PEOPLE-DRIVEN RECONSTRUCTION OF LIVES
by Uplink Banda Aceh and Gabriela Sauter

When disasters strike, leaving homes and lives wiped out, the physical reconstruction of buildings and houses is not the only means to help survivors rebuild their lives. In a way, during post-disaster times, architectural end results are no longer the sole concern; it is bringing back the community economy, culture and spirit, driven by the affected people themselves, that becomes equally, if not more, important. After the 2004 tsunami, Uplink Banda Aceh, an NGO, beyond providing emergency relief, intensively promoted and supported community organisations' "reconstruction of life"—aside from just the physical reconstruction of houses but also livelihood development, arts and culture, health and village redevelopment—for a network of 23 villages.

On December 26, 2004, a tsunami the height of a palm tree struck the city district of Banda Aceh on the island of Sumatra (situated on the western tip of Indonesia in the Indian Ocean; the city nearest to the earthquake's epicentre), leaving a survival rate of as low as 10 percent in some of its kampungs (traditional villages). Uplink Banda Aceh (UBA) was established shortly after the tsunami to provide post-disaster emergency relief, and later encourage and support people-driven "reconstruction of life".

The disaster altered, and for the most part destroyed, the physical dimensions of Banda Aceh (and its neighbouring villages)—from houses, landscape and infrastructure to hospitals, schools and mosques. However, "Banda Aceh is a story of two tsunamis", says Wardah Hafidz, director of the Urban Poor Consortium (UPC). The second 'tsunami' refers to the destruction of social structures that entailed from the surge of unplanned, unregulated and uncoordinated international aid that came pouring into the city shortly after the first tsunami struck.

Pressures on international donors to spend money, with the belief that using contractors was the most effective way to construct housing, and an over-concentration on physical reconstruction meant that donor/aid organisations reconstructed villages according to their agendas, resulting in a fundamental change in the social attitudes and structures of the surviving communities. In addition to these challenges, communities had to face a government trying to enforce a 2-kilometre no-build zone between the coast and what would be the settlements. It was this factor that gave Uplink a basis for its work, since its local chapters have never been involved in construction processes; it provides an entry point for the organisation to facilitate the rebuilding of communities.

UBA began by ensuring people's basic needs were being met, then collected data regarding the survivors and organised people so they could start making their own decisions, planning their own communities, and reconstructing their lives according to their needs and priorities. This "reconstruction of life" approach means UBA does not take the physical aspects of development as the end, but as a means; housing and infrastructure are seen as entry points for the building of people's capacity; for their participation; for trauma-healing; and for their self-determination and independence

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