IOM has launched two new projects to provide special housing for
handicapped people and new livelihoods for survivors exactly one
year after the devastating earthquake that struck Yogyakarta and
Central Java in May 2006.

The earthquake, which measured 6.3 on the Richter scale,
destroyed 300,000 buildings and left 1.2 million people homeless in
Indonesia's most densely populated region. Almost 6,000 people died
and the local economy was shattered.

This week IOM will start to build 80 permanent steel frame
houses designed for people suffering from complete or partial
paralysis. The project, funded by the Netherlands Red Cross, will
also provide follow up care, including medical care, psychotherapy,
occupational therapy and psychosocial support through experienced
local partner organizations.

A second project, funded by the Australian aid agency AusAid,
will focus on restoring livelihoods in four villages in Bantul and
Klaten that previously depended on home-based roof tile production.
The earthquake destroyed their kilns, depriving many families of
their main source of income.

IOM, working with AusAid's implementing agency RHK, plans to
re-start tile production facilities in the four villages and train
families in more efficient and environmentally-friendly production
processes. It also plans to encourage villagers to work together
through professionally-managed cooperatives.

Over the past year, IOM has constructed nearly 15,000 temporary
shelters and built 100 permanent steel frame houses for earthquake
survivors in Yogyakarta and Central Java.

In the immediate aftermath of the quake it provided transport
and logistical support to 165 organizations, including the
government, the UN and international and local NGOs with a fleet of
170 trucks.

It also distributed 250,000 tarpaulins, blankets and sleeping
mats to survivors. IOM medical staff and volunteers coordinated the
return home of over 6,000 people from hospitals throughout the
affected area.

For more information, please contact:

Manfred Profazi

IOM Yogyakarta

Tel +62 274746 04 76

E-mail: "mailto:mprofazi@iom.int">mprofazi@iom.int