CWS-ACT
Earthquake Response

ACT Situation Report

Pakistan-India 10/06

South Asia earthquake: ACT response

Geneva, July 13, 2006

PAKISTAN

ACT appeal ASSA51 (Revision 2) - Emergency Relief to Quake-affected

Information provided by ACT member Church World Service Pakistan/Afghanistan (CWS) and based on reports from CWS field staff and information from UNHCR, Dawn newspaper, the Government of Pakistan and ERRA; the following is a compilation of extracts from weekly reports on CWS-ACT activities during June

From the June 7 report

General situation

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that as of June 3, approximately 80 percent of the families living in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) had returned to their places of origin. 29,243 IDPs are still residing in camps, out of which 20,000 are in Muzaffarabad. It is anticipated that close to 55,000 earthquake survivors will be relocated away from areas prone to landslides due to upcoming monsoon rains in Muzaffarabad. The government and U.N. agencies will follow an evacuation strategy for these vulnerable residents, as the biggest challenge is completing the relocation of communities before the beginning of the monsoons.

CWS-ACT activities

Psychosocial program

The psychosocial support team continued its activities in the two villages - Biliani and Mangli - where it has been working for the past few months. Routine field visits for counseling and meetings with the local communities were carried out. The team attending two cluster meetings - one on psychosocial work, which was held at the World Health Organization office, and the other on protection which was held at the District Coordination Office in Mansehra. The team leader attended a four-day training workshop on training of trainers in Islamabad. The workshop was organized by Save the Children-UK and was attended by a number of international agencies.

Water and sanitation and hygiene

The hygiene-promotion team continued providing hygiene-promotion training in the remaining spontaneous camps of Mansehra District. In Chatter Plain, six latrines were installed in two schools, and a supply line was installed for the base camp. The water scheme for a village near the base camp was also repaired following a request by the local community.

Recovery assessment and monitoring

The team visited Kaghan and Jared valleys in Mansehra District for assessments and monitoring. It assembled 67 household profiles and three village profiles. A total of 265 household profiles were entered into the database during the week. The team also attended a livelihood workshop group meeting and met civil authorities in Battagram District. The team also visited the Construction Trade Training Centre (CTTC) in Mansehra and completed monitoring and evaluation of the on-going courses.

From the June 15 report

Psychosocial program

The psychosocial support team continues to carry out field visits and activities in spite of a heat wave. Individual and group counseling sessions were conducted to support the psychosocial needs of the earthquake survivors.

Two psychosocial coaches from ACT member Church of Sweden visited the CWS emergency field office in Mansehra. They held experience-sharing meetings, discussions and brainstorming sessions with the psychosocial support team. The psychosocial experts also accompanied the team on their visit to the villages of Biliani and Mangli in Balakot. In Biliani they met with the teachers of a school who had attended earlier training on “Counseling and Child Rights” conducted by the CWS team. In Mangli, a community group meeting was held at which the local women noted the lack of basic educational facilities in the area. They explained that the area had no schools prior to the earthquake – only some private schools that are very expensive, which makes it difficult for many parents to pay for.

The Swedish coaches also conducted a one-day informal training session for the psychosocial team. The participants raised problems the team faces through role play and presentations and tried to find solutions to them.

The psychosocial team conducted a one-day training workshop with teachers and social mobilizers from another INGO in Biliani village. A protection officer from this INGO delivered a lecture on child rights.

From the June 21 report

General situation

A plan to relocate 18 villages in the earthquake-affected zone threatened by landslides due to the monsoon rains is underway.

Currently there are 40 residual camps in which 3,753 vulnerable - mainly landless – families (19,238 individuals) are living. These 40 camps will soon be reduced to 37, with the ability to accommodate 12,500 individuals. The remaining camps in Muzaffarabad are facing shortages of water and sanitation facilities. The water supply via tankers was to stop by the first week of July. UN agencies are providing services and other rehabilitation-focused measures in these camps.

CWS-ACT activities

Psychosocial program

The psychosocial support team has expanded its activities to the village level and continued its community field visits. These meetings and counseling sessions serve as a platform for the local people to bring forward their concerns and issues. During one of these meetings, villagers informed the team about a problem with the corrugated galvanized iron sheets that are being used for transitional shelters. The villagers say the sheets to heat up in the sun, making it unpleasant to live in the shelters in the hot weather.

Eight months after the earthquake, the psychosocial team reports that it is still encountering survivors who are having difficulty coping with the changes in their lives after the disaster. The team has been assisting them in recognizing their feelings and emotions. One example is a traumatized woman who was participating in the group meetings organized by the team. Follow-ups and counseling enabled her to start coping with and overcoming her trauma.

Water and sanitation and hygiene

In the Chatter Plain area, the hygiene-promotion teams worked intensively in five schools. Ten latrines were constructed, and clean drinking water facilities were provided to these schools. In Khala Dhaka, the local hygiene-promotion team that was trained by ACT member Norwegian Church Aid is now working in the area.

Recovery assessment and monitoring (RAM)

The RAM team compiled the evaluation and monitoring data for to the Construction Trade Training Centers (CTTC) in Mansehra and Bissian, which was collected during earlier monitoring visits. The evaluation forms to be used in the overall evaluation process of the CTTCs were translated into the local language (Urdu) so that the centers’ trainees could better understand them.

The team also visited Allai, Rashang, Gangwal and Ashar with a staff person of ACT member FinnChurchAid (FCA) to see where the FCA tents had been distributed in the relief phase and how they were being used. The families in these villages also shared their need for toilets, sanitation facilities, livestock and seeds. Families also expressed their fear of not being able to move back to their houses due to frequent aftershocks. The villagers also expressed their appreciation of CWS-ACT assistance and services during the relief phase.

From the June 28 report

General situation

With the onset of early monsoon rains across northern Pakistan, several international relief and U.N. agencies have warned against widespread landslides and environmental hazards. Following the earthquake and the succession of landslides and aftershocks throughout the spring of this year, many parts of the land are unstable and could become more unstable with the large amounts of rain that is falling.

CWS-ACT activities

Psychosocial program

The activities of the psychosocial support team focused on the two villages of Mangli and Biliani in Balakot district, where the team provided comprehensive group and individual counseling. As the initial relief phase ends and earthquake survivors move on to reconstruction and rehabilitation, it is being realized that community-based psychosocial services are in demand. This implies more emphasis on group and community meetings and fewer individual engagements. However, there are still many grief-stricken earthquake survivors, and therefore individual counseling will still be offered whenever needed.

While visiting the villages, the team also met with two female earthquake survivors who are still facing difficulties in overcoming their experiences. One of the women told the team that she lost her husband, 9-year-old daughter and two sisters. She said it has been very hard for her to accept their deaths and that she still has trouble sleeping at night. The counselors listened and consoled the women by acknowledging their emotions and feelings. The counselors encouraged the women to use a support network and asked other family members to take care of the women.

An agreement has been reached between the Red Cross and CWS for the CWS psychosocial team to extend its services to women attending courses at the Red Cross vocational training center. Most of the women come to the center daily, and it is helpful to have a community meeting with them to talk about their issues and find solutions together with them. In women’s gatherings, the issues discussed have mostly concerned children, education of girls, water and sanitation, hygiene, grief and loss, as well as the value of working together for the community and identifying resources to solve its problems.

In Biliani, residents raised an issue relating to water, and the psychosocial team sought to resolve this problem with the local government official, i.e., the Tehsil Nazim of Balakot. The team encouraged community volunteers to take the initiative together with residents and lodge a formal complaint. One community member with technical expertise conducted an assessment to find out how many water pipes are needed. The findings were presented to the Tehsil Nazim, and work on the infrastructure is expected to be carried out.

Water and sanitation and hygiene

The water and sanitation team has finalized the detailed assessment of the first seven water-supply systems, the contract for the repair of six systems has been signed, and work has started. The team is also working on one of the systems in Muza Kuzabanda, and work is expected to be completed soon.

The hygiene-promotion team is extending its services to the three villages of Muza Bandigo, Muza Banian and Muza Kuzabanda, where the contractors and the water and sanitation team are currently rehabilitating the water-supply systems. The hygiene-promotion team carried out assessment in Muza Bandigo and Muza Banian, and in Muza Kuzabanda registration of the residents has been completed.

Recovery assessment and monitoring (RAM)

The RAM team visited Dhudyal and Datta union councils for follow-up and evaluation with graduates of the Bissian Construction Trade Training Centre (CTTC). The team met with eight graduates in Dhudyal. Three graduates have secured employment. One is working with an NGO as a plumbing instructor, another has signed the contract to build a house in Baffa, and a third has signed a contract as a mason. The other graduates were busy with exams. Some are planning to start their own businesses, while others have joined trade shops or firms.

In Datta, the RAM team met with eight other CTTC graduates who are using their newly acquired skills. Some graduates are planning to open shops in their villages specific to their trades. They are hopeful about employment opportunities in the future due to the certification provided by CWS-ACT. A few of the graduates are working in Mansehra and expressed gratitude to CWS-ACT for the skills-development program it has initiated. Five of the graduates are working as trainers of others in Hangrai and Paras in their respective trades.

Visit the Web site of Church World Service-Pakistan/Afghanistan for regular updates. Also see the Web site of the Pakistan Humanitarian Forum, which CWS is part of. The site has useful information about the NGO response to the earthquake.

INDIA

ACT appeal ASIN61 – Earthquake -Reconstruction

Information provided by ACT member Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA)

General situation

The month of June saw the weather changing in Kashmir valley. It has been raining almost every evening at CASA’s project site in Uri. This has caused a drop in the temperatures to a low of about 17 degrees and to a high of 26 degrees Celsius.

There have been sporadic incidents of militancy in the valley, causing disruption in the day-to-day lives of the people. Although residents in the valley are used to militancy and such incidents, every new act of violence nevertheless causes panic and fear in the civilian population.

CASA-ACT activities

The reconstruction of 50 disaster-resistant houses has started in Sokar village in Uri, Baramullah District. CASA has three staff members at the project site in addition to locally hired staff.

Fifty families in this village have already been identified in consultation with the government for participation in this reconstruction program. CASA has formed agreements with two local contractors for the construction of 25 houses each. Construction material, including cement, steel, stone dust, bricks and wood, is beginning to arrive at the site. The layout for 15 houses and excavation for seven houses have been completed.

In the coming months, CASA also plans to start dairy farms, goat farms and tea and grocery shops in the village to help supplement the income of the earthquake survivors. The planning process for this has begun in terms of identifying beneficiaries who are interested in being part of these activities. CASA’s partner, NGO Coordination Federation of J&K, which is beginning a sustainable agriculture-practices program in the region, has also started carrying out work for this. It is organizing the communities to carry out these programs.

Challenges

The rain is posing a problem with storage of materials. As the warehouse (tin shed) that has been constructed at the site is not large enough, CASA sometimes faces problems when materials are delivered and cannot be stored inside the warehouse.

Due to the hilly terrain and the military presence, logistics is a problem, and delivery of materials is sometimes delayed.

Coordination

CASA staff are in regular contact with the government, municipal authorities and the district administration.