Humanitarian Aid 2010

Humanitarian Aid Annual Report 2010

Humanitarian Aid Annual Report 2010

Imprint

Family affected by flood with tool kits to rebuild their village

Editor: Swiss Labour Assistance SLA Quellenstrasse 31 P.O. Box 2228 CH-8031 Zurich / Switzerland Phone: +41 (0)44 444 19 19 Fax: +41 (0)44 444 19 00 Email: info@sah.ch Web: www.sah.ch Editorial office: Barbara Gruner, Debora Neumann Cover picture: SLA Pakistan All Photos: © Swiss Labour Assistance SLA

Since 1947 the SLA has enjoyed the approval of the ZEWO label.

The label stands for: • appropriate, economic and effective use of donations • transparent information and meaningful accounting • independent and appropriate control structures • honest communication and fair fundraising

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Foreword 2010 began with the devastating earthquake in Haiti and ended with heavy floods in Central America. Apart from the Haiti tremor, most disasters in 2010 where related to floods, heavy rains and drought. Although some still deny climate change, humanitarian aid organisations are increasingly faced with the effects of climate change. Disaster preparedness therefore has become an important element, not only of SLA humanitarian efforts but also of the SLA development programme (see also box p. 8). Especially in the light of the effects of climate change, disaster preparedness will become a more relevant field of activity to protect populations from the impact of natural disasters.

A highlight in 2010 was the first approval of an ECHO-funded project in El Salvador, followed by a second ECHO project in Sri Lanka.

Our efforts to become a ECHO partner date back to 2008 and we are proud to be part of the far-flung family of ECHO Partners. As you will see in the 2010 edition of the SLA Humanitarian Aid Report, the floods in Pakistan were one of the major engagements of SLA. With the support of our SOLIDAR Network, Swiss Solidarity and thousands of donations

by Swiss people and institutions, we were able to launch a rapid and wide-ranging response to benefit people in Pakistan who had been affected by the floods. But SLA is committed to supporting people in need who are not in the media spotlight. Take Mozambique, for example, where people are regularly affected by floods or droughts.

SLA could not have tackled all the challenges facing us in 2010 and we are grateful for the highly committed SLA staff and partners in Pakistan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Mozambique and El Salvador, Switzerland and Europe.

It is a commitment carried aloft by a strong sense of solidarity and humanity.

In 2011 SLA will celebrate its 75th anniversary. Rooted in our tradition of solidarity, we continue to be committed to our humanitarian engagement.

Yours sincerely

Ruth Daellenbach Managing Director

Zoltan Doka Head Humanitarian Aid and Cooperation with Eastern Countries

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Humanitarian Aid Annual Report 2010

SLA’s Humanitarian Aid Activities Worldwide

El Salvador

page 14

Mozambique

4

page 12

PAKISTAN

Sri Lanka

Indonesia

page 10

page 6

page 9

Facts & Figures..........................page 17 Partners and Networks. ......page 18 Addresses.......................................page 19 Â

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Humanitarian Aid Annual Report 2010

PAKISTAN

The flood of a century hits four districts of Pakistan

Heavy rains in the months of July and August

hoods. Crops were destroyed, roads and bridges

2010 triggered both flash floods and caused ri-

damaged.

vers to burst their banks in several parts of the country, resulting in loss of life and widespread

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), these were the

displacement.

worst floods since 1929, with 25 districts affected. Overall, more than 20 million people were

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Baluchistan, Sind

affected. In the face of this enormous disas-

and Punjab were the worst affected areas.

ter, SLA – jointly with Swiss Solidarity and its

Millions of people lost their homes and liveli-

SOLIDAR Network partners – decided to support

Children from affected families

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the worst affected in the KPK District.

The first relief project was an emergency response for those affected by the flood. In the first stage of the relief the population were rapidly provided with tools to enable them to clean their villages from the mud and debris left behind by the floods, to clean any remaining houses and, to build emergency shelters for those who lost everything. SLA provided more than 1,450 families

Shelter Skeleton

with a toolkit, which they would not have been able to buy or obtain by themselves.

In the KPK area specifically, damage assessment showed that 181,300 houses were completely or partially destroyed. Apart from this data, field visits also showed that few of those affected by flooding had started building any kind of emergency shelters using the emergency materials they had received. The majority were – and still are – living either in the rubble of their old houses or staying in school-camps or other temporary camps.

Internal waterproof walls

These temporary solutions were completely inadequate for the coming winter, or until more permanent houses are completed. Tents lacking winter insulation proved to be inadequate due to continuing rain and the prospect of cold weather – with average winter temperature in the lowlands of KPK being around 0 – 5° C. Moreover, tents also proved inadequate from a cultural perspective as they lack separations that would provide privacy for the female members of

Finished provisional Shelter

the families. However, families are rarely able to build adequate replacements. For all these reasons SLA decided to build 800 provisional shelters with the financial support of Swiss Solidarity and SOLIDAR partners, and the help of its national partner, Labour Education Foundation (LEF).

Toilet and laundry unit

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Humanitarian Aid Annual Report 2010

SLA is providing the most vulnerable qualitative

shelters and sanitation facilities fulfil the stan-

adequate and culturally/climate accepted con-

dards, including the use of local material and

struction material, to construct 800 provisional

construction methods. Beside this, SLA has pro-

shelters and 800 provisional sanitation facilities

vided each family with a winterisation-kit (e.g.

and supports the construction process with mo-

blankets etc.) to sustain the winter in a better

bile technical teams to guarantee that the built

manner.

Disaster preparedness Disasters worldwide often lead to tremendous human suffering. SLA therefore engages even before disaster strikes, implementing crisis and disaster prevention and increasing preparedness to mitigate the impact of such crises on populations.

Statistics clearly show that, over the last decades, the number and impact of humanitarian crises has increased. The year 2010 is a particularly striking example, in that Pakistan, Haiti, Indonesia and Chile were struck by natural disasters, causing alarm to the international public and private donors. SLA has responded to some of these crises by providing emergency and reconstruction aid. But what comes after this acute phase of early intervention?

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In Pakistan, the population has been hit by multiple natural disasters over the past several years. The 2005 earthquake claimed nearly 90,000 victims. Major floods occurred in 2008. The effects of the 2010 floods are still very visible in many parts of the country. While public attention is often focused on the initial period of emergency relief, disaster preparedness becomes more and more important after the recovery and before a next event. Disaster preparedness saves lives. Ultimately, it is more cost efficient than emergency relief and clean-up operations.

For SLA, therefore, disaster preparedness is an integral part of the reconstruction phase and of development cooperation. In over seven countries and twelve projects, we take our long-term responsibility towards affected populations seriously.

SLA has acquired a high level of expertise and experience in this sector: Earthquakesafe reconstruction and the development of early warning systems are as important as empowerment and increased awareness, such as: Where am I safe in the event of a disaster? How do I behave correctly? Where should I report? How can I help others?

Disaster prevention projects aim to prepare the local population to cope better with future crises; they save lives and contain risks.

INDONESIA

Population has to cope with earthquake and tsunami

Improved constructions after devastating

Emergency relief for Mentawai‘s population

earthquake in Western Sumatra

affected by the tsunami

Late in 2009 Indonesia was struck by two power-

On 26 October 2010, following an earthquake off

ful earthquakes off the western coast of Sumatra.

the coast of Sumatra, a tsunami pounded remote

The district of Padang Pariam was particularly

islands in western Indonesia. It killed more than

badly hit, with destruction reaching up to 96% of

300 people and hundreds more went missing.

all habitation.

SLA launched its emergency response, transAfter

an

immediate

emergency

response

porting relief goods to the islands, where whole

and with the support of the Swiss Solidarity,

villages had been washed away and all infra-

SOLIDAR Partners and Mercy Corps, SLA

structure destroyed, leaving up to half the po-

launched into rehabilitation and reconstruction

pulation dead and many injured. The SLA team

activities, building 600 shelters, training local

distributed urgently needed relief items such as

artisans in the earthquake-safe reconstruction

food, drinking water, hygiene and kitchen sets.

of permanent housing, and providing them with adequate toolkits, thereby supporting them in earning a decent livelihood.

Family on beach devastated by the tsunami

An important part of the programme also relied on creating awareness for disaster preparedness and hygiene to prevent common diseases. With the financial support of the Swiss Red Cross, SLA is committed to a wide-ranging community reconstruction programme for water and sanitation, rebuilding 40 public toilet and laundry units, and the sanitary infrastructure of local health facilities. The programme also runs a hygiene information campaign in schools and trains members of the laundry committees in the maintenance of water and sanitation infrastructure.

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Humanitarian Aid Annual Report 2010

SRI LANKA

Return, a slow start of a new home

The accelerated return process of 2010 proved chaotic. Most of the returnees found their homes and basic infrastructure destroyed, with immense gaps in services available at community level.

Returnees were forced to travel great distances to satisfy basic needs.

As access is an integral part of returnee recovery, the purpose of one of the SLA projects was to provide bicycles to returnees being resettled in Mullaitivu District. This improved access to basic services, such as water supply, education, health care and work. In the first three months of 2010, SLA was able to provide 1,100 bicycles to those in most urgent need, such as children living a long way from school, teachers and fa-

Liquid waste removal in refugee camp

milies living far from markets, health facilities or other services. Families affected by the war and

34,900 individuals resided in IDP camps in the

unable to return to their homes in 2010, stayed

North of Sri Lanka. Prior to SLA-coordinated

on at the Menik Farm Internally Displaced Per-

operations (Phase I), solid waste was disposed

son (IDP) camp near Vavunyia. SLA has imple-

in an entirely uncontrolled manner. After SLA be-

mented the SDC-funded Solid Waste Manage-

gan its activities, waste was dumped at a semi-

ment (SWM) project at the Menik Farm.

permanent site located 6 km away from Menik Farm. Until end September 2010, SLA supported

Since then, the situation in the camp and the

by SDC was the only organisation to take care of

context of implementation have changed conti-

solid and liquid waste management activities at

nuously. At the beginning of the SWM Phase I

Menik Farm, ensuring that IDPs were able to live

Project period (September 2009), the number

in a safe, waste-free environment.

of internally displaced at the Menik Farm jumped from approximately 78,000 to over 250,000.

When the government‘s resettlement programme was launched in December 2009, the population gradually diminished.

As of August 26, 2010, less than a year after commencement of SWM Phase I, approximately

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A true story Thavarasa Sajeetharan is 14 years old and lives in the Kallappadu South GN in Maritimepattu DS, Mullaitivu District. His mother fell victim to the 2004 tsunami disaster; his father died in the final attle in the North on 13t May 2009. Sajeeth’s grandmother is now caring for him and his younger brother.

As well as Sajeeth’s mother, she also lost her husband and another daughter in the tsunami disaster of December 2004. The family has suffered incredible loss and the tsunami and the war have left them griefstricken. The children miss their parents and are thankful for their grandmother‘s love and affection.

In the final stages of the war, the family was trapped inside Vanni but managed to flee on the 16 May 2009 to governmentcontrolled areas. They were then kept in the Menik Farm refugee camp for over a year and suffered incredible hardships. The family was resettled in early July 2010 to their place of origin. Sajeeth’s grandmother is 65 years old and suffers from ill health.

Before the war, the boys regularly rode to school by bicycle. Due to the conflict, the family lost all their belongings. Both boys have had a very difficult time getting to school on time as they live in a remote village. Sajeeth’s grandmother also has to go to the hospital once a week for medical checks. The hospital is over 6 km away and she cannot afford the bus fare. The family also faces difficulty accessing their basic dry food rations and they complain that the food is just not enough.

Having received the SLA bicycle and cargo box, the boys now manage to get to school and are attending class regularly. The cargo box is being used to carry their dry rations and they also use it as a table to do their homework. Sajeeth helps his grandmother get to the hospital once a week to receive health care. Despite all the hardships this family has faced, they now manage to have just a little bit of hope through education: the boys hope that they can continue schooling and don‘t have to go to work to support themselves.

Thayarasa Sajeethran with his new bicycle

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Humanitarian Aid Annual Report 2010

MOZAMBIQUE

Food security and health for the most vulnerable

Relief after drought

Bassa, Chemba, Machaze and Chibabava benefitted from this project. Every family received 5 kg

In past years, Mozambique has suffered an in-

of maize and 0.5 kg of beans (amounting to 25

creasing number of natural disasters due to cli-

tons of maize and 2.5 tons of beans). The project

mate change. Nearly every year, those who are

also encouraged the cultivation of drought-resis-

already vulnerable and live in poverty are faced

tant plants such as maniok and sweet potatoes,

with new humanitarian crises – often without ha-

which had benefitted the farmers in the past.

ving been able to deal with the preceding crisis.

Changing weather patterns also had a negative

In autumn 2009, draught affected wide areas of

impact on SLA relief aid. After months without

Mozambique’s central and southern region. In

any rain, massive rainfall caused the Cahora

SLA project regions, up to 60% of the agricultu-

Bassa embankment dam in the Zambesi valley to

ral production was lost. Following late beginning

overflow in March. In June, the dam administra-

rainfalls, SLA started a relief project supported

tion was forced to release 5,000 m3 of water per

by Swiss Solidarity, distributing seeds to enable

second – nearly three times the normal outflow.

a second harvest and preserve some food se-

Vast tracts of agricultural land on the valley floor

curity for farmers and their families. A total of

were submerged, affecting the second harvest,

5000 families in the districts of Mágue, Cahora

which remained poor. In higher regions of the

SLA stockpile of seeds and crops 12

districts of Mágue, Cahora Bassa and Chemba,

hance basic health services and strengthen com-

and in Machaze und Chibabava located beyond

munities‘ self-help efforts by setting up malaria

the Zambezi valley, the harvest was good.

committees. In the first months of project implementation, almost 10,000 mosquitoes nets were

Malaria prevention

distributed. The objective is to ensure all pregnant women and children under five are protec-

In the context of a call for donations – „every cent

ted by sleeping under the nets at night, thereby

counts“ – launched by Swiss Solidarity, SLA in

drastically reducing new infections and mortality.

September 2010 initiated a new project for malaria prevention. In Mozambique, malaria remains the worst killer, particularly among mothers and small children.

SLA activities focused on three districts of the Zambezi valley, where the situation has been critical. SLA ran an awareness campaign to en-

Women with water canisters and mosquito nets distributed by SLA

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Humanitarian Aid Annual Report 2010

EL SALVADOR Living with natural hazards

Relief and rehabilitation after hurricanes

project contributed to saving lives during these

IDA und AGATHA

turbulent weather events through enhanced radio communication, prompt reaction through profes-

At the end of 2009, hurricane Ida led to tremend-

sional monitoring of risks, and efficient networ-

ous numbers of victims and the destruction of

king of all agencies involved. The safe evacua-

infrastructure and assets in El Salvador. Since

tion of affected communities was also among the

2010 SLA has primarily been involved in the con-

results of SLA project efforts. The most important

struction and equipment of community shelters

components of the project lay in the provision of

in Ilopango.

training, risk analysis and escape routes for the population, as well as the setting-up of shelters

Further hurricanes occurred during the rainy

with cooking and sanitary facilities. In total, 13

season – Agatha in May, followed by Alex, Karl,

community relief centres where equipped or their

Matthew and Nicole – confirming that this was

structure enhanced in two particularly threatened

an adequate and much-needed objective. The

communities potentially affected by multiple hazards.

Familiy fleeing from floods

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Some of the chief threats are hurricanes, floods,

What is

earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. SLA also

DIPECHO?

installed 11 water tanks whose drinking water quality is monitored regularly. 1,242 families were evacuated and saved, directly benefitting from the project. These families are among the most vulnerable as assessed by the community authorities. In Ilopango, negotiations are ongoing to find adequate, safer territories to relocate families. The project was co-funded by Swiss Solidarity, SDC and SLA. Pure drinking water and disaster preparedness for Zacatecoluca and Tecoluca The project is a continuation of the „agua limpia“ (clean water) project started 2009, when SLA set up 40 elevated latrines specially designed for flood-affected areas. SLA also conducted training sessions and awareness campaigns to prepare the population for possible future disasters.

In addition, the project supported the coordination of all involved agencies to share best

The European Commission‘s Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO) was set up in 1992 to provide rapid and effective support to the victims of crises outside the European Union. Recognising the importance of pre-emptive measures, ECHO launched its disaster preparedness programme, DIPECHO, in 1996.

ECHO‘s disaster preparedness programme (DIPECHO) targets vulnerable communities living in the main disaster-prone regions of the world. These programmes are intended to demonstrate that simple and inexpensive preparatory measures, particularly those implemented by communities themselves, can be effective in limiting damage and saving lives when disaster strikes.

practice in disaster risk reduction and preparedness – including local administrations, civil security, military, fire departments, health and education ministries, village associations, water committees and other grassroots organisations.

Together, they will cooperate to find best solutions to analyse risks and prepare for future disasters. In the community of Zacatecolula, the

Typically, DIPECHO-funded projects cover training, capacity-building, awarenessraising, early-warning, and planning and forecasting measures, with the funds being channelled through aid agencies and NGOs working in the regions concerned.

disaster preparedness programme includes the region‘s volcanic area in addition to already targeted flood-prone areas.

Project objectives range from improved access to drinking water, training for disaster risk reduction, implementation of early-warning systems in flood-prone areas, to lobbying the public administration and enhancing public awareness of

DIPECHO projects are designed as pilots within their region, their impact being multiplied when the strategies they advocate are integrated into long-term development projects, whether by the development services of the European Commission, national governments or other development partners.

preparedness and mitigation of the impact of natural disasters.

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Humanitarian Aid Annual Report 2010

In Zacatecoluca and Tecoluca, capacity deve-

cilities by installing electricity, cooking and sani-

lopment was initiated for the water committees

tation.

and training events offered to their members to guarantee adequate well management and puri-

The projects are co-funded through the DI-

fication of drinking water.

PECHO programme of the European Union, and Swiss Solidarity. They actively support synergy

Analysis of water quality is performed on a re-

effects with other SLA relief activities in the coun-

gular basis and provides the population with the

try.

necessary information; it also enhances public awareness of the importance of adequate maintenance of bolted wells and simple water systems. In six relief shelters, SLA enhanced fa-

Woman studies community map showing escape routes

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Facts & Figures

Sumatra 31%

Use of Funds (by Region) El Salvador 11%

Others 2% Mozambique 3%

Pakistan 19%

Sri Lanka 33%

Use of Funds (by Sector) Shelter 39% Livelihood 8%

Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) 4%

Non-Food-Items (NFI) 22%

Water-Sanitation-Hygiene (WASH) 27%

Origin of Funds Swiss Solidarity 60% ECHO 3%

Solidar Network-Partners and other organisations 14%

Institutions, Cantons and Communes 3% Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) 13%

Private Donations 7%

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Humanitarian Aid Annual Report 2010

Partners and Networks Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC The Humanitarian Aid Department of SDC aims to save lives and alleviate suffering. Direct relief is provided in the wake of natural disasters and in the context of armed conflicts, while SLA as a humanitarian partner is the recipient of both manpower and financial support. The core domains of intervention are prevention, emergency aid and survival assistance, reconstruction, and advocacy for the causes of forgotten humanitarian crises.

Swiss Solidarity

SLA is member of the Swiss Solidarity Foundation, Switzerland’s humanitarian solidarity and fundraising platform. Many SLA humanitarian aid projects are supported by Swiss Solidarity with the obligation of meeting 20 percent of the project budget from SLA’s own funds.

European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO)

The European Union as a whole (i.e. the Member States and the Commission) is one of the world’s main humanitarian aid donors; the Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO) is the service of the European Commission responsible for this activity. SLA has been an official partner of ECHO since 2007.

Solidar

SOLIDAR is a European network of I-NGOs working to advance social justice in Europe and worldwide. With 50 European INGOs, SLA is a member of SOLIDAR and cooperates with these partner organisations, implementing projects in many countries. Current focus countries are Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Burkina Faso and Mozambique. SOLIDAR is primarily active in four areas, e.g. social affairs, international cooperation, education and humanitarian aid.

Apheda – Union Aid Abroad Apheda is the overseas humanitarian aid agency of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. As a SOLIDAR partner, Apheda supports SLA relief activities in Pakistan.

AWO International e. V. AWO International is a non-governmental organization founded in 1998 as a professional association for Humanitarian Aid and development cooperation within the German Workers‘ Welfare Association. AWO International supports the set-up of temporary shelters in Pakistan.

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Fos-socialist solidarity (FOS) FOS is the North-South organisation of the socialist movement in Flanders, Belgium. As SOLIDAR member, FOS supports the set-up of the SLA transitional shelter project in Pakistan.

Labour Education Foundation (LEF) LEF is a Pakistani partner of the SOLIDAR Global Network. LEF is a national NGO, empowering the working class to protect its social, economic and political rights, and to develop trade unions. By building a Labour Relief Committee, LEF has established a good agent for the safe and fair provision and support of relief and rehabilitation activities of SLA in Pakistan.

Nachbar in Not (NiN) NiN is the fundraising platform of the Austrian public broadcasters supporting humanitarian aid projects worldwide via registered NGO Partners. Among the members of NiN are Volkshilfe Österreich, the Austrian Red Cross and Caritas. NiN supports relief activities of SLA in Pakstan.

Norvegian Peoples Aid (NPA) NPA is the Norvegian labour movement’s humanitarian organisation for solidarity. As Solidar partner, NPA cofunds the relief and rehabilitation programme of SLA in Pakistan.

OGBL Luxemburg OGBL is the independent Association of Trade Unions of Luxembourg. OGBL supports relief activities of SLA in Pakistan.

Rainforest Rescue International (RRI) RRI, a Sri Lankan organisation and long-standing national SLA partner, aims to create a strong link between communities and their environment in Sri Lanka. Through ongoing community training and support in organic and sustainable farming, it empowers people to generate alternative incomes while protecting and restoring native biodiversity. The partnership between RRI and SLA is mainly focused on livelihood projects throughout Sri Lanka.

Swiss Red Cross (SRC) SRC is a private organisation that also carries out public tasks on a mandate by the Swiss government or cantonal authorities. As a member of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, it is part of a worldwide network of 186 National Societies. SRC supports the SLA Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Programme in Indonesia.

Volkshilfe As a SOLIDAR partner, Volkshilfe supports SLA Humanitarian Aid projects in many countries.

Addresses Swiss Labour Assistance SLA Quellenstrasse 31 P.O. Box 2228 CH-8031 Zurich Switzerland Phone: 0041 044 444 19 19 Email: info@sah.ch URL: www.sah.ch PAKISTAN SLA Pakistan House no. 580, Street 6 G-11/1 Islamabad, Pakistan Phone: 0092 336 559 20 75 E-Mail: sla.isb.pakistan@gmail.com Sri Lanka SAH Sri Lanka No: 27, 2/4 Janatha Court, Alfred Place Colombo 03, Sri Lanka Phone: 009411 555 71 19 Email: irene.fraser@sah.ch

Indonesia / Sumatra SLA Office Padang Jl. Parupuk VI, No.1 Kecamatan Koto, Tangah, Padang Sumatra Barat / Indonesia Phone: 0062 751 7050 678 Email: stephan.titze@sah.ch Mozambique Representaçao OSEO Rua da Zambia 524 Chimoio / Manica - Mozambique Phone: 00258 251 222 67 Email: oseoguest@tdm.co.mz

El Salvador AOS El Salvador Colonia SatĂŠlite, Pasaje Venus no. 19 San Salvador - El Salvador Phone: 00503 22 74 14 51 Email: aosal@navegante.com.sv

Indonesian builders proudly display their certificates after completing their SLA earthquake-safe construction training.

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Swiss Labour Assistance SLA Quellenstrasse 31 P.O. Box 2228 CH-8031 Zurich Switzerland Phone: +41 (0)44 444 19 19 Fax: +41 (0)44 444 19 00 Web: www.sah.ch, Email: info@sah.ch PC 80-188-1