Saturday 27 January

Hurray! The diary is up to date at last. I am actually writing on the day I am meant to be - that's a novel experience!

Hags and I have both woken with stinky colds - hopefully that's all they are.

Must rush - the taxi is coming to get us at 8.15 (the Muslim Aid car is not available this morning) to take us to the TK Aisyah Kindergarten in Ulee Kareng. We are very much looking forward to this session as we had a really lovely time there in April. Will write more later.....

Performing for the cameras

Our taxi found the TK Asiayah Kindergarten in Ullee Kareng OK. When we visited in April, the kindergarten was operating out of a house, but now there is a splendid, new, purpose-built edifice donated by Muslim Aid. We arrive a bit early and watch the 100 tiny children follow their pink-uniformed teachers in a gymnastics-style dance for about 20 minutes. Farid and Shufik arrive accompanied by Fadlullah, the head of Muslim Aid and a gentleman from Bangla Desh. Muslim Aid are video-ing the whole event and there is also a television team recording. Shame we are both feeling so grotty - still, we look well as we are a bit brown, and we are good at pretending to be fine when we're not.

The badge-making goes well and very calmly. There is no space for parachute games, so we then go straight into the show. I operate the sound system from outside the window so as not to get in the way of the cameras. They are very tiny children, so it is not the easiest show in the world, but it goes fine, with some very funny moments. Fadlullah, Hags and I all do interviews for the television afterwards. It will apparently be on the news at 4.30 this afternoon, but we will be at Barak Bakoy - I think someone from Muslim Aid is going to record it for us.

Plans for houses

We go to the So Long Coffee Shop nearby with Fadlullah, and I tell him that I will recommend to Michael that he gives some of the remaining Festival money to Muslim Aid to build permanent houses: I said they must all be for tsunami victims, that they should ideally be for the poorest families with children, and that if they could be for people currently living in barracks, so much the better. Michael is a country man, so if they could be in the country, that would be great, and if the government were to give land, then ideally they should be for families who don't have land and will have difficulty getting a house from any other agency. As soon as I get outline approval from Michael, Fadlullah will go and see BRR and discuss with them and come back to us with a precise proposal. The permanent houses will cost approximately 70 million rupiahs (approximately £4,000) each, which compares well with other NGO's houses. They really are very well built - we have seen both the brick and cement houses and the traditional wooden houses (which are made with very good quality legal local wood). The brick and cement houses are 42 sqare metres and the wooden houses 48 square metres, larger than the average. They all have reflective insulation under their roofs, which make a very real difference to the temperature in the house, and they all have excellent biofill sewage systems. Both sorts of houses are excellent - Haggis and I prefer the wooden houses, as they are more attractive and there is more opportunity for people to personalise them. They are built on stilts, so the land underneath becomes useful storage space or additional living space, and there is room to build on a verandah at the back (and some of the 48 square metres can also be used for verandah space if people so wish - there is a lot of flexibility). Families can choose which sort of house they want - wooden or brick and cement. The wooden houses only take 3-4 weeks to build once it is clear where they can be built, and the brick and cement houses take 3-4 months. I will email Michael shortly with this recommendation and see what he thinks. How lovely to be able to provide permanent homes for these people!

Best in the world?

The Acehnese believe that Ullee Kareng coffee is the best in the world (and it is certainly delicious), so we buy 2 kilos from the cafe (40,000 rupiahs, about £2.30 a kilo!) to take home for ourselves and as presents for friends.

Back to Green Paradise by 1.00 and catch up with the emails before Farid and Shufik arrive to collect us at 3.30 to take us to Barak Bakoy. We also prepare the remainder of the badges - there are 517 left for the last 3 sessions. Good planning Bella!

Pressing on that machine

There are lots and lots of children waiting at Barak Bakoy when we arrive and I leap straight into badge-making mode as I am going to need to get a move on if I am to get them all done. It goes pretty smoothly and I get through the 187 badges needed by dint of pressing on that machine the whole way through the parachute games and the whole show. A great show - Hags really shines, and the audience are convulsed. A nice penultimate day.

Back to Green Paradise - exhausted again, but we stagger next door to the Yellow House which does dinner, and very nice it is too. Then straight to bed and sleep as we really are feeling pretty grotty still. Just one more day to go - we will be very sad to leave Aceh, but we sure could do with a rest!