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Indonesia

Great love in Indonesia

Lamseupeung, INDONESIA - The Tzu Chi foundation has decided to build the second Tzu Chi Great Love Estate in Aceh at Lamseupeung, Indonesia. The location will be closer to the state capital, Banda Aceh, than the Great Love Estate at Neuheun.

The thirteen acre property is situated on plains, which will make it easier to construct than the Estate at Neuheun, which is situated on hills. The property is also surrounded by the Kreung Aceh Lake, making the area pretty in flora. The surrounding area has spawned the possibility of building a residential park there.

The Tzu Chi Great Love Estate in Lamseupeung plans to house seven hundred families that were displaced by the 2004 Southeast Asia Tsunami. To expedite their recovery process, Tzu Chi also plans to build schools, free clinic centers, Muslim mosques, and other public facilities in Aceh.

As Tzu Chi helps the disaster victims by building new homes, other international relief organizations are helping the victims in their unique ways.

International Red Cross has been keeping a detailed record of the survivors, the deceased, and the missing from the Tsunami. The record of 19,000 survivors and 26,000 missing is open to public and also shown in newspapers. This allows friends and relatives to track down the unknown fate of their loved ones. The success rate of finding the missing through the International Red Cross is eighty percent. Many families were united again thanks to the efforts of the International Red Cross.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is providing free oral medication in Janto, a village near Aceh. Together with Tzu Chi volunteers, the WHO is helping local children and adults who have weak immune systems. Six year old Julia was there to get vaccinated. Her mother and two of her brothers died in the disaster, and she now resides with her grandmother. At such a young age, the disaster has forced her to learn life lessons of independence.

Besides medical aid through providing vaccinations, Tzu Chi volunteers also provide nourishment. Eggs and milk are placed directly into the hands of local tsunami survivors. It is important that survivors stay healthy so that they have the strength to continue rebuilding their lives. However, it is the support of these international organizations and the blessings of all worldwide that contributes to the equally important emotional and spiritual strength of the survivors.

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