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Transition from Camps to Communities
These programs help people move from the temporary shelters set up after the tsunami to permanent homes which includes rebuilding shelters and housing. USAID also provides business loans, cash- and food-for-work programs, water, nutrition and possibly food aid to boost local economies. Below are highlights of USAID's work in this area.
07/20/05 First sixty students begin vocational training under $10 million USAID and Chevron
alliance in Indonesia
USAID and Chevron identified 60 students to participate in vocational training at Chevron's Riau facility.
Students will study electrical installation and small-scale infrastructure/civil engineering (“juru bangunan
sipil") in a three-month training program that began on July 16. This is the first training under the $10
million alliance between USAID and Chevron. Over the next few months, an additional 300 students
will be trained on skills critical to the reconstruction process. These skills will help ensure Acehnese
participation in the reconstruction process.
07/20/05
USAID re-trains unemployed
graduates for IT work in post-tsunami
economy
Tsunami-affected university graduates
are among those for whom USAID
developed a 5-month “conversion”
program to teach unemployed
graduates information technology, an
industry with plenty of opportunity
according to a recent survey. Sri Lanka
has long had thousands more graduates
in fields such as civil service and
accounting than jobs to employ them, a
problem exacerbated by the tsunami’s
disruption of the economy.
Administered in collaboration with the University of Moratuwa, the program is designed to convert
motivated yet unemployed graduates into IT-savvy individuals with the blend of technical competence,
“soft” skills and IT work experience that will make them strong candidates for employment in the IT
sector. The program started with 25 students and includes scholarships for needy students. The
private sector has shown a keen interest in this program by helping design the program’s curriculum.
Representatives of several prominent IT firms participated in interview panels to select students, and
business mentors will orient students to career opportunities.
07/20/05
Reseeding mangrove forests improves
environment and livelihoods
Mangrove forests along the coastlines of
Thailand were seriously affected by the
tsunami. Silt deposited by the waves clogged
the pores of the aerial roots, suffocating the
mangrove trees and destroying the coastal
ecosystems.
By replanting mangroves in coastal areas,
USAID is helping communities add natural
barriers against coastal hazards and
increasing economic activities. Mangrove forests provide nutrient-rich environments ideal for cultivating
crabs to supplement fisher-family incomes, as well as thatch for roofs and fuel for cooking. To
rehabilitate mangrove forests, USAID trained 25 villagers to harvest mangrove seedlings, prepare
growth material and establish new plants. Also, through a USAID cash-for-work initiative, over 100
villagers (mostly female) were employed to seed, plant and care for 40,000 mangrove seedlings.
06/22/05 USAID’s partnership with Geneva Global expected to reach 216,000 beneficiaries
USAID recently kicked off a partnership with the Geneva
Global Foundation to provide matching contributions
totaling $3 million for at least 65 social and development
projects. The projects will focus on aid to vulnerable
families, youth, and children, improving health, and
combating human trafficking and domestic abuse, and
are expected to benefit up to 216,000 individuals. Some
200 representatives from leading NGOs operating in the
country attended a conference to learn how to apply for
grants.
USAID also launched another public private partnership,
signing an agreement this week with Prudential Insurance for a $500,000 donation. The funds donated
by Prudential are earmarked for vocational education programs in tsunami-affected areas in an effort to
boost post-tsunami economic recovery. Several other partnership agreements for Sri Lanka have
already been signed, and more are in the pipeline. Including partnerships still in discussion, the
present potential is for $4.6 million in cash, commodities, and services from private sector partners, with
cash contributions of $1.68 million from USAID for tsunami-related reconstruction activities.on
psycho-social care to better support effective disaster relief and rehabilitation.
06/22/05 USAID develops facilitator skills to improve local governance
USAID is working with fifty tsunami-affected communities to facilitate participatory planning to identify
local needs that will be met through additional USAID grant funding. Recognizing that recovery activities
can easily create tensions within and between participating communities, the program uses approaches
that prevent, manage and resolve potentially violent disputes.
As part of the program, USAID held a five day training to build facilitator skills in strengthening local
governance and promoting quick and sustainable recovery in affected communities. The training was
held at the Syiah Kuala University in Banda Aceh. During the training, facilitators strengthened their
skills at helping leaders’ effectiveness, especially in giving clear direction to people in their
communities, moving together in that direction, motivating and empowering groups to reach goals, and
lastly, resolving conflicts that occur along the way.
06/22/05 Cash-for-work project to help children get back to
school
USAID, in cooperation with Thai district administrative offices
and non-governmental partners, recently built an elevated
school passageway to provide children with safe entry to
their school. The elevated walkway will prevent students
from having to wade through the mud and water during the
rainy season. The project is one of several USAID cash-forwork
initiatives that provide income to villagers while they
contribute time and labor for the redesign of local
infrastructure.
06/22/05 Clean up act builds good will
In newly constructed communities for displaced persons,
lack of systematic waste removal was a significant
challenge to community health. In addition, district
resources were constrained by the magnitude of the debris
removal. Under USAID’s cash-for-work program, a team
of 25 persons launched a clean environment initiative, in
collaboration with the District Environmental Officer.
Locally made trash baskets were purchased and placed
strategically in front of homes adjacent to the road for easy
collection by trash removal vehicles. District officials,
pleased with the villager’s desire to contribute to improved
practices that protect health, and the maintenance of an
aesthetic environment that attracts tourism, agreed to
provide weekly solid waste removal.
06/22/05 Teaching tsunami affected children healthy lessons
USAID and EXNORA, a local NGO, recently
launched a program to educate hundreds of
tsunami-affected children living in temporary
shelters on health, sanitation and hygiene. A
three day workshop on how to use puppetry
and games to convey messages to children
was held in Nagapattinam for 70 volunteers.
The volunteers are expected to organize
education programs for children in the tsunami
hit areas.
06/08/05 Building consensus and creating a unified vision for action
USAID’s integrated coastal management project
is utilizing a participatory assessment process to
encourage cooperative decision making among
community members and local government
officials. Through the use of Town hall meetings,
community members identify and validate priority
community needs and activities. In addition,
community members nominate and elect one
male and one female representative from each
village to represent community concerns in working groups as well as ensure information sharing with
all members of the community. By fostering democratic decision making processes, USAID aims to
mitigate community conflict in the process of rehabilitating tsunami struck villages.
06/08/05 Engaging community leaders to reestablish neighborhoods
USAID is helping local government,
university experts and community
organizations jointly plan the recovery and
reconstruction of the city of Banda Aceh.
A working group on spatial planning is
accelerating recovery preparation and
engaging citizens' groups in the decision-making
process affecting their
neighborhoods. This action planning
group is helping the city government to
coordinate community-level planning to
determine the location of houses,
mosques, schools, health centers, markets and other common areas. The action plan, discussed in a workshop attended by leading
international donors, will become part of the new master city development plan that is being prepared
by the city. Implementation of the plan is expected to start by July/August 2005.
The spatial planning group is one of five USAID-facilitated action planning groups working to get local
government and citizens jointly engaged in the reconstruction process. The other planning groups
involve land tenure and settlement, education, health and employment and economic development.
Banda Aceh is the first to receive action planning assistance, and the process is being started in four
other districts: Aceh Besar, Aceh Jaya, Aceh Barat and Nagan Raya.
06/08/05 Community level workers learn to counsel tsunami victims
USAID is training 3,000 community level
workers in counseling skills to help
communities recover from the psychological
trauma caused by the tsumami. The
program is also establishing a referral
system for those who may need a higher
level of psychological care. USAID's
program incorporates lessons learned from
previous disasters in India.On May 19, 250 CLWs attended a training session in Nagapattinam. The majority of participants were
from the Government of Tamil Nadu, which has determined that government staff working at the
community level, such as school teachers, nurses and day care providers, need to be trained on
psycho-social care to better support effective disaster relief and rehabilitation.
05/18/05 Chevron fuels vocational training for Sri Lanka
Chevron Texaco donated $100,000 to USAID/Sri Lanka for vocational education in marine engine, motorcycle, three-wheeler, and automobile repair. With a matching contribution from USAID, the training will benefit 570 trainees in tsunami-affected areas. Local affiliate Caltex Lubricants Lanka will also make its engineers and technical staff available to USAID and the Vocational Training Authority to assist with vocational teacher training. The company plans to assist in placing graduating students in skills-appropriate jobs.
05/04/05 Micro-Credit brings business back to
market
With a $50,000 grant from USAID, a
local NGO in Banda Aceh was able to
recapitalize and restart its revolving loan
fund. The fund now provides working
capital for over 200 micro-enterprises
affected by the tsunami. Approximately
80% of these funds have already been
disbursed to micro-businesses selling
cooked food and drink, vegetables and
fruit, children’s toys, and clothing. Of
the loans dispersed to date,
approximately 30% were received by
women and repayment stands at 100%.
The average loan is between $105 and
$210. Currently, this is the only program in Banda Aceh providing vital "seed money" for microentrepreneurs
to get back in business.
Fishermen get back on the water
Working with four local Acehnese NGOs in Pidie, Bireun, and Aceh Jaya Districts, USAID constructed
209 fishing boats, helping 520 local fishermen return to work. The boat construction, a mix of 3-4 meter
boats for two persons and 8-9 meter boats for four persons, is part of a broader cash-for-work and
livelihoods recovery program developed by USAID in Aceh.
05/04/05 Small business blossoms with USAID grant-loan
combinations
Forty-five year old Mallika, a mother of two from the southern
coastal town of Hikkaduwa, faced a common predicament in
business. After the tsunami, she and her out-of-work husband
wanted to start producing and selling curd, a popular dessert
made from water buffalo milk. With no current business in
operation, she was not eligible for a loan; without money, she
could not get started. A USAID funded project broke that cycle by
providing her cooking pots and other materials, and a $150 loan
for sundries and ingredients. The business now produces 40 liters
of curd a day. She and her husband are paying off the loan and
saving for a motorbike, to cut down his travel time to and from
the market. To date, USAID has assisted more than 1,500 small
entrepreneurs and expects to reach 6,000 more by July 2006
through $250,000 in similar commodities grants and microfinance loans.
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