboarding skills and general knowledge.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Mrs Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, wife of the Chairman of BRR NAD-Nias, the Indonesian government's agency for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Aceh region, Mr Muhamad Daud, Head of Aceh Besar Education Department, Mr Muhammad, Headmaster of Lamreh Primary School and Mr Wien Muldian, Head Librarian from Department of Education in Jakarta.

Schools in both regions will be twinned with local schools in Qatar during the next few months.

Sharing a seat in the temporary classroom, Sheikha Sara bint Hamad Al Thani interacts with children of Bayat School.

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