Hundreds of schoolchildren helped back to school by Red Cross

This education programme – which ultimately aims to reach 5,000 schoolchildren is one of a number of successful projects brought about by the Irish Red Cross in countries devastated by the tsunami.

The programme is supporting families financially to ensure that their teenage children are not drawn into the labour force involved in reconstruction, particularly in Banda Aceh, the most northerly tip of Indonesia which bore the brunt of the tsunami. It also aims to reinvest money in the community by giving people financial independence.

The Irish Red Cross is also funding a Radio Programme as part of a wider communications project to involve local people in Banda Aceh and the surrounding region in the massive tsunami recovery programme. In Indonesia alone some 128,645 people died, 37,063 are now presumed dead and over 500,000 were displaced by the tsunami that claimed the lives of more than 200,000 people when it struck 12 countries on St Stephen’s Day 2004.

Dubliner, Amy Tyndall, leaves next week to take over the management of the education programme on her first overseas mission. She has worked on a number of projects for the Irish Red Cross in Ireland during the last four years. These projects include overseeing the distribution of money to people whose homes were severely damaged or destroyed by floods and liaising with community groups supporting refugees and asylum-seekers around Ireland.

Amy (27) is originally from Sutton. She holds a first class Masters degree in human rights law from NUI Galway and previously obtained an honours degree in law from UCD.

Photocall:, Friday 1 September 2006 at 10.30am at the Head Office of the Irish Red Cross, 16 Merrion Square, Dublin 2.

For further information contact Lauren Howe. Tel: 01 – 642 4612/ 01 – 642 4600

Pictures will be available from Lensmen after the event. Tel: 01 – 454 8160.

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