INDIATSUNAMI OPERATIONSMission Accomplished.... Journey continues

Trail of Devastation

December 26, 2004 – catastrophe hard to forget

Thousands of lives engulfed in the waves and millions of people displaced.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala bore the maximum impact.

9675 human lives lost 6107 people missing 638,497 people displaced

Our Approach

Immediate humanitarian relief work Intermediate resettlement of

communities Construction of houses and relocation of

villages Livelihood rehabilitation and restoration Linking relief and rehabilitation to

development

Our historical experience

Genesis of Caritas: to respond to natural calamities

Long standing experience in handling large scale natural calamities was a strong base to plan our tsunami operations

Our Strategy

Adopted the Team approach to offer expert guidance and support to partners in

implementing the programs To assure quality in delivering services through the

program Expert teams on

Shelter Livelihood Finance Gender Community mobilization team.

Clear mandate to outline policy guidelines and provide technical support.

Caritas as a community

A true demonstration of local, national and international experts of the Caritas community to respond effectively.

Value addition of International ERST with their clear directives

Each member contributing their expertise to the pool of support Caritas Italiana for their livelihood expertise Caritas Austria for shelter Caritas Germany as the lead facilitating partner

and for DRR

Walking the extra mile

Considered as the largest humanitarian intervention in India, Caritas walked the extra mile and reached out to communities in the remote villages.

Caritas India responded in 4 states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andaman Nicobar islands with 28 dioceses, covering 1450 villages

Rebuilding Lives.. Resettlement phase

Type of intervention Beneficiaries

Food rations distributed 502,373

Families benefitting from Cash for Work

24,799

Temporary shelter units constructed

3038

Water tanks installed at temporary settlements for potable water

226

Number of children supported with educational material

22526

People who participated and benefitted from hygiene training

15210

Children activity centers constructed

9 units

Children participated in child related group activities

13639

Rehabilitation Phase

Type of Assistance Beneficiaries

Permanent Shelter support

13472

Provision of Boats 2116

Provision of Nets 21,592

Cattamarans 899

Provision of Saltpans 434

Repair of engines 2234

Vocational training on alternate livelihood

1304

Changes through Caritas

People are living in new houses with improved facilities

People have revived their livelihood sources Children have resumed their schools Community members have realized the need to

analyse their situation, plan for their village development

Community managed disaster risk reduction and mitigation plans are in place

Community structures are established and people’s skills are developed to respond to disaster situations

Community is actively involved in action research and developing sustainable local projects.

Towards resilience

A community driven approach

 

Continuity and sustainability of any development program rests on the participation and involvement of the primary stakeholders.

In this process, Caritas emphasized on the concept of inclusiveness which ensured that the entire community needed to be mobilized to improve its overall growth through commonly agreed strategies and techniques.

This was how the model of linking ‘rehabilitation’ to ‘development’ came to the fore.

Process followed

Rapport building and understanding the community

Participatory Assessment Participatory Planning Building and training Community Based Peoples

structures for preparedness and disaster Management.

Community Managed Implementation. Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation. Establishing Effective and sustainable linkages

with Govt machinery.

Major milestones so far

1450 Village contingency plans Village contingency funds Formation of Local Emergeny Response Teams Institutionalizing task force groups Early warning systems Linkage with the goverment Water and sanitation Youth and livelihood Promoting leadership in self governance

Best Practices

Diversifying livelihood sources an effective longer-run DRR strategy reduce their vulnerability to disasters by

generating new sources of income and enhancing social capital.

Provision of livestock to single women or widows, imparting knowledge on mangrove cultivation etc. were some of the initiatives of Caritas India to support the BPL communities along the coastline.

Best Practices

Afforestation Mangroves plantation on the seashore of Ramnad district,

TN coastal villages was identified as a best means to mitigate destruction caused by huge waves and to save the lives and livelihood of the people living on the coastal belt.

Caritas India supported its partner SMSSS in this venture in which the coastal communities were enlightened about the importance of afforestation and its advantages

Creation of mangrove forests proved to be doubly beneficial to the communities as it became a breeding ground for fish, prawn, crabs and other etc providing them food security as well as protection from recurring cyclones.

Best Practices

Early Warning System INCOIS in collaboration with National Institute of

Oceanography-GOA deployed a community based wave rider buoy at Pondicherry Coast through Caritas India’s partner PMSSS

To address the need of the people on Early Warning Pondicherry by disseminating weather information to the coastal communities through public address system,

Village Information Centers set up within the villages with the concurrence and participation of the local Village Fishermen Panchayat and CBOs to warn the communities.

Best Practices

Water and sanitation Models: Successfully developed a water purifying system and Market

it at a reasonable cost to the people affected with drinking water issues in the area.

Kolachal is a coastal town located in Kanya Kumari, Tamil Nadu. The entire town was devastated by the tsunami. Caritas along with the State Government began housing initiatives for the survivors.

As the land allotted for housing was near a marshland, Caritas India developed a simple but effective wastewater treatment facility that collected all wastewater from 329 houses and treated it through an oxidation pond and a maturation pond.

The treated water was then fit for discharge into the surrounding watercourse without a negative impact on the environment. This particular project has been Caritas India’s model form of village sanitation.

Best Practices.. Institution building

 Awareness programmes on fire and safety, need of disaster preparedness, first aid methods, RTI has been spread over to other operational areas of dioceses through the trained field staff.

Disaster management has been added as a provision in the organizational policy through amending the by-law of the organization

As result of the trainings provided the regional animators are monitoring local TF meetings

Organizational expertise in situation analysis with community participation was promoted

Lessons learnt

Community Participation is essential Achieving a high level of community

ownership in DRR programs has laid the groundwork for community ownership of future disaster response activities.

Participatory approaches, which include demonstrating respect for local knowledge, are a powerful tool for accomplishing community ownership of DRR.

Lessons learnt

Enhanced Capacities of implementing partners Partner organisations improved their

capacity both through the experience of the response and through the large number of training and other capacity-building initiatives undertaken. They have learnt that it is equally important to understand the ground realities of the communities before taking forward the project activities.

Lessons learnt

Ensuring quality in housing programme  In any housing programme, it is crucial that there are

systems, resources, as well as capacities to monitor the quality of houses being constructed.

It is essential that technical and quality guidelines for structure, construction materials used, and disaster resistant features are disseminated adequately among the housing stakeholders, including the planners, engineers and masons.

Site selection, choice of adequate sanitation models, solid waste management, and conservation and environmental issues require consensus of diverse stakeholders involved the housing programme.

Lessons learnt

Gender Mainstreaming Involving women must be a fundamental

component of disaster rehabilitation and development programme as they are most vulnerable and marginalized section of the society.

In Caritas India’s context, the various livelihood initiatives led to income gains for many women, compared to pre-tsunami levels. Often this benefited their families; the extra money was spent on purchasing food for the family, sending children, particularly girls, to school, and on improving household amenities.

Lessons learnt

Updating Village Contingency Plan Communities can prepare themselves for a

disaster more effectively by reviewing village risk assessment regularly and sharing them with PRIs for integration in District Disaster Management Plans (DDMPs).

The Civil Society Organisations and governments should encourage target communities to make and regularly update recovery plans for better preparedness against multiple hazards.

Lessons learnt

Partnership with Government To ensure the sustainability of any

development programme, it is important to engage Community, Government (PRIs and Gram Sabha) and other civil society organisations in all stages of movement to make the intervention more effective, efficient and sustainable.

CONSTRAINTS/CHALLENGES

During, post tsunami and after completion.

Project areas could not cover the entire Panchayat/Revenue Block in some areas in the third Phase.

Resettlement in the interior parts of the towns Less participation of men in the programme in the coastal

areas. Over expectation of the community for material benefits in

some areas. Expectation of loan soon after the completion of EDP

training. Political interferences in some areas resided as obstacle for

the smooth functioning of the project.

TestimoniesThanjavur T.N (Housing and DRR)Pondicherry T.N (Early Warning)Eluru, Andhra Pradesh (DRR)Quilon, Kerala (Social Action)

The power of collective action

Thanni is a village located in Kollam district of Kerala. It is a small strip of land sandwiched between lake on one side and sea by the other. Due to this geographical vulnerability, the area is prone to frequent threats of flood and tidal attacks which have destroyed much of the village infrastructure and road communication.

After the tsunami, QSSS, a Caritas India partner entered the area with the Community Based Disaster Preparedness programme. Due to the active participation of villagers, a strong ERT was constituted which began to lobby with the government to resume the construction of a bridge in the area which would improve transportation facilities.

When their repeated requests fell on deaf ears, the ERT with the support of QSSS organized a one day fasting in front of the Taluk Headquarters in a Gandhian way after conducting a protest march throughout Kollam town. This captured the attention of Media and police who gave their full support for the cause.

As a result of the continuous pressure tactics and action by the ERT, the government completed the construction of the bridge, 25 long years after its first foundation was laid. Today, the bridge serves as an emergency escape route to the mainland for 600 families living in Thanni. The Thanni ERT is a striking example and a replicable model for social Action and networking and linkage by ERT.

Conclusion

Caritas India had the foresight to shift its paradigm from rehabilitation to Disaster Risk Reduction and development.

It no longer believed in making the communities as mere beneficiaries, but worked hard towards empowering them in a holistic way so that they can make informed decisions.

Caritas’s focus on involvement of poor and excluded in all its activities which made the programme inclusive in every sense.

Linking with development programmes of the government and key entitlements like right to information, food, health, education have ensured the community’s access to the same.

True to its slogan, Caritas India’s initiatives have indeed built resilient communities, capable of responding to a disaster in an effective manner as well as advocating for the socio-economic development of their own villages.