TWO YEARS ON Oxfam Hong Kong’s Report Marking the Second Anniversary of the 5.12 Earthquake 1 I. Overview of Damage Caused by the Earthquake 2-12 II. Overview of Oxfam Hong Kong’s Response a. Partnerships, Priorities, Participation b. Oxfam Hong Kong’s work month by month, year by year c. Partner Organisations 13-17 III. Oxfam Hong Kong’s Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Work a. Sichuan b. Gansu c. Shaanxi 18-20 IV. Resources: Human, Financial and Material a. Human Resources in Chengdu, Lanzhou, Kunming and Hong Kong b. Financial Resources c. Material Resources 21 V. Appendix a. Emergency Relief – 22 Projects b. Rehabilitation/Reconstruction – 88 Projects c. 54 Partner Organisations The 3-kilometre village road, before and after, in Jinniu, Sichuan Qin Yongzheng, 25, (right), lives in Jinniu Village with her husband and child (pictured). ”My husband worked 12 days for free to build this road,” Qin Yongzheng says. “We want our son to walk on a good cement road, instead of the muddy road before. We knew that it would be so much easier to bring our vegetables, pigs and chickens to sell in the town centre, so we were happy to work for free. We even contributed our own money. Now, with the new road, transportation fees are about 5 Yuan per tonne less.” Oxfam provided 657,053 Yuan in funds while Jinniu residents themselves raised 15,000 Yuan to build the road. (Photo: Li Hong /Oxfam Hong Kong) I. Overview of Damage Caused by the Earthquake The earthquake of 12 May 2008, with a magnitude of 41 Areas Damaged 8.0 on the Richter Scale, affected hundreds of thousands PROVINCE COUNTY/DISTRICT OXFAM PROJECT SITE of people across 100,000 square kilometres in three Sichuan Baoxin provinces: Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi. Official statistics Cangxi indicate that 69,227 people died and 374,643 were Chaotian injured. Direct economic losses reached HK$960 billion: Chongzhou Sichuan bore 91.3 per cent of this; Gansu, 5.8 per cent; Dayi Fucheng and Shaanxi, 2.9 per cent. Guanghan Hanyuan A total of 4,834 communities officially designated as Heishui impoverished were hit by the disaster. Ten areas in Jiange Sichuan were officially classified as the ‘worst affected’, Jingyang and Oxfam Hong Kong has assisted people in eight of Jiangyou Jiuzhaigou these 10 areas. Oxfam also assisted people in 29 of the Langzhong 41 areas across three provinces officially designated as Li ‘damaged’. Lizhou Luojiang Assessments of the affected area were carried out under Lushan the leadership of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, with the Nanjiang Santai National Development and Reform Commission, the Shimian Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Land and Resources, Songpan China Earthquake Administration, National Bureau Wangcang of Statistics, National Wenchuan Earthquake Expert Xiaojin Committee, and in conjunction with the Provincial Yanting People's Government of Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi Youxian Yuanba provinces. Zhongjiang Zitong 10 Areas Worst Affected in Gansu Cheng the Earthquake Hui Kang PROVINCE COUNTY/AREA OXFAM PROJECT SITE Liangdang Sichuan An Wen Beichuan Wudu Dujianyang Xihe Mao Zhouqu Mianzhu Shaanxi Chengcang Pengzhou Lueyang Pingwu Mian Qingchuan Ningqiang Shifang Wenchuan 1 II. Overview of Oxfam Hong Kong’s Response Oxfam Hong Kong has assisted more than 750,000 Sichuan people in about 200 communities across three provinces. Relief Projects: 15 Rehabilitation Projects: 50 All Oxfam Hong Kong project sites are impoverished Shaanxi Relief Projects: 2 communities, with assessments of conditions done Rehabilitation Projects: 8 jointly by Oxfam Hong Kong and local government units. The agency has supported 110 projects with a total expenditure of HK$62,093,402.44. Gansu Relief Projects: 5 Rehabilitation Projects: 30 Of Oxfam Hong Kong’s 110 projects, 74 have been in partnership with government units, 13 with mainland- Total Number of Projects: 110 based NGOs and 5 with educational institutes. Oxfam has worked alongside 54 different groups in the earthquake effort, 42 of which are new partnerships. Sichuan Oxfam Hong Kong is grateful to have received HK$41,885,960.81 68% HK$161,477,595.46 in donations, and plans to allocate HK$90 million in Sichuan, and about HK$71 million in Gansu Gansu and Shaanxi in its five-year strategic plan. HK$16,337,804.43 26% Oxfam Hong Kong’s five-year plan is in two main phases: emergency relief and rehabilitation/reconstruction. Shaanxi The relief phase ended in early 2009, with Oxfam HK$3,869,637.20 assisting about 630,000 people in 125 communities. 6% The rehabilitation phase is primarily on repairing basic Total expenditure: HK$62,093,402.44 infrastructure, while reconstruction is for the longer (From May 2008 to 31 March 2010) term, especially for securing people’s sustainable livelihoods. Projects By Year (From May 2008 to 31 March 2010) YEAR 2010 15 0 Rehabilitation Projects 61 2009 Relief 4 Projects 12 2008 18 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 NUMBER OF PROJECTS 2 a. Partnerships, Priorities, Participation An initial step in working with partner organisations is to build up skills and capacity, especially on community- based participatory approaches, financial management and overall project management. Oxfam led several training workshops with government units and NGOs in Sichuan and Gansu. Part of the training allowed partners to practice new techniques before returning home to their own communities. Oxfam also maintains close communication with the partners throughout the project cycle. Oxfam works to ensure that its partner organisations assist residents to manage the community projects themselves. These community development projects take time; for instance, basic infrastructure projects – such as building a road – normally take residents three to six months, and livelihoods recovery takes even longer. Project management and monitoring systems are required for the project period, including for the finances. SHENGLI, SICHUAN Oxfam Hong Kong pays special attention to the needs Tang Fang, Leader of the Guangyuan Municipal Communist Youth of impoverished people in remote communities, women, League, in Sichuan (left) with Elsie Leung, Member of Oxfam ethnic minorities, children, orphans, and elderly people. Hong Kong Council (right). Tang Fang says that with Oxfam’s participatory approach, residents are in charge of the project This applies to both the relief and the rehabilitation/ implementation. “Villagers in Shengli used to appeal to the reconstruction phases of the response. authorities very often. Yet, during Oxfam’s projects, they held more than 100 meetings to deal with every issue by themselves, and they agreed with each other. No one complained, and no one needed to appeal to authorities to handle problems.” The average annual income is less than 1,000 Yuan in Oxfam Hong Kong’s project sites; therefore, Oxfam not only carries out short-term humanitarian relief work, but continues its work through building up the capacity of the communities to reduce poverty. To promote gender equity, Oxfam’s projects empower women to represent themselves during the projects; in fact, it is required that women representatives are members of project management groups. These women are elected by all women in the village. The representatives fully participate in the decision- making of the project cycle and are responsible for communicating and negotiating for women’s needs. 3 In Oxfam’s projects, community members manage most of the project planning and implementation themselves. This builds a stronger sense of ownership over the project, strengthens the cohesion of a community, better ensures the success and sustainability of the TANGJIAHE, SHAANXI project, reinforces relationships with local government In the village of Tangjiahe in Shaanxi, Fu Wancui (left) is a leader in units, and improves people’s management skills. It also a group that managed a road-building project supported by Oxfam Hong Kong. Fu Wancui says, “I voted on behalf of women for all reduces costs, as they contribute their labour for the decisions of this project, such as how many hours of volunteer work projects, such as building roads or schools. women should do.” Fu also reported the work of the team to the village community and to Oxfam colleagues (right photo). XICHUAN, SICHUAN ZHOUCUN, SICHUAN Wang Guihua, 60, uses water from a brand new tap in her kitchen. Fu, village leader of Zhoucun in Sichuan, held many meetings and She says, “I helped to dig the ditch to build the drinking water provided lectures on financial management with members of the system.” project management group. Fu says, “People here are not very well- educated. We have to help them improve their basic management Her neighbour, Xu Yanxiu, 56, adds, “I carried the bricks and pipes skills, such as how to record decisions made at meetings. ” up the hill.” Oxfam allocated 169,933 Yuan for villagers to build four small water tanks, benefiting 532 people. “We [women] used to have to get water from the hills every day, as most of the men here work out of the village,” Wang Guihua says. There are 286 women in the village. “With the new water supply, we no longer have to go up to the hills. Also, because we took part in this project, we know how much work went into building the water system. We are responsible for maintaining it for the sake of everyone in the village.” Wang felt proud of her new responsibility. (Photo: Xiao Sha / Oxfam Hong Kong) 4 b. Oxfam Hong Kong’s work month by month, year by year 2008 May to November • Oxfam assists 125 communities across Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi in the first six months. More than 630,000 people receive various relief supplies. • Oxfam begins to support the building of safe, transitional schools in Sichuan for 3,000 students. May to August • 260 medical professionals from the West China School of Public Health of Sichuan University carry out epidemic monitoring, control and prevention in 6 areas of Sichuan.