In the capital of the western-most Indonesian province of Aceh, Banda Aceh on Sumatra island, it is heavily raining. This does not prevent students of the Islamic secondary school Madrasah Aliyah Negeri 2 to play a friendly volleyball match. Teachers cheer them on from the sidelines. According to the headmaster of the school, sporting events are an important part of school activities because they encourage a positive school spirit.

When you look around the campus and see what joy the children have from their volleyball match, it's hard to imagine that the devastating tsunami hit the school and damaged it hardly seven years ago, in December 2004. Classes were burnt down, including books, tables and chairs. The disaster also claimed many lives and some students and teachers never returned to Madrasah Aliyah Negeri 2. Now in 2012, the school is doing well: all the buildings are repaired and lessons take place according to the normal schedule.

Caritas Czech Republic helped the school in 2005 and 2006. Thanks to donations from various donors, it was possible to reconstruct the school in a relatively short time. Students and teachers could return after three months. Five new classrooms and a small house for a school administrator were built. Buildings got new paint, new classes got new tables and chairs. A school fence was repaired. Caritas Czech Republic had provided books for the library.

The school playground is in the middle of the school yard. It is used for mandatory physical education and for friendly games during school breaks. The volleyball match takes place at a time when Caritas Czech Republic donated a brand-new set of sports equipment and furniture for the library, purchased thanks to Metropolitan District Prague 6, whose employees decided to give an amount of CZK 57,149 to Madrasah School Aliyah Negeri 2 several years after the tsunami.

Students are standing in a row to have a look at the badminton rackets, tennis balls, basketballs, soccer and volleyballs, as well as the volleyball net, throwing spear and ball, disc to throw and gymnastic mat. Darmawansyah, one of the local students, is asked which sport he prefers and he can not pick just one. He likes to play soccer or volleyball with friends. Darmawansyah is the vice president of the student school council that organizes various school competitions, celebrations and games for the students. He would like to study information technology after graduation. He is interested in social media like Facebook and Twitter. And he thinks that the connection with the world is important. He knows that IT is not a simple subject and requires hard work.

Darmawansyah and other students go to do their homework, read books, or prepare for tests at  school library. According to the deputy headmaster Ina Rezkiny, the school library is overcrowded before exams. Students work in a room full of chairs and tables. They together with the teachers use a variety of textbooks from mathematics to English to history.

The library has many books and other educational materials. But some of the shelves began to show signs of wearing out, and therefore Caritas Czech Republic decided to provide money for Metropolitan District staff to buy seven new shelf cabinets, that would protect the books against a bad local climate and where new books can be stored.

Sixteen year old student Maysari says that the new library room looks a lot better. She often goes to the library during the break to catch up with compulsory reading. Reading is important for Maysari. She dreams that she will choose her future field of study in English and that she may eventuallystudy it in America.

Although the Caritas Czech Republic’s aid to the school has ended, its work in Indonesia continues in other places and other fields of interest. Caritas CR now works mainly on agricultural projects in Aceh and Padang.