BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, 28 December 2009 In the playing fields at the Darusada Childrens Centre, a sense of calm provides a stark contrast to what these children have endured. All the residents here have suffered from the recent conflict in Aceh, the trauma of the tsunami or have been rescued from family violence.
Walking quietly with her caregiver, Vera, age nine, falls into this latter category.
My mother and father were fighting all the time, and I didnt want to watch that anymore, said Vera, referring to life at home from which she has just been taken into care.
The UNICEF-supported shelter, which opened in 2007, currently serves approximately 120 children who have been orphaned, abandoned or sexually assaulted.
