|
India
is a country of vast disparities in income and levels
of vulnerability to disasters. In UNDP's "Reducing
Disaster Risk: A Challenge for Development",
India is rated the second most vulnerable country
to cata- strophic flooding, behind China. It is
also prone to severe earth-quakes, drought, cyclones,
and tsunamis. This vulnerability to disasters is
compounded by Response to Disasters in India extremely
high levels of malnutrition, prevalence of disease,
poor water and sanitation infrastructure, few viable
livelihood options, and minimal access to education,
health and other vital services. PCI's humanitarian
assistanceprograms work in some of the country's
most vulnerable and hard to reach areas to help
prevent and mitigate the impacts of chronic disasters;
help prepare local communities and govern- ments
to manage disaster response locally and increase
their capacity to save lives and livelihoods; and
they reduce vul-nerability and improve quality of
life. PCI has developed critical competencies in
disaster pre-paredness and mitigation as well as
emergency reponse.
PCI’s
RESPONSE TO TSUNAMI:
PCI India was one of the first international organizations
torespond to the Indian Tsunami in2005, and continues
to work with affected areas to rehabilitate lives
and livelihoods and reduce vulnerability of future
disasters.
Some of the achievements have been:
• Delivered health care services to around 40,000
beneficiaries through mobile clinics
• Provided 2,200 people with psychosocial support
• Establishment of community water treatment plants,
8 community waste management systems
• Establishment of 8 crèches, 8 preschools
and 8 non-formal education centers
• Establishment of 20 village-level anti-trafficking
committees and one district-level vigilance commit-
tee.
CURRENT
RESPONSES TO INDIAN DISASTERS
At present, PCI is working in two disaster affected
areas of Bihar i.e. Biraul and Kusheshwar Asthan
and the areas of work include health,education, sanitation, livelihood and nutrition. The program has helped facilitate community participation and
awarenessamong
stakeholders
The activities conducted include:
• Setting up non-formal
education centers
• Training men
and women on gender based violence, livelihoods
and disaster risk mitigation
• Providing nutritional
supplments
• Organizing and
training women self help groups on rehabilitation
and economic sustainability.
CROSS
SECTORAL STRATERGIES FOR RISK REDUCTION IN INDIA
PCI Program Goal:Increase
awareness and understanding of disaster management
among Indian private, public, non-profit, university
and community partners, and generate collaborative
strategies to reduce
vulnerability to disasters in India. PCI is currently
running an OFDA program that is building a platform
for public, private, university, and NGO partners
to collaborate on effective risk management strategies.
The challenges
of Bihar provide an opportunity to create an innovative,
multi stakeholder and integrated approach that can
change the way residents of Bihar prepare for and
experience disasters.
GOAL
OF THE PROGRAMME:
• Facilitate enhanced collaboration,coordination
and communication between companies practicing CSR,
Universities,NGOs and Government
agencies.
• Ensure that residents are prepared to effectively
cope with disaster risks including displacement,
sanitation, health, nutrition and
livelihoods.
• Sensitize companies engaged in Bihar on more effective
CSR strategies
• Encourage longer-term preventa- tive investments
in CSR ;including enhanced collaboration and communication
amongst companies practicing
CSR
• Involve universities as important stakeholders
and resources that offer professional training,
resource mobilization and analysis.
• Assist local NGOs in developing comprehensive
DRM programming.
For
millions of people living along the coastline surrounding
the Indian Ocean, the morning of December 26, 2004
will long be remembered as the day the sea showed
its ugly side. A Tsunami, triggered by an earthquake
measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale off the coast
of Sumatra, caused death and destruction on an unprecedented
scale. India was among the countries that bore the
brunt with almost 3 million people affected, over
12,000 dead, hundreds of thousands of people left
homeless, and
entire costal economy of Tamilnadu
damaged.
The
numerous fishing villages scattered along the coast
of the Bay of Bengal within forty kilometers north
and south of Nagapattinam were hit the hardest by
the tsunami. The district of Nagapattinam in the
state of Tamilnadu, located approximately 310 kilometers
south of Chennai was described by the Government
of India as the tsunami’s epicenter of death and
destruction.
MAJOR COMPONENTS
Project
Concern International (PCI) initiated a three-month
(January 9, 2005 – April 9, 2005), US $440,295 Tsunami
Emergency Response Grant for Nagapattinam District,
Tamil Nadu to provide temporary shelter and
associated services, child care and educational/recreational
services, and livelihood revitalization to tsunami-affected
families.
At
the request of USAID, PCI designed a new project
entitled “Project BESST” (Build, Educate, Strengthen
and Sustain Tsunami-affected Villages). This project
is divided into two periods: (1) the Transition
Period, April 9, 2005, through September 30,
2005; and (2) the Recovery Period, from
October 1, 2005 through December 31, 2007.
The
overall goal of project is to substantially improve
the quality of life of 105,000 community members
from 20 tsunami-affected villages by providing them
with temporary shelter and associated services,
opportunities for livelihood enhancement, access
to educational and health services, and awareness
of, and the means to reduce, future natural and
man-made disasters, and such post-disaster risks
of trafficking and child labor.
The
major components of this project was the construction
of 891 temporary shelters, Repair of 500 fishing
boats and engines, provision of fishing nets, etc.
During the Recovery Period (which officially began
on October 1, 2005, and will continue through the
LOP, ending September 30, 2007), these components
will be strengthened and expanded. Greater emphasis
will be placed on building and sustaining community-based
organizations—such as self-help groups, community-based
action committees, and village governing bodies
or panchayats—to continue to deliver program
services and sustain impact even after the project
ends. The livelihood enhancement interventions will
emphasize building the capacity of SHGs to mobilize
savings and increase access to credit, provide vocational
training, and facilitate job placement. Community
leaders will be encouraged and trained to take a
more active role in raising awareness within the
community about issues such as trafficking, HIV/AIDS,
and disaster preparedness. As communities transition
into permanent shelter sites, individual crèches,
preschools, and other educational, vocational, and
recreational centers will be consolidated into Multi-Service
Centers (MSCs) at these new sites to ensure the
sustainability of services.
During
a recent trip to the disaster zone by the USAID
Assistant Administrator, the USAID India Mission
Director, OFDA personnel and Mission staff, PCI’s
temporary shelter and services and livelihood revitalization
interventions were cited as replicable “models”
and “setting the standard for other NGOs.”
MAJOR ACTIVITIES
The
major activities include the construction of
MSCs and permanent shelters, day care centre for
children, immunization and growth monitoring of
children, enrollment of drop outs and eligible children
into formal school, scholarships, placement of Auxiliary
Nurse Midwives in the government primary health
clinics, mobile health van delivering services in
the 22 villages, solid waste management, tree plantation,
micro enterprise and small business loans, vocational
training units, reverse osmosis plants for providing
clean and safe drinking water, job placements
for women, youth and adolescents, formation of anti-trafficking
committees, awareness creation on various issues
through small group meetings and street plays, and
life skills education program. In addition, PCI
has identified people living with HIV/AIDS and is
providing them home based care (HBC) services.
MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS
Construction
of Multi Service Centre
 PCI
has developed eight innovative and comprehensive
MSCs in the villages of Thoduvai, Tirumullaivasal,
Vanagiri, Karaikalmedu, Pattinacherry, Pushpavanam,
Arukattuthurai and Kodikkarai. Each MSC provides
eight services: crèche (for children 0-3), pre-school
(for children 3-5), tuition center (for those with
remedial needs), non-formal education center, Information
Communication Technology (ICT) Center, two vocational
trade units, and training services.
The
village panchayat has donated land for construction
of MSCs in their villages. Each MSC was constructed
on 6000 Square feet of land. As on March 31, 2007,
three MSCs are fully operational. The remaining
five are under various stages of construction and
are expected to be completed by May 15, 2007.
Gyan Kendra
- The ICT Intervention
 ICT
centers called Gyan Kendra, meaning
Center for Knowledge, have the specific
mission to empower tsunami affected women and adolescents
whose lives were devastated by the tsunami, and
improve their economic and social opportunities.
They encompass a wide range of technologies including
radio, press, television, film, walkie-talkies and
telephone, and the “newer” technologies
like e-mail, CD-ROM, internet, computers, cell phones,
and digital video cameras. These centers today benefit
480 women, but at full capacity more than 1200 will
attend the ICTs.
At
the ICT centers, villagers (mostly young women)
can access such information and services as:
-
Early
warning systems for disasters
-
Health
referral services
-
Information
on medical and accidental insurance
-
Information
on marine courses
-
Results
of exams such as Railway Recruitment Board and
the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission
-
Applying
for passports
-
Information
on job opportunities
-
Assistance
with job placements
-
Employment
news
-
Local
language website
-
Computer
applications
-
Video
conferencing with other ICTs
-
Tele-medical and legal services
-
Repayment
of micro-credit loans
Apart
from these services, each ICT also offers basic
computer education courses. Using a systematic syllabus
and teacher training plan, these courses provide
young women and adolescents with basic computer
literacy, including MS office, email and internet.
Each ICT serves approximately 30 students, in groups
of four students and one teacher, six days per week.
Construction
of Permanent Houses for Tsunami Victims
 Kameswaram
was one of the hardest tsunami hit villages in Nagapattinam
district, with a heavy loss of lives and live stock,
and all 210 houses were completely destroyed. PCI
was commissioned and committed to construct 50 permanent
shelters in Kameshwaram village. On the January
12, 2007, PCI completed the construction
and officially transferred the 50 houses to the
district administration.
Reverse
Osmosis Plant
Thirumullaivasal
and Arcottuthurai villages, which were severely
affected by tsunami, were facing an acute water
shortage, as the water in the area is highly saline
and there is no piped drinking water system. In
order to serve the drinking water needs of these
and neighboring villages, USAID, as part of the
Tsunami Recovery Program, supported the installation
of a reverse osmosis water treatment system. Each
plant caters to 1,500 families in three villages.
Every
household is required to pay a one-time deposit
of 100 rupees for system access and 2 or 5 rupees
per 20-liter canister. Those who are now receiving
water supply understand the importance of paying
the user charges, which help to recover the operation
and maintenance costs. Under the project, training
is being provided to two members of each village
on operation and maintenance. Their salaries will
come from the project for the first year and from
the user charges in subsequent years. With the success
of two reverse osmosis plants, PCI is establishing
one more reverse osmosis plant at Vanagiri village.
The third plant will be commissioned in the mid
of May 2007.
Mobile Health
Clinic Service
 PCI
has deployed three mobile health vans in Nagapattinam
district with the aim of improving access to primary
health care services for tsunami survivors in several
of the hardest hit villages in the district. Each
van is staffed with a doctor, nurse, paramedic,
counselor and driver, and equipped with a table
and chairs, examination table, potable water, stretcher,
oxygen cylinder, and medicine locker. The mobile
team operates six days a week from 09.00 hours to
18.00 hours during the day.
Services offered
through mobile health clinics:
-
Treatment
for general ailments, respiratory problems,
gastro intestinal problems, reproductive tract
infections and STIs
-
Immunization
for children and pregnant mothers
-
Laboratory
testing of blood and urine samples
-
Rapid
HIV test including pre and post test counseling
-
Treatment
for opportunistic infections for people living
with HIV/AIDS
-
Counseling
-
Referrals
Humanitarian Assistance Factsheet
|
