Sri Lanka Journal- Andew and Annette Dey: 2/24/2005

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Links from Andrew and Annette:

Pro Photographer Dixie's web site

Mondo Challenge set up Andrew and Annette's trip.

Unawatuna is the village where they're staying and working

In the north, Andrew and Annette are working with Norwegian People's Aid. NPAID is partnered with the German organization called Arbeiter Samariter Bund.

Bensonwood.com

Andrew

After a long day on the job site, I have difficulty mustering the inspiration to attend the Thursday evening INGO meeting at the UNICEF office. Immediately following the tsunami, the various international NGOs working in the LTTE-controlled Vanni region initiated the weekly meeting to coordinate their efforts. Most of these INGOs had been working with war-affected persons prior to the tsunami, and they were already coordinating their work informally. Although these weekly meetings are usually long and they can be dull, they are a useful forum for inter-NGO communication.

In addition to UNICEF, the attendance roster includes many large INGOs such as UNHCR, UNOCHA, Save the Children, Oxfam, and World Vision, as well as a number of organizations such as ZOA, FORUT, and HUDEC that are new to me. These INGOs have been working with the local authorities and with each other to ensure that the immediate and short-term relief needs are being met.

The meeting is moderated by one or another representative of a UN agency. This evening, the moderator is Penny of UNICEF. The agenda for the meeting is always similar. The status of each of the following areas of support is discussed:

• Non-Food Related Items (NFRI—things like cooking pots and mosquito nets)
• Shelter
• Water and Sanitation (WatSan)
• Gender Issues

Each of these areas has one NGO as its primary coordinator, although some areas such as Shelter may have many NGOs working on them. As the weeks have worn on, the discussion of each of these areas has shortened, although at each meeting, new issues emerge.

During the discussion of NFRI, Kate of UNHCR mentions that she just visited a camp being administered by Sewa Lanka (a local NGO), and found a shortage of women’s sanitary napkins, bras, and underwear. Penny responds that she has a truckload of sanitary napkins to offer, and a gentleman from another NGO is thrilled finally to have recipients for the bras and underwear his group has been warehousing.

After we share updates on the progress of shelter construction, Penny reports hearing that the transitional shelters at an IDP camp in India had burned. Have we considered incorporating some form of fire suppression system into the camps? The debate that ensues concludes with a decision for the NGOs building the toilets in each camp to supply buckets that can be used to convey water or sand to a fire.

Just as we are thinking that the meeting might be over in a record fifty minutes, Penny informs us that the PDS—the LTTE’s Planning and Development Secretariat—has scheduled an INGO meeting for mid-March to discuss Phase III coordination—rebuilding livelihoods, and permanent villages. She would like each group to report whether they are currently involved in Phase III work, and whether they have plans for additional initiatives in Phase III. Penny also mentions that a nation-wide needs assessment is being undertaken by several large agencies—the UN, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank (ADP), although the initial phases of the assessment are apparently being hampered by interference from the Sri Lankan government. Several of the meeting participants comment on the “assessment fatigue” they are picking up from the IDPs.

In the discussion that follows, I am surprised to hear that many of the INGOs are already administering cash-for-work programs, because I have not seen evidence of this in the areas where we are working. ZOA, Care, and others report that they have been hiring tsunami victims to help repair roads and clear rubble from the shore areas.

Other groups are purchasing nets to help restore the livelihoods of the many affected fishermen. Apparently the fishermen who have been able to return to fishing are finding that their nets are frequently becoming snagged by the large amount of debris that is still in the water. Kate points out that the six month fishing season here in the northeast is now half over, and that if fishermen do not obtain nets and boats by May, then they will have little use for them in June, July, and August.

NPA, the group with whom Annette and I are working, has already purchased fishing boats for one affected village, and is planning to set up a boat-building or boat-repair shop.

Penny asks which of the INGOs are planning to build permanent housing, as this will be an important component of Phase III of the recovery. Most of the groups represented will be working on housing. Herald of ZOA seems to have the most up-to-date information on the country-wide status of the permanent housing issue. He tells us that the Sri Lankan government has said that it will provide new housing for all tsunami-affected people, with the World Bank and the ADP likely to be big players in this rebuilding.

Herald goes on to comment on the importance of establishing standards for the new housing, to help ensure that the houses built in all parts of the country are similar in quality, size, and cost. He tells us that various agencies have been wrestling with this issue in Colombo. The proposed guidelines he has heard range from 150,000 rupees (about $1,500) and 400 square feet, to 250,000 rupees and 500 square feet. He points out that either of these guidelines would result in houses that are far nicer than those in which many of the non-tsunami-affected families in the Vanni are living. I have seen the small palm-leaf shacks to which Herald is referring. He urges all of the INGOs present to encourage their donors to allow flexibility in how their donations are spent.

“Wouldn’t it be wonderful,” he concludes, “if one result of the tsunami would be to provide the many war-affected families in the Vanni with better housing.”