Earthquake disaster in Asia

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Publication date: Thursday 06 January 2005

Hivos has committed a quarter million euro for emergency aid in the areas struck by the tsunami in South-East Asia. These funds have been made directly available for Hivos local partner organisations in Sri Lanka, India and Indonesia who are setting up programmes for victims of the disaster. Thanks to support from Hivos, these programmes can be implemented immediately.

Though Hivos does not have any ‘workers in the field’, it is constantly in contact with local organisations in the countries struck by the disaster. For example the South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies (SIFFS) in India. This organisation for fishermen was already active in the South of India before before the disaster. Right now, all SIFFS volunteers are using their connections and power to provide food, drinking water, medicines, clothes and blankets for the victims.

The National Fisheries Solidarity (NAFSO) in Sri Lanka has build shelters in the disaster areas of the island for the victims who have lost their homes. While NAFSO volunteers were making the roads passable again, they were able to save several victims that were trapped

In Indonesia, the farmers’ organisation Sintesa is especially volunteering in Atjeh. Co-workers and volunteers are distributing food and medicines, building shelters, burying the deaths to prevent the spread of diseases and providing special care for orphans. Just as SIFFS and NAFSO, Sintesa is already thinking about reconstruction plans for the near future.

Hivos maintains close contacts with SIFFS, NAFSO, Sintesa and other local partners are also present in the region with its regional office in Bangalore (India), allowing it to react quickly to requests for aid from partner organisations.

In addition to providing funds, Hivos is also linking different actors from its partner network that are providing aid at the local level. This is to help ensure that emergency aid programmes are implemented in a complementary way and that aid is provided as efficiently as possible. Three of these actors are Deutsche Welthungerhilfe (Germany), Concern (Ireland) and CESVI (Italy). These organisations are, like Hivos, members of the European Alliance of secular development organisations Alliance2015.

Hivos will be closely following developments in the disaster area. Hivos will respond rapidly if more funds appear necessary, or if it sees that it can support its partners in any additional way.

SIFFS website on the tsunami Posted by Julie Ferguson on Thursday 27 January 2005 3:20:07 pm SIFFS (highlighted under case studies on this site) has created an excellent website on the tsunami and relief efforts. See http://www.tsunami2004-india.org/