Acehnese children to visit Australia

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 09/07/2006 7:39 AM

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Twenty young people from Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam will travel to Australia on Thursday for a nine-day visit designed to give them the opportunity to meet young Australians.

During their stay in Australia, the group will perform Acehnese dances at Australian schools and universities.

The Acehnese children, who will visit several large cities in the country, are also scheduled to meet Australian Prime Minister John Howard, climb Sydney Harbour Bridge and be reunited with volunteers from Australia who traveled to Aceh in the weeks after the Dec. 26, 2004, tsunami.

""I can't wait to see what Australia look like and how its children welcome us,"" a 13-year-old Acehnese girl said after performing a traditional dance at Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Bill Farmer's official residence in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The Australian government's international aid agency, AusAID, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, Muhammadiyah, Indonesia's second largest Muslim organization, and Father Chris Riley's Youth Off The Streets, an Australian charity organization, are working together to support the visit.

""As neighboring countries, we still have many things to learn about each other. That's why we feel very positive about sending young people from Banda Aceh to Australia. They will find out a lot of things about Australia. At the same time they will introduce Australians to their culture and stories that haven't been known,"" Farmer said.

These types of activities, Farmer added, will over time increase Australia and Indonesia's understanding of each other.

The Australian government has committed Rp 1.7 trillion to helping Indonesia recover from the 2004 tsunami, in the areas of health, education, infrastructure, housing and good governance.

After the devastating 2004 tsunami, Youth Off The Streets and Muhammadiyah signed a memorandum of understanding, forming a partnership to provide accommodations, care and education for orphaned survivors.

The collaboration between the two organizations has seen the creation of a permanent child care center in Aceh that has taken care of more than 60 children since early February 2005. Funded by donations from Youth Off The Streets, the center ensures the children's needs are met.

Umar Hadi, the Foreign Ministry's director of public diplomacy, thanked the Australian government for the opportunity provided to the Acehnese children, whom he advised to enjoy their time there.

""The most important thing is to make as many friends as you can,"" he told the children.

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