Watch video of the first pre-cut, panelized house to be built for tsunami survivors through a new partnership between Britco and Save the Children.

Westport, Conn. (October 6, 2006) — Save the Children is working to improve its construction programs in Indonesia following an extensive internal investigation which found serious problems, including the use of untreated timber.

Save the Children has announced a partnership with a Canadian firm, Britco Structures, to provide pre-cut, panelized houses to Indonesian families who remain without permanent housing after an earthquake and tsunami killed over 160,000 people in Aceh province, Indonesia in December 2004.

Current plans call for shipments of 300 homes which are expected to begin arriving in Indonesia this fall. The houses are made of durable SPF (spruce, pine and fir) wood and treated with a wood preservative to prevent termite damage.

"Save the Children has worked in Aceh province for 30 years and remains committed to the long-term development of the province. We deeply regret delays in this program and their impact on the Indonesian people,” said Charles MacCormack, president and CEO, Save the Children USA. "We have dismissed all construction supervisors who were not doing their jobs properly and are recruiting additional construction professionals. We are committed to correcting these problems and will replace or repair all homes already built that fail to meet our construction standards,” he said.

Save the Children and Britco unveiled the first assembled Britco home at Britco's headquarters in Vancouver at a news conference in late July. "We anticipate it will require communities, once trained, approximately four to five days to erect each home," MacCormack said. "Sites are now being cleared in Aceh province in anticipation of the new housing."

MacCormack noted that the new contract with Britco had a number of advantages, including:

• Britco is an established building specialist with sufficient capacity to deliver high volumes of housing units.
• Britco has the ability to produce a design very similar to the original design based on traditional Acehnese architecture. The homes will be durable —  designed and erected to better withstand the impact of an earthquake.
• Britco is an approved supplier of sustainable timber for the government reconstruction agency, BRR.

Save the Children also has received support from the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), which has agreed to provide training to staff to supervise and train communities on how to assemble the houses in Aceh province.

Ken Baker, CEO of the British Columbia Forestry Innovation Investment group, which helped initiate Save the Children's partnership with the BCIT, said, "The Government of British Columbia is pleased to be funding the BCIT training program as a way of ensuring the Britco houses will serve the people of Aceh for many years to come."

The agency’s ongoing inspections to date have found that of 708 homes currently under contract, 64 homes need to be replaced, 507 require repairs and 137 are in various stages of completion, some requiring additional repairs.