Villagers struggle to survive with little outside aid

THREE weeks after the tsunami in south east Asia, many families in Indonesia are receiving only limited assistance and are growing desperately worried.

Sigli is a large town on the eastern coast of the devastated Aceh province, just 110km from the capital, Banda Aceh, but the only way to reach it is by a road that first plunges south into the densely forested countryside and rises high into the mountains before turning east towards the coast to a region of paddy fields and fishing villages.

The journey takes up to three hours and tests the suspension of even the most strongly built vehicles.