The President was welcomed by the Mayor of Aceh, IRW General Manager Mr. Haroun Atallah, and IR's Head of Mission in Aceh, Khaled Khalifa.

The ceremony took place at a special memorial site constructed by Islamic Relief in the Meuraxa Sub-district of Banda Aceh with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The site allows survivors to remember and honour family members and friends that died in the Tsunami and provides a dignified place for the deceased.

'Growing Stones'

The President placed two special “growing stones” on the site. This is an Acehnese tradition, and, according to legend, these stones will grow over time along with the memories of those that have passed away.

The President was also greeted by 16 orphans from the Meuraxa Sub-district.

The memorial site provides a final resting place for about 14,000 victims of the earthquake-tsunami which represents almost 10% of the total estimated victims of the tsunami in Aceh and about half of the estimated dead in Meuraxa Sub-district.

Meuraxa was one of the most severely affected areas in Aceh. Meuraxa Sub-district had a population of 31,218 before the tsunami; today, 84% are either dead or missing.

Islamic Relief and the UNDP worked with survivors of Meuraxa subdistrict on this community project. The project was designed as part of a wider set of rehabilitation activities implemented by the United Nations agencies to respond to the needs of the communities in Aceh and Nias.

Islamic Relief in Aceh

Islamic Relief is an international humanitarian organization based in Birmingham, UK and is active in over 20 countries.

As well as responding to disasters and emergencies, Islamic Relief promotes sustainable economic and social development by working with local communities - regardless of race, religion or gender. Islamic Relief began its program in Aceh on 27th December 2004, a day after the Tsunami.