| Response
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is supporting the efforts of the NCCSL and is responding. in cooperation with and as a member of Action by Churches Together (ACT). NCCSL is also an ACT member.
Already, truckloads of essential materials (dry rations, clothes, medicines and cooking utensils) have been sent throughout the country. In addition, a van was sent to a village near Galle to deliver family packets and a van was sent to Laxapathiya to distribute mats to families taking refuge there.
NCCSL is in the process of setting up a Temporary Relief Unit (TRU) to carry out emergency operations. The TRU will be operational for a period of 8-12 weeks and will be staffed by temporary resource persons recruited from outside for this purpose. The main task of the TRU will be to facilitate the efficient flow of information and monitor support to the local churches.
Specifically, the TRU will be responsible for:
- Maintaining frequent (every 1-3 days) contact with the clergy and volunteers in congregations throughout the country.
- Compiling situation reports with details on the number of beneficiaries, their needs and the capacity to help them locally.
- Coordinating with focal points in the government, the UN and NGOs in each area and reporting on activities.
- Preparing and submitting reports (financial and other) to ACT, donors and member churches.
- Facilitating information to the media and to donor countries.
The TRU will be managed by the General Secretary, who will oversee its daily activities. He will be assisted in this by Torild Borud. Each of four geographical regions will be managed by a Regional Coordinator who will report to the General Secretary on all activities related to their region and propose actions to at daily meetings. Supporting the regional units will be an administrative section comprised of a finance officer, a logistics officer and a communications team. Each regional unit will be closely linked to staff in member churches.
Computers have been purchased and received and additional telephone lines are on order. Office facilities have been set up at the NCCSL office.
Planned Relief Activities
The overall strategy of the NCCSL is to support the relief and rehabilitation efforts implemented by the churches in the four geographical areas. Relief operations will be carried out in three phases over a period of one year.
Phase I (six weeks):
Immediate relief will be carried out for the coming six weeks and will focus on the provision of essential emergency relief based on currently known needs and a more focused needs assessment that will be undertaken.
Food Items: Beneficiaries gathered in public places will be provided with cooked food or dry rations according to the local set up and logistics. Infant food will also be included.
Non-food Items: According to needs already identified locally, non-food items will be distributed in the gathering points and will include clothing, sheets and mats, medicine, mosquito coils and nets, soap, women's hygiene products, baby bottles, kitchen utensils, plates and cups, and pots and pans. Some items have been donated to NCCSL in Colombo, sorted, packed and transported to the affected areas by rented trucks. Other items are being purchased locally. The need for non-food items is expected to increase as people move from public buildings to temporary shelters.
Needs Assessment: A needs assessment will be carried out by volunteers who will assist local clergy in gathering information on the ground. NCCSL will then identify a limited group of beneficiaries already assembled in places of refuge for priority assistance. This will include, where possible, relocation with local families whose homes are intact. Families hosting displaced persons will be provided with dry rations. On the basis of the needs identified in each area, NCCSL will either facilitate the purchase, transport and delivery of items from Colombo or disburse money for local purchase and distribution.
Phase II (six weeks):
This phase will focus on establishing temporary living structures for those in public buildings and providing essential non-food items so that beneficiaries are able to return to the areas where they lived before the disaster.
Temporary Shelter: Most people are expected to move out of public buildings as soon as possible. They will need assistance to establish a temporary shelter until their home can eventually be rebuilt or rehabilitated. Where possible, temporary structures will be built using foundations not destroyed by the tsunamis. NCCSL assistance will be planned according to local tradition and, to the extent possible, coordinated and streamlined with those unified schemes already ongoing from the recent conflict situation. Provision of water and sanitation will be coordinated with technical experts and professional labour will be brought in to do some of the construction. Kerosene-driver water pumps and will be supplied to clear seawater-contaminated wells. Generators will be supplied to provide electricity.
Phase III (40 weeks):
This phase will focus on rebuilding homes and rehabilitating sustainable livelihoods. Technical staff from NCCSL in Colombo will advise and assist in the planning of rehabilitation activities and coordination, in cooperation with local guidelines. In addition, a relief and rehabilitation expert will be employed at the NCCSL to assist local communities with assessment and further planning of all aspects of this phase. |
