Our programmes in Asia
SRI LANKA
The Solidarités team in Sri Lanka comprises eleven volunteers,
including several hydraulics specialists.
SOLIDARITES has opened two bases in Sri Lanka :
- one support base in the capital, Colombo
- and one operational base in Ampara, on the East coast of the
island, an area which was severely affected by the tsunami.
The Colombo base is necessary to coordinate our action with
other humanitarian organisations, for relations with the Sri
Lankan authorities and for supply and logistics purposes.
The operational base in Ampara allows SOLIDARITES to carry out
humanitarian assistance programmes within a radius of several
dozen kilometres around the town and in particular in the coastal
district of Kalmunai.
Emergency distributions
During the first few weeks of January, in order to meet the
most urgent needs, Solidarités transported and distributed 70
rolls of plastic sheeting, over 5,000 10 L
jerricans and 72,000 food rations in 25 disaster refugee camps
in the Ampara region (mainly in the Kalmunai district).
In addition, during this same period, SOLIDARITES organised
the distribution of drinking water in the camps by means of
two "bladders" (flexible drinking water tanks containing 20
m3 and 30 m3 of water) and four underwater pumps.
In order to provide water to isolated villages whose wells
are unusable due to pollution of the water table (see below),
SOLIDARITES has just equipped itself with a drinking water purification
station, at a cost of 30,000 Euros, which is capable of providing
drinking water to 70,000 people per day. This purification
station will be transported to Sri Lanka as soon as possible.
The distribution of drinking water produced by this station
among the various sites in the region will be carried out using
water tankers.
Water
1 - Wells:
The tsunami seems to have drastically increased the salinity
level of the water table.
Our team is currently carrying out a testing campaign in order
to evaluate the correlation between the distance of the well
from the sea and the level of salinity. 23 wells have already
been tested and the results are under analysis. The progression
of the rehabilitation programme for 80 to 100 community wells
depends on the conclusions drawn from this testing campaign.
2 - Water supplies:
SOLIDARITES is currently in negociations with the local
"Water Board", a semi-public entity, concerning the
connection of individual water points within the reconstruction
zone; 500 new connections for families in difficulty are set
to be jointly created by SOLIDARITES and the Water Board.
This project is doubly advantageous since it constitutes a rapid
response to an urgent need, but will also have a sustained impact,
strengthening local water supply facilities in the long term.
Sanitation
1 - Latrines
SOLIDARITES is carrying out a programme to construct permanent
latrines in the temporary relocation camps for displaced persons
in the Ampara district. The locations of these latrine blocks
are being chosen in close coordination with the local authorities,
so that they may be used as public toilets when the displaced
persons have returned home, ensuring continuity between emergency
programmes and local development. To date, out of a total
500 latrines whose construction is planned, 14 have been completed,
24 are currently under construction and work will start on 24
others during the week of February 7th.
SOLIDARITES is also providing a sewage tanker service to empty
the latrines (this project is being carried out in coordination
with the Kalmunai local authorities) which carries out at least
three sewage disposal rounds per day.
2- Waste management
In close coordination with the local authorities, SOLIDARITES
is implementing a debris and waste management programme (sorting,
collection, processing). This project should provide a solution
both to the debris caused by the natural disaster and to the
large amounts of waste generated by the densely populated refugee
camps. This project should also constitute a revenue generating
activity for the local population, the majority of whom have
lost everything.
INDONESIA (Sumatra)
The
Indonesia team comprises eight volunteers.
SOLIDARITES has opened two bases on the island of Sumatra in
Indonesia:
- one support base (essential for coordination, contacts with
the local authorities, as well as for supplies and logistics)
in Medan, a large town situated on the East coast in northern
Sumatra;
- and an operational base in Meulaboh, on the West coast. The
Meulaboh operational base allows SOLIDARITES to carry out humanitarian
operations in the badly affected coastal area which stretches
out on either side of the town.
Water
In partnership with Aquassistance (voluntary association of
Groupe Suez), SOLIDARITES has installed drinking water purification
equipment in the Chotmee camp, which provides access to drinking
water for the whole refugee population accommodated at this
site (around 700 people).
Sanitation
During the month of January, SOLIDARITES built latrines for
refugee camps in the area where the populations of villages
which were completely destroyed by the tidal wave were taking
refuge. This programme has recently come to an end since the
populations have now returned to their villages.
Reconstruction
The first priority is water and sanitation programmes for
schools (construction / rehabilitation of wells and latrines).
The school buildings themselves have often been badly damaged
and are not in a sufficient state of repair for the pupils to
attend lessons normally. SOLIDARITES should very soon be involved
in this domain, by building additional classrooms or by rehabilitating
existing buildings where possible. Two logisticians specialising
in construction work are on location, affected schools have
been identified and the local authorities have been approached
regarding these projects which should soon be agreed upon.
