Indonesia

Background

• At the time of the December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam was embroiled in a resurgent conflict between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian national government.
• The tsunami devastated Aceh, killing almost 4% of the total population and leaving tens of thousands of children without families or homes.
• Rebuilding homes since the tsunami has proven an easier task than fostering a social structure deeply supportive of children’s rights. As the Tsunami reconstruction projects of large international NGOs near completion, there remains a tremendous need for grassroots, long-term development projects focused on child protection and the building of cohesive communities in the post-conflict environment.

What We Do

Right To Play delivers training of trainers workshops to community volunteers who, in turn, implement structured play activities for children. These community volunteers include sub-district level social workers, teachers, orphanage caregivers and sports coaches. The main program resources they deliver to children focus on holistic child development, particularly Red Ball Child Play and Early Child Play. With respect to the east coast expansion, there is also a new emphasis on the new Team Up! program resource, which focuses on peace building in the post-conflict environment.

So Far

Over 8000 children attended Red Ball Child Play activities at 5 Child Centers in 2007 and over 1500 different children attended special events such as the ‘Play Day’ for children displaced by the high tide flooding emergency in Meulaboh. We have also constructed safe, multi-function sports courts for these 5 centres and provided them with sports equipment.