Assistance to areas affected by the Sumatra tsunami / Dialogue and networking

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Program background

The great tsunami that resulted from the earthquake on 26 December 2004 in Sumatra caused enor-mous damage to each of the countries in the region. In Thailand, at least 5,300 people died and at least 8,000 people were injured. Over two years on from the tsunami, it seems that the visible damage such as to houses and fishing boats has been repaired. However, amongst the society of people like foreign immigrants, there are still many outstanding issues relating to rebuilding the livelihoods of people who are in a particularly vulnerable position. JVC has followed on from the reconstruction assistance that was provided to fishing villages in the immediate aftermath of the tsunami by providing assistance to the minority ethnic groups and foreign immigrants and their families whose lives were brought to a standstill by the tsunami.

Meanwhile, JVC is also working in rural villages to support the functioning of local markets so that villages are able lead a secure existence without having to rely on the economies of urban areas.

Summary of activities

1. Support for areas affected by the Sumatra tsunami

JVC began its assistance work immediately after the tsunami by working through its long established links with Thai NGOs to build networks with local NGOs. From 2004 to 2005, JVC provided assistance for repairing boats and fishing equipment in fishing villages and rebuilding houses. In 2006, JVC mainly focused on supporting foreigners resident in Thailand

2006 Annual Report
Whilst many of the disasteraffected areas have been pushing ahead with the process of reconstruction, those who have been left behind are the foreign labourers (predominantly Burmese) who are resident in Thailand. JVC has provided health assistance for foreign labourers and their families who lost their identity cards in the tsunami and therefore have not been able to receive support from the state.

Our aim was to guard against illness on a family level by implementing periodic health education in schools that are attended by Burmese children. We launched a system of weekly one hour sessions in five schools (approximately 350 pupils). The sessions used songs and games to cover topics relating to sanitation and food hygiene.

Another issue is that many of the remains of the Burmese people who died in the disaster have been stored away without being returned to their relatives. This is because there has not been adequate progress with the investigations into where these people came from. In order that the remains of the deceased should finally be returned to their relatives, we have supported a Thai NGO in carrying out family research and advocacy towards the Thai government on this issue. As a result of this work, the remains of 99 people have been identified and returned to their families. This research work was written up in a pamphlet and shared with members of the Thai government at a seminar in February 2007.

Furthermore, in October, we hosted a study tour to Japan for Thai NGO staff to learn about Japan's experience of disasters and its disaster prevention systems. Participants visited Aichi, Kobe and Okushirito, and in each place they received explanations about the history of local disasters and ways in which disas-ters are prevented.

In February 2007 we conducted an evaluation prior to ending the project, and then for JVC this work.

2. Dialogue and Networking

In rural areas in Thailand, the government has been forcefully promoting agriculture that focuses solely on cultivating commercial produce. However, rural people who have borrowed large sums of money to buy great quantities of chemical pesticides and fertilizers have found that soil has become thinner and incomes have not increased. As a result, debts have actually increased. The companies that handle agricultural produce are taking the profits without passing on enough money to the farming villages, and as a result they are consigning many rural people to insecure livelihoods.

As one way in which to help money to circulate within rural economies, JVC is supporting villages to build their markets. Since local produce is sold to villagers and nearby townspeople by the local people themselves, it is ensured that money and resources circulate within the local area. As the markets took root, local people's lives became somewhat more secure, and so in 2005 we handed over this project to the local people. Today, village markets are functioning in every region. In 2006, stallholders from Thai markets visited Japan and observed agricultural systems in Nagai city in Yamanashi Prefecture.

We will conduct study tours and lecture courses in order to reappraise the links between Asian agriculture and ourselves living in Japan. In 2008 we intend to restart the "Internship program for learning about Thai agriculture" (a one-year program for living in Thailand), and so we will prepare a system for that.