13 February 2009: After Eight Years, IRC Wraps Up its Indonesia Programme

An economic crash in 1997, the fall of President Suharto in 1998, and the subsequent East Timor war and conflict in Aceh had left 450,000 Indonesians displaced even before the devastating earthquake and tsunami struck the region in 2004.

Operating in Indonesia since 1999, the International Rescue Committee used its local knowledge and expertise to respond to the disaster within days. The IRC has continued to work in Aceh, the region closest to the epicentre where 150,000 died and 500,000 lost their homes, and also responded to the May 2006 earthquake in central Java that killed 6,000 and left a million homeless.

The IRC is helping local communities identify priorities and implement recovery and development plans. Working with diverse groups, we have created programmes to address general and reproductive health, the environment, education, child protection and gender-based violence.

In addition, the IRC has been the lead agency of the Consortium for Assistance and Recovery towards Development in Indonesia (CARDI). Established in 2001, CARDI was a coalition of international non-governmental organisations - the IRC, Norwegian Refugee Council and Stichting Vluchteling - that share the common mandate of supporting refugees and displaced persons worldwide. Through CARDI, the IRC has carried out programmes in Sulawesi, the Malukus and Yogyakarta.