Where We Work

Current Scope and Geographical Reach

Chance International is running very successful education, health, child welfare and community support programs in the area of Aceh Besar just outside Banda Aceh. Natascha Barrymore, the charity's founder, lives in Lam Asan, a village with a population of c.400. Since Chance International was established in 2008, the neighbouring villages of Lampineung, Kling, Lamboui, and Lam Gapang have been brought into our Programs and we have been inundated with requests to expand further with the region, as far away as 150km.

Why Aceh Besar Needs Help

The district of Aceh Besar was one of the worse hit by the Tsunami, prior to which it suffered from 30 years of internal conflict. Many of the men in the area have been killed and families separated. Severely impoverished families are obliged to give up their children and place them in orphanages to avoid starvation. According to a report published by Save the Children, 83.37% of children in orphanages have families, 42% of children with both parents living.

Most of the local businesses, farms and livelihoods were destroyed by the tsunami. The villages in the region now rely almost exclusively on the local brick factories for employment, where women work in dire conditions for which they are paid €1.30 a day, taking their children with them as they have nowhere else to leave them. No prospects for improvement or advancement of any kind exist. Parents want the older children to work in the brick factory to contribute to the family income rather than drain it with school uniforms, books and costs associated with schooling.

The factories are closing at an alarming rate which is already resulting in entire families being left with no income at all. This will impact directly on families being able to pay for any of the costs associated with children attending school.

There are no day care facilities, kindergartens, secondary schools or community activities. The absence of ready access to any sort of education has rendered the second generation illiterate and therefore barred them from any opportunity to lift themselves out of the extreme poverty in which they live.

We have been inundated with requests to expand our scope geographically and set up more of our programs in the region.

To learn about the effect of the Tsunami and 30 years of conflict on the district, please click here.

For more information on Banda Aceh, please click here.