Agency serving 390,000 people in affected area; building on courage and skills of local communities
PORTLAND, Oregon -- As the three-month anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami approaches Saturday, Mercy Corps and its local partners are reaching more than 390,000 people in affected areas of Sri Lanka, Indonesia and India. The agency's approach to long-term recovery is straightforward: keep individuals -- farmers, fishermen, traders, laborers, merchants and their communities -- at the center of its activities and let affected communities lead the way to an accelerated, durable recovery.
"Mercy Corps believes that families and communities are most capable of solving their own problems," said Mercy Corps President Nancy Lindborg. "In Indonesia, for example, we want to focus on people whose needs will not be directly addressed by the government's forthcoming 'blueprint' for recovery, those we can help with housing and economic livelihoods immediately."
The Indonesia government plans to present its plan for long-term tsunami recovery on March 26.
In Seattle, a new high-tech mapping center at the University of Washington is helping recovery efforts by using satellite images and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology to identify areas such as fish habitat and farmlands around the Indian Ocean that need assistance. Mercy Corps relief workers are using maps the GIS team generates to help locals rebuild. The new partnership between Mercy Corps and U of W could help transform the way humanitarian aid is delivered in this, and future, natural disasters around the world.
The massive outpouring of private donations -- more than $26 million to date -- has allowed Mercy Corps to jumpstart businesses and community restoration through granting mechanisms that are fast and flexible. While working closely with communities to facilitate rapid recovery and inject much-needed capital into local economies, Mercy Corps acknowledges that full recovery will take years, not months, and is planning programming for the region to span the next three to five years.
INDONESIA
In Banda Aceh and Meulaboh, over 150 Mercy Corps staff are focused on helping survivors return home, assisting with livelihood rehabilitation, and revitalizing social infrastructures to help communities cope with the tragedy. Some program highlights:
The agency's Cash-For-Work program employs over 11,000 local laborers, clearing villages of debris and helping make commonwealth assets such as roads, mosques and village offices functional while providing a source of income for many survivors.
Mercy Corps is facilitating the return of people from camps and host families back to their original villages -- 20 communities so far. Mercy Corps has provided materials such as roofing and access to clean water, and is providing cash grants and links to other programs.
Mercy Corps has worked with local associations to restore their businesses, including essential market sectors such as fruit, vegetable and fish vendors, chicken producers and vendors and cobblers.
Mercy Corps is working closely with local associations to revitalize the fishing industry. The agency has moved over 100 fishing boats and is in the process of repairing of repairing and installing engines on all 100.
The agency has equipped 32 temporary schools, serving approximately 5,700 students, with furniture and equipment. In addition, Mercy Corps and its partners are distributing school supplies to over 16,000 junior high and high school students.
Our staff is helping restore local social institutions that we disrupted by the tsunami and bolstering local community coping mechanisms through sports, schools, Islamic institutions and midwives associations.
SRI LANKA
Over 40 Mercy Corps staff and dozens of local partners in Sri Lanka are working to advance conflict reduction and mitigation through livelihood reconstruction and long-term community-based development. Mercy Corps has engaged in over 60 projects to provide both short-term relief and long-term recovery support for over 175,000 people. Some program highlights:
Mercy Corps and local partners have provided a range of support to schools, including providing school kits (including uniforms, pencils and notepads) to more than 5,000 school children in Ampara district, and providing safe play space to explore their feelings and resume normal activities for 600 children in a severely affected town in Trincomalee district.
Through partner organizations, Mercy Corps is bringing together university students and local groups from Matara, Columbo, Ampara and Batticola to work with their local communities to lead integrated village cleanup and recovery efforts benefiting approximately 4,000 people. These stakeholder teams are organizing activities for children and providing essential support to families identified by the communities as the most in need of assistance.
In an effort to generate income, Mercy Corps is supporting the fishing industry by providing canoes and nets to isolated fisherman from Arugam Bay to Trincomalee and replacing bicycles used by intermediaries to bring the catch to the market. The agency is also providing business training and capacity building for local fishermen cooperatives, benefiting more than 4,000 people.
Small grants programs in Sri Lanka are now providing support at a rate of over $250,000 per month.
INDIA
Working with local Indian organizations, Mercy Corps staff are assisting tens of thousands of people in Tamil Nadu, India. Mercy Corps has partnered with the DHAN Foundation to launch relief and recovery efforts in 20 of 73 villages in Tamil Nadu's Nagappattinam district (population 196,000). Mercy Corps is supporting the distribution of temporary shelter and relief supplies, the construction of community activity centers, and Cash-for-Work programs to help improve and reclaim agricultural land and livelihoods and improve local water sources. Working with local aid group DMI (Disaster Mitigation Institute), Mercy Corps has completed construction of roughly 350 temporary shelters and is participating in community cleanup.