Tuesday, April 17, 2007

MEDAN, North Sumatra: The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has provided US$20 million in funds for school building reconstruction and training courses for 1,400 teachers in Nias, which was hit by a powerful earthquake two years ago.

Raoul De Torcy of UNICEF said that out of the assistance, 40 percent would be used for physical construction after nearly 80 percent of school buildings were devastated during the disaster.

Raoul said UNICEF would build 960 classes and 35 integrated health service posts, including service centers for children and pregnant women.

“The construction of the project will be handed by UNICEF’s contractors to ensure its quality,” Raoul said at a meeting with North Sumatra Governor Rudolf Pardede in Medan over the weekend. — JP

Source: The Jakarta Post, 17 April 2007