Tsunami Aid Workers See Signs of Recovery

|PIC1|As the first anniversary of the South Asian tsunami approaches, Christian humanitarian agency Church World Service reports on the progress made in recovery and reconstruction across the devastated areas.

One year on and hundreds of thousands of survivors continue to live in tents, improvised emergency shelters and transitional living centres without their own permanent housing, provided by what CWS described as “the single largest organisational mobilisation in response to a natural disaster in the agency’s 60-year history”.

According to CWS reports, however, progress is spreading visibly throughout the affected areas despite the many ongoing challenges that aid workers and locals are faced.

In partnership with the villagers, CWS has drafted in workers from nearby communities and local contractors to help rebuild the village of Meue, in the Pidie district of Aceh Province, Indonesia, where the tsunami destroyed the village’s entire fishing fleet, most of its houses and nearly all livestock.

Not long after the tsunami hit, Church World Service set up a livelihoods recovery project in Meue before further assessments revealed a continued and urgent need for shelter, which was later provided by CWS.

Mother of three, Syaraini, who lives in Meue, said the construction of her own new home and others throughout the village is making “everyone feel more secure so they can focus on earning an income”.

|QUOTE|CWS said, however, that there was a persistent need for building materials, educational resources for children, and health and medical resources throughout affected areas.

Assistance has expanded from the areas that were initially reachable to include other areas in need of assistance that the agency has identified as “priority intervention areas” still under-served since the tsunami.

To date, CWS has raised $11,436,822 and $6,612,010 in material goods, most of which has been directed to Indonesia, with a proportion of it also going to Sri Lanka, India, Somalia and Thailand.

Rev. John L. McCullough, Executive Director and CEO of Church World Service says the overview of Indonesia's recovery does show progress. "In terms of where affected areas of Indonesia were on the day after the tsunami and where they are now, progress has been such that survivors now have access to basic health, nutrition, education, water services, sanitation facilities and temporary shelter, as well as increasing access to permanent housing and recovery of livelihoods.

"The availability of such services has been an important first step on the long road to recovery," McCullough said.

"Church World Service and our partners in Aceh have been focusing on people first, and on community needs. We've made great strides in either restoring or building new water and sanitation facilities throughout the region," says Maurice Bloem, CWS Indonesia director.

CWS has also been running a water programme in Meulaboh which is now providing enough clean water for over 11,000 people per day as well as sanitation facilities for over 3,000 people, said Bloem.

“Our greatest challenges, however, are still to provide permanent shelters and better living conditions for people made homeless by the tsunami, and to assist affected communities in recovering their livelihoods,” he said.

|AD|Fishing boats cannot be replaced overnight and re-building livelihoods takes long-term commitment," says Bloem. "Capacity of local partners needs to be strengthened, people need to be trained, and community groups established.

“Similarly, psychosocial assistance is necessary, as the psychological scars will take a long time to heal," he said.

According to Boem, this is especially the case in Nias where reconstruction and recovery is taking place against a backdrop of extreme poverty and decades of government neglect.

Meanwhile in Aceh, a civil war has just ended after three decades. “It is not a done deal that this war will not flare up again, and in any case, deep psychological and other scars remain as well,” said Boem.

“This is why Church World Service is continuing to raise funds,” he said. “Long-term recovery means just that and proper financial and programmatic support will be the ‘make or break’ of this region’s future.”