Reconstructing life after the Tsunami: the work of Uplink Banda Aceh in Indonesia

The global response to the 2004 tsunami that devastated coastal Asia was rapid; more funds were donated for this single disaster than for all others of this nature the entire previous year. But this flood of money and international aid has in fact made integrated reconstruction a very difficult task. The NGO Uplink Banda Aceh (UBA) was established shortly after the tsunami largely destroyed the infrastructure and a large proportion ofthe population of Banda Aceh Province in Indonesia. This paper describes UBA’s work, which began with post-disaster emergency relief, but quickly moved into promoting and supporting community organisations in a network of 23 villages as they tried to rebuild their lives.

Local organizations