World Vision has joined with a local community in the Indonesian province of Aceh to rebuild a school that was destroyed four times in five years.

The elementary school, SD Alue Mie in Lamno subdistrict, about 60 kilometres southwest of the provincial capital of Banda Aceh, was burned to the ground three times during the 30 year conflict; in 1999, 2002 and 2003. A year later it was completely destroyed by the December 2004 tsunami.

This week its long suffering students are back in the classroom sitting at brand new desks thanks to support from World Vision. Their new school has six classrooms, a staff room, modern toilet facilities; a warehouse and a prayer room for students and staff.

Last week, World Vision also handed over another permanent school in the same sub-disrict, "SD Rumpet".

The tsunami killed nearly 50 percent of students in the two schools. Since June 2005, the survivors have been studying in prefabricated buildings provided by World Vision. In addition to constructing the schools, World Vision provided the students with desks, textbooks, stationery, uniforms and sports equipment.

World Vision has made a significant contribution to the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the education sector in Aceh and is building 15 schools and two kindergartens. Besides providing thousands of students with school kits, World Vision has also trained more than 500 teachers as part of the "Creating Learning Communities for Children" education program. This program seeks to actively engage communities in their children's education and trains teachers to provide more active and joyful classes that motivate the students.

Seven months after the tsunami, the Indonesian Government signed a peace agreement with the independence fighters the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). Since August 2005, the province has remained peaceful and it's population and now looking forward to a better future.