A Sheffield Star campaign that exceeded all expectations is helping to rebuild an Indonesian village for a second time after the latest earthquake in the region.

Following the devastation of the Boxing Day tsunami, Star reporter Richard Heath initiated an appeal to raise cash for Sorake Beach, a small village in Nias, Indonesia, which is now home to former Sheffield woman Jo-Anne Wau.

Richard said the newspaper had hoped to raise about £10,000 – but that target was reached within days and the campaign has gone on to collect £150,000.

The money was being used to rebuild Sorake Beach, but the earthquake on March 28 destroyed the construction efforts and now the work is having to start again.

Richard said: “Because of the price differences out there it only costs about £1,000 to build a house so we had money left over and decided to build a school. We had just started that when the latest earthquake hit and now everything has been destroyed again.

“The whole village ‘dropped’ because it is so close to the fault line. The tidal surge was about three metres high on Boxing Day but it was about four or five metres high in the latest quake.

“We’ve now re-launched the appeal. Jo-Anne used about £5,000 to bring supplies to the village by chartering a boat with the money. We’ve still got about £70,000 but it’s just frustrating.”

Richard spent a week in the area at the end of January reporting on how Star readers’ money was being spent.

He said: “By that time they were already well on the way to rebuilding, but there were still some buildings that needed ripping down and still families who were homeless.

“My job was to see where the money was being spent and gather all the stories. I had to file stories over the phone but the phone system over there was terrible so it took about an hour-and-a-half to file two stories.

“There is a lot of money going to the village from Sheffield and South Yorkshire and we have made a promise to our readers to keep them informed of how it’s being spent.

“It’s very difficult to keep in touch. They only have electricity for about six hours a day and you can’t even post pictures back from Nias. Jo-Anne is getting a satellite phone though so she can be in touch 24/7.

“I don’t doubt that the money will be put to good use and I’m sure in a year’s time the village will be rebuilt with a lot nicer houses – just as long as they don’t have any more earthquakes.”

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