On tsunami anniversary, Church World Service sees signs of recovery at 'people level.'

Dec. 26, 2005, marked the first anniversary of the tsunami that claimed some 275,000 lives in south Asia. Church World Service (CWS) said the tsunami generated the single largest organizational mobilization in response to a natural disaster in the agency's 60-year history.

As of late December, CWS said in a press release that progress is visibly spreading in affected areas despite continuing challenges. Hundreds of thousands of people, however, are still homeless and living in tents, improvised emergency shelters, and transitional living centers.

CWS has raised $11,436,822 in cash and $6,612,010 in material goods for tsunami relief, the release said. Most of that aid has been directed to Indonesia but also was distributed in Sri Lanka, India, Somalia, and Thailand. CWS Emergency Response Program director Donna Derr said the cash expenditures and material donations have included food aid, emergency shelter, medical assistance, clean water and sanitation facilities reconstruction, psycho-social programs for children, health and nutritional support, reconstruction of homes, and livelihoods recovery programs.

The release cited examples of progress, such as the village of Meue in Aceh Province, Indonesia, where the tsunami destroyed the fishing fleet, most houses, and nearly all livestock. Sounds of renewed enterprise and life are filling the air again in Meue, the release said. In partnership with villagers, CWS teams have drawn from nearby communities and local contractors to help rebuild the village. CWS began a livelihoods recovery project in Meue soon after the tsunami, but further assessments also revealed a continued and urgent need for shelter. CWS Indonesia director Maurice Bloem said the agency has since provided shelter assistance to the village.

"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," said John L. McCullough, CWS executive director.

"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," said Bloem. The 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.

The reconstruction process will take years, according to Bloem, "because of poor infrastructure, even pre-tsunami, and supply bottlenecks for everything from building materials to skilled labor. Fishing boats cannot be replaced overnight and re-building livelihoods takes longterm commitment," he said. "Especially in Nias, all this is happening against a backdrop of extreme poverty and decades of government neglect, while in Aceh a civil war has just ended after three decades."

Among continuing challenges CWS cited persisting needs for building materials, educational resources for children, and health and medical resources. "This is why Church World Service is continuing to raise funds," Bloem said. "Longterm recovery means just that, and proper financial and programmatic support will be the 'make or break' of this region's future." The agency plans to continue its public fundraising appeal for another 14 months and anticipates continuing recovery programs in Indonesia for some years to come.

Many of the agency's beneficiaries are children, the release said. In Aceh Province, nine-year-old Kursiah lost her father in the tsunami and nearly lost her mother, who was swept away by the water but survived. Now living in Cot Kilat Barracks, maintained by the Indonesian government, Kursiah participates in CWS-run activities for children called Fun and Educational Activities in Tents (FEAT). Kursiah says the games and activities keep her busy so that she doesn't become sad thinking about her father.

For more details see www.churchworldservice.org. The Church of the Brethren contributes to the work of Church World Service through grants from the Emergency Disaster Fund of the General Board. For more about the fund and the General Board's Emergency Response/Service Ministries see www.brethren.org/genbd/ersm.

Source: 01/04/2006 Newsline
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