Unions provide health and engineering assistance in Aceh

"Unionists in Australia can be very proud of the work they are assisting through Indonesian trade unions to help the victims of the tsunami in Aceh" said Peter Jennings, the Executive Officer of Union Aid Abroad – APHEDA upon his return yesterday from a 10-day visit to Aceh.

Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA, the overseas aid arm of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, is assisting the Indonesian branch of the International Union of Foodworkers, the Global Union Federation which links unions representing workers in all aspects of food and agricultural production. The IUF - Indonesia has now sent three teams comprising volunteer Indonesian doctors, nurses, paramedics and engineers from IUF affiliated unions to Meulaboh, formerly a city of 78,000 people on the west coast of Aceh, to assist those affected by the tsunami. Each team of approximately 10 volunteers has served there for two weeks.

The Indonesian doctors and paramedics with the IUF team have focused their efforts on the region south of Meulaboh where many of the people are contract or casual workers for palm oil plantations.

"The trade union movement can be justifiably proud of the excellent work done by these volunteers with the IUF. The medical teams have provided essential emergency health services such as treating wounds and cuts and inoculating for cholera, typhoid and tetanus, as well as providing a free general health service and advice to the people for perhaps the first time in their lives" Mr Jennings said. Australian trade unions have been generous in their donations to assist tsunami survivors, and their money, together with contributions from the general Australian public to Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA, are now being used to good effect in Aceh.

The engineering teams have played a no less crucial role. One prerequisite for people to be able to return to their homes and rebuild is access to clean water, and almost all the wells were filled with putrid, black water from the tsunami. The engineering teams has pumped out hundreds of wells, removed the rubble, mud and sludge with buckets and scrubbed the insides with chlorine. When the well refills, a sample is sent to the UN in Meulaboh for testing to ensure it is now safe for drinking.

Also in Aceh were Ms Riyong Kim, a development specialist with Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA in East Timor, and Mr Saut Manalu from the International Union of Foodworkers (IUF) Indonesian Branch. In Aceh, Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA also explored options for a longer-term development program through vocational skills training and capacity building for local community organisations.

For further information, please contact Peter Jennings on 0409 047 353

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Last Modified: Wednesday, 16-Nov-2005 16:05:18 EST
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