Temporary solution to housing problem won't work, says Oxfam

Oxfam has built around 300 homes so far at a cost of $25,000 each and hopes to build 920 on six different sites around Banda Aceh by the end of the year.

Progress might seem slow and insignificant, says Oxfam's project director for the region, Ian Clarke, but when you consider the extent of the devastation, it is considerable. 'For me it is a remarkable turnaround to be where we are today.'

Oxfam focused on providing permanent homes because that was what communities wanted, he said. 'The homes we are building are meant to last for 15 to 20 years. Once people have their own home again, they can start to rebuild their lives. It gives them hope for the future.'

Imogen Wall, spokeswoman for the United Nations Development Programme in Banda Aceh, agreed the rebuilding programme was taking longer than expected but said the pressure to spend donor money quickly was 'one of the most irritating pressures you can face'.

'You can't just wave a magic wand,' she said. 'It's a trade-off between doing things right and doing things fast. That is the eternal tension in aid work.'

With so many aid agencies trying to spend their money in Banda Aceh - there were more than 400 groups in the area in the weeks after the tsunami - there has been often ferocious rivalry over who builds where.