ALTHOUGH SPARTAN, THE FAJAR HIDAYAH INTEGRATED BOARDING SCHOOL (above) is appreciated by the students, many of whom also call it home. There are dormitories for students and teachers, classrooms, a training centre, an information and resource centre, an office and a multi-purpose hall. -- PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO

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But for 16-year-old Teuku Hamzah, this is the best place ever.

'At least I can call this school my own. It is a luxury compared to what we had in the tents and barracks,' said the Secondary Three student, who lost his whole family in the tsunami on Dec 26, 2004.

Hamzah is one of about 250 Acehnese orphans who study and live in the new Fajar Hidayah Integrated Boarding School built by the Singapore International Foundation (SIF).

He and other students were plucked out of refugee camps across the province within days of the tragedy by relief workers of Yayasan Fajar Hidayah, a private foundation based in Jakarta.

The foundation collaborated with the SIF in building the school.

Hamzah's schoolmate Irawani, 14, who lost her parents, two brothers and a sister in the tsunami, cherishes the school as much as he does. A relative had taken her to the Yayasan as 'I have no one to take care of me'.

The 250 children are just a small proportion of the estimated 40,000 children in Aceh who became orphans overnight after the tidal waves swept their families and homes away.

Yayasan's founder is Mr Mirdas Eko Yora, a 37-year-old businessman from Padang, who heads a group of companies dealing in construction, transportation and food.

He said that he went to Aceh within days of the tragedy where he found about 600 orphans who were staying in makeshift tents.

As he was not allowed by the authorities to place them in his three schools in Jakarta because of concern over child smuggling, he decided to set up his own orphanage-cum-school in Aceh.

Before the new school was built, the children were housed in a dilapidated two-storey building in Lamboro on the outskirts of Banda Aceh.

For two years, the children attended school, prayed and ate together, within the confines of a handful of leased rooms on the top floor of the Madrasah Ulumul Quran, an Islamic boarding school.

At night, the boys slept on mattresses laid out on the floor while the girls packed into another small house nearby.

They shared the cramped quarters with over a dozen teachers, many of whom came from Jakarta, to replace the Aceh teachers who had died in the tsunami.

Mr Mirdas' wife, Hajah Draga Rangkuti, a patron of the Yayasan, said the children are traumatised by their loss.

'At night, in their dreams, the children cry out for their lost mothers and fathers. The images of death and pain are still with many of them.'

The search for a new home for the children led the couple to the SIF. The school, which cost $5.3 million, was funded mostly by the Tidal Waves Asia Fund, managed by a committee headed by the Singapore Red Cross.

SIF contributed almost $400,000 from its Tsunami Affected Communities Fund, which was raised through donations from individuals and companies in Singapore.

The school, which was officially opened by Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo on Nov 6, was built in a record time of slightly over a year through a fast-track programme by Singapore contractor Antara Koh and its Indonesian partner PT Waskita Karya.

Stretching across 2 ha of land the size of six football fields, the school is located in the lush greenery of Blang Bintang, on the outskirts of the capital. It enjoys a breathtaking view of the mountain of Bukit Barisan and paddy fields.

There are dormitories for students and teachers, classrooms, a training centre, an information and resource centre, an office and a multi-purpose hall.

The school can house up to 600 boarding students and provide places for another 600 day students aged between six and 18. The school started operating in March and the curriculum includes religious studies.

Secondary 2 student Akmal, 16, said: 'We now have a proper place to live instead of having to shift from place to place.'

Hajjah Draga said the school 'represents more than physical security. It also gives them more confidence about the future'.

The Yayasan's assistant director, Mr Ade Candra, who supervises the school, said that the school would bring a sense of normalcy to the children's lives.

He said: 'We are working hard to provide better facilities for the school. Yes, this would include providing the students with tables and chairs in the classrooms.'

salim@sph.com.sg