 |  |
|||||
 |
||||||
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
||||||
| September 10, 2010 |  | Home | About PSAC -SJF | Project Reports | Campaigns | Resources | Search | Français | ||||
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
||||||
The PSAC Social Justice Fund for Tsunami Relief
BackgroundBoxing Day 2004 saw the worst natural disaster in living memory. A devastating tsunami swept across 13 countries in Asia and Africa, killing more than 250,000 people and leaving millions homeless. PSAC members responded generously to the call for emergency relief through the PSAC Social Justice Fund and continue to provide support to affected communities. The first contributions were channeled to OXFAM and Save the Children Canada who secured matching funds from CIDA for humanitarian aid. SJF support is also directed to fishing communities and public sector workers who have a vital role to play in restoring public infrastructure and social services. 
Enabling a quick response to the disaster – OXFAM Canada"Thanks to the Public Service Alliance's generous grant of $30,000, Oxfam Canada was able to respond quickly and effectively to the tsunami emergency in South East Asia." – Robert Fox, director for Oxfam Canada. Oxfam's relief efforts began the very day of the Boxing Day disaster. Within three days, an Oxfam aid flight carrying 27 tons of relief supplies (worth $250,000) was on its way. By January 25, Oxfam was helping nearly half a million people in India, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia. Oxfam also provided relief in Somalia, the Maldives, and the Andamans and Nicobar Islands. Along with other relief agencies, Oxfam focused its efforts on water and sanitation, to ensure hygiene in camps for displaced people and thus prevent the outbreak of epidemic disease. Working with local community organizations, Oxfam distributed tens of thousands of hygiene kits, provided safe water, built latrines and temporary shelters, dug wells, and delivered mosquito nets and jerry cans. In February, Oxfam's tsunami response shifted towards reconstruction and rehabilitation. In Aceh, Indonesia, Oxfam hired thousands on a cash-for-work programme to clear farmland, and prepare land for rebuilding homes, mosques and community centres. Cleaning debris has now largely finished and Oxfam has set up a store where people can rent tools and purchase building supplies for vouchers distributed according to need. As in all emergencies, Oxfam sought to address women's particular needs. Oxfam ensured women were well represented in community participation in relief and reconstruction activities. Latrines were built to ensure women's privacy; Oxfam distributed sanitary napkins and clean undergarments, and insisted on paying women equal wages in cash-for-work programmes. The effects of the tsunami will be felt for years to come. With the support of the Public Service Alliance, Oxfam seeks to rebuild communities in a way that reduces, rather than reproduces, the poverty and inequity that existed before. Six month report on Tsunami relief and reconstruction, available at www.oxfam.ca 
Support for young victims – Save the Children CanadaImmediately following the Tsunami earthquake, the Social Justice Fund supported the efforts of Save the Children Canada to provide immediate relief to the most vulnerable population in all countries affected by the disaster. The first stage of the relief work included helping children and families obtain:
Save the Children has also supported the construction of temporary schools or child development centers, the repair or rebuilding of existing infrastructure, and the clearing of access roads to towns and villages. It has played a vital role in training community volunteers and teachers on child rights, and how to communicate with traumatized children and provide them with emotional support. Save the children continues to work with local teachers to organise and conduct activities for children in the schools and ensure the provision of UNICEF and UNESCO textbooks, guides and other equipment. Rehabilitating livelihoodSave the Children assists local organizations to support women who have lost their livelihoods. In the medium to longer term, livelihood recovery will include provision of capital for small-scale industry that would support the wider communities. Youths have also been employed in making cement blocks for ongoing construction work. Tool kits including basic construction tools have been distributed for building shelter, schools or child centres and boat construction. In some countries, such as Indonesia, nearly 60% of the tsunami victims are from fishing communities and assistance in terms of fishing equipment is urgently needed. Self-help groups have been created for boat construction. Developing a list of separated or unaccompanied children and reuniting them with surviving family members has also been a priority for Save the Children. The organization is developing a long-term strategy for the children who survived the December 26 disaster but were left without any family ties. Relief in Sri LankaFor the Love of Children Society of Alberta provides hope and support to disadvantaged children locally, regionally and internationally. Following the tsunami, the society visited numerous coastal villages east of Colombo, Sri Lanka, to assess emergency needs. It supplied water pumps to villages whose wells had been contaminated by sea water. The society also provided medical supplies, food supplements and educational materials for children. "After the immediate aid of food, clothing and shelter, there will be a need to provide psychological services for millions who have lost their family members," said Ashid Bahl, president and founder of the society. Brother Bahl works as a customs officer and is a member of the PSAC. Beyond the emergencyReconstruction in South East Asia will take over a decade. The majority of victims were already suffering from poverty and marginalization long before the disaster struck. These conditions, including the destruction of mangrove forests and coral reefs due to industrial shrimp farming, left the coastal communities vulnerable to the deadly tsunami. Reconstruction must avoid recreating the poverty of the past. The labour movement has a role to play in protecting social rights, rehabilitating the environment and assuring a more equitable distribution of resources. Global solidarity effortThe Global Union Federations (including the Public Service International and the Union Network International) have united to set up a Tsunami Solidarity Fund aimed at capacity building for unions, the recovery of workers' livelihoods and the defence of social rights. The PSAC Social Justice Fund has contributed $25,000 to this union program in order to:
Rehabilitation among fishing villages in South East IndiaThe SJF has contributed $20,000 for Tsunami Rehabilitation in 14 fishing villages in Tada Mandal, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, heavily affected by the Tsunami. Due to the collapse of their homes, 40 thousand families in coastal area of Andhra Pradesh are homeless.  This project has been initiated by the state-wide Labour Federation, APVVU, representing 382 unions of agricultural, forest and fish workers. It aims to build capacity and strengthen the union of fisher people of the Andhra Pradesh region, so that they are involved in making decision on the rehabilitation of their communities. In addition, APVVU and its local unions will also monitor government and also bilateral aid to ensure its appropriateness and that it meets the needs of survivors. The project will focus on women and children who play a vital role in the artesanal fishing industry but are exploited by the traders who control marketing. The project will seek to develop economically viable, ecologically appropriate and gender sensitive sustainable development in the rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts. The program is being jointly supported by the CLC, the PSAC, the CAW, the CEP and other Canadian unions. The futureThe PSAC SJF will continue to support long term reconstruction with fisherfolk, farmers and public sector unions in South East Asia. Project support and worker-to-worker exchanges will build on our mutual understanding of social justice in order to protect social rights and create a sustainable future for the community. Contributions to the PSAC Tsunami fundComponents, regions and locals have donated to the PSAC Social Justice Fund, placing the total for tsunami relief and reconstruction at $216,630. Contributors – Tsunami fund:
|
 |
   Print Version
 Email this story Send your feedback
www.savethechildren.ca www.fortheloveofchildrensociety.org 6-month report |
