Assistance to areas affected by the Sumatra tsunami; Community network

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Background

Over 5300 people died in Thailand as a result of the December 2004 tsunami that originated off the island of Sumatra. One year later most houses and so on had been reconstructed. However, for foreign migrant workers and other such vulnerable groups, more time was still needed in order to rebuild shat-tered livelihoods.

Meanwhile, in rural areas in Thailand an increase in the cultivation of commercial products has led to increased expenditure on fertilizers and machinery and the loss of rich forests and natural resources. With this in mind, JVC has been supporting the management of local markets such that agricultural produce, local resources and money all remain in circulation within the local area.

Summary of activities

1. Support for areas affected by the Sumatra tsunami

The reconstruction process took place rapidly in tourist areas, however not much aid was delivered to small fishing villages. Therefore, JVC has focused on a small fishing village, supporting the refurbishment of fishing boats and providing fishing nets.

The disaster affected areas have already progressed from emergency disaster relief to the reconstruction stage. However, minority ethnic groups and foreign migrant workers (predominantly Burmese) are still in a very difficult position. JVC is currently providing assistance to migrant foreign workers living in Thai-land.

In 2005, we supported a local NGO network to provide fishing equipment, repair fishing boats and build houses in a small fishing village. We also pro-vided food aid and educational support for a minority ethnic group for whom the reconstruction process had been delayed. In September, we held an international conference in Krabi province on the subject of recon-struction assistance. The conference was attended by a number of participants from Japan.

The focus of our assistance in 2006 has been for-eign workers living in Thailand. We are providing medical aid at a learning centre attended by Burmese children. We also invited local Thai NGO staff to Japan for a study tour so that they would have an opportunity to learn about the disaster prevention and disaster relief systems in Japan.

2. Building local markets (network)

In rural areas in Thailand, the cultivation of com-mercial produce and modern-style agriculture has been growing as the result of a government initiative. However, the affect of this has been that local people have been plunged into insecure global markets and debts have increased as people have increased their purchases of fertilizers and so on. The bulk of the profits do not stay with the local people, but rather they go to the middle-men. Therefore, JVC has been working to create markets that the local people them-selves manage and where resources and money circu-late within the local area.

In 2005, we hosted a seminar for people hoping to open a shop in the new market. We carried out a final evaluation and now JVC's support for this project has finished. From now on, the local people will manage the project. In 2006, JVC continued to maintain con-tact with the local people connected to the market.

3. Thai rural areas internship program

We are running a program whereby Japanese peo-ple interested in international cooperation are sent for one year to a Thai rural village where NGOs are working. Through this program, the interns are able to gain first-hand knowledge of the development needs of the local people.

In 2005, we ran the program for the tenth time, sending two interns. However, it has become impos-sible to receive long-term visas and so the program was stopped after 2005.