150 route de Ferney, P.O. Box 2100 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland Tel: 41 22 791 6033 Fax: 41 22 791 6506 e-mail: [email protected] Appeal Coordinating Office Bangladesh Flood Relief – ASBD01 Appeal Target: US$ 57,649 Geneva, 14 September 2000 Dear Colleagues, The situation in Bangladesh has worsened over the last few weeks with flooding and erosion caused by heavy rains and tidal surges in the coastal areas. Some of the earlier damage is attributed to the same flood waters which devastated N E India a few weeks ago. As one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, Bangladesh experiences devastating cyclones, tidal surges and heavy annual rains. This year the monsoon rains have again been particularly destructive in some areas, inundating cultivated areas and washing away homes besides causing the usual loss of property, livestock and infrastructure. As usual, the flood waters have mostly affected the more vulnerable of the population, many of whom are currently living in terrible conditions with no access to food or potable water. As the disaster has totally destroyed the mud houses and means of livelihood of the people affected, ACT member KOINONIA is proposing to assist the most vulnerable families affected by the current floods with a one time distribution of: ¨ Food items ¨ Mosquito nets ACT is a worldwide network of churches and related agencies meeting human need through coordinated emergency response. The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland. Bangladesh Floods 2 ASBD-01 Project Completion Date: 15 November 2000. Summary of Appeal Targets, Pledges/Contributions Received and Balance Requested US$ Total Appeal Target(s) 57,649 Less: Pledges/Contr. Recd. 12,321 Balance Requested from ACT Network 45,328 Please kindly send your contributions to the following ACT bank account: Account Number - 102539/0.01.061 (USD) Account Name: ACT - Action by Churches Together Banque Edouard Constant Cours de Rive 11 Case postale 3754 1211 Genève 3 SWITZERLAND We would appreciate being informed of any intent to submit applications for EU, USAID and/or other back donor funding and the subsequent results. We thank you in advance for your kind cooperation. ACT Web Site address: http://www.act-intl.org Ms. Geneviève Jacques Thor-Arne Prois Rev. Rudolf Hinz Director ACT Coordinator Director WCC/Cluster on Relations LWF/World Service Bangladesh Floods 3 ASBD-01 I. REQUESTING ACT MEMBER INFORMATION KOINONIA is the service organ of the National Christian Fellowship of Bangladesh (NCFB). NCFB is an ecumenical organisation of 16 member denominations, 16 associate Para Church members and 7 fraternal Mission societies. It is a non-profit, Non-Government Organization (NGO). Since its establishment in 1986, KOINONIA has had comprehensive experience in emergency relief and in alleviating the suffering caused by the many natural disasters that hit Bangladesh. Some of the most recent relief assistance undertaken includes: ¨ Distribution of blankets to 2,500 families in the Gaibanha, Rajshahi, Dinajpur, Lalmonirhat, Pabna, Jamalpur, Nowgoan and Dhaka areas to combat the exceptionally cold winter conditions at the beginning of 2000. ¨ Flood relief in the form of food distribution in Kachua, Chandpur, Bandarban and Cox’s Bazar to 2,060 families in 1999. ¨ Shelter materials for 2,103 flood affected families in Gopalganj, Bagerhat, Khulna, Madaripur, Barisal, Gaibandha, Sirajganj, Jamalpur, Sherpur, Tangail, Gopalganj and Brahmanbaria in 1998. ¨ Reparation of 40 flood damaged schools in Gopalganj, Bagerhat, Khulna, Madaripur and Barisal in 1998. II. IMPLEMENTING ACT MEMBER and PARTNER INFORMATION KOINONIA’s implementing partners include churches and local NGOs. The Association of Baptists is a respected Mission running a Hospital Ministry in the Chittagong area. KOINONIA has been working with them since 1991 to assist the needy people in the area. SUNDAR is a local NGO working in the Jumuna river basin area (char land). During the 1998 floods, KOINONIA worked with SUNDAR in Sirajganj area to help flood victims with relief materials. Fifty families were provided with blankets and in 1999, another 50 families were provided with building materials for housing. KOINONIA provides training support in disaster management and mitigation for its partners. The churches/partner organizations send their trainees for training in such sectors as Development Education, Health & Nutrition and Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) Training Program, among others. The latest training was a Five-Day Disaster Management and Mitigation Seminar at the Association of Baptist Churches premises in Chittagong in June 2000. III. DESCRIPTION of the EMERGENCY SITUATION Background Bangladesh, one of the most disaster prone countries in the world is again suffering a destructive monsoon period this year which has particularly affected the southern and coastal region. Initially the floods started as a spill over from the Indian floods of a few weeks ago, but conditions have got steadily worse. A tidal surge in the Bay of Bengal has wreaked havoc on the coastal communities along the Bay of Bengal, rendering 35,000 homeless. Every year the rains erode more of the banks and coastlines adversely affecting persons living there and usually the poor and marginalised invariably lose their homes and even their livelihoods. Bangladesh Floods 4 ASBD-01 This year, excessive flood-waters from hilly areas and the Mathamuhari river have flooded 13 unions of Chokoria thana in the Cox’s Bazar district. Similarly, Tekania union in Sadar Upazila of Sirajganj district is also severely affected by flood water from neighboring countries. The worst affected are the poorest and maginalized sections of the society along with widowed/separated women and families headed by women. The floods have totally destroyed their mud houses and means of livelihood to an extent which exceeds their capacity to cope with the situation. As the flood-affected areas are prone to malaria and dengue fever, there is thus a dire need for mosquito nets along with emergency food to tide the most vulnerable over until they can again resume their normal lives. The affected families have no resources of their own to cope with the aftermath of floods as they were already living a life below poverty level before the floods. Current situation Most severely affected areas are Guniya and Harbang that were struck during the first week of August affecting over 100,000 persons. The most urgently needed food aid is rice and pulses which need to be packed and transported. There is also an urgent need for mosquito nets, building materials and agricultural inputs such as paddy and vegetable seeds to help the most vulnerable on their way to recovery. KOINONIA has received requests from local churches and NGOs for flood relief assistance in the areas of Guniya and Harbang, Cox’s Bazar as well as from Sirajganj. Impact on Human Lives Although no deaths have occurred as a result of the floods in Cox’s Bazar, 2 persons have lost their lives at Sirajganj and several people were injured. In Cox’s Bazar, at least 100,000 persons have been affected while the figure for Sirajganj is around 10,000. KOINONIA has carried out an assessment and the most essential needs are relief food and mosquito nets. Locations for proposed Response District Thana Union # of villages Cox’s Bazar Chokoria Guniya 10 Harbang Sirajganj Kazipur Tekani 10 2 2 3 20 The target locations at Cox’s Bazar are about 550 km from the capital city Dhaka in the south-west, while Sirajganj is about 150 km from the capital city Dhaka to the north-west. In Cox’s Bazar, KOINONIA will be working with church organizations with whom KOINONIA has a well established working relationship and who have capacity to undertake emergency relief activities in the affected locations. These organisations include the Memorial Christian Hospital, Nasrat Baptist Church and the local Government agency - 5 No. Harbang Union Parishad. In Sirajganj, KOINONIA will work with SUNDAR, a local NGO. Disaster and Emergency Statistics The following data is based on newspaper reports and NGO estimates. Description/Items Cox’s Bazar Sirajganj Bangladesh Floods 5 ASBD-01 People affected 100,000 10,000 Deaths Nil 2 Schools damaged 300 20 Bridges and Roads damaged 2 1 Malaria/Dengue fever affected 4,000 1,000 (Civil Surgeon Offices) Current Security Situation There is no problem of access to the proposed targeted locations and working areas as the areas can be reached by existing transport and communications systems in the country. Nor are there any security problems in the affected areas. IV. GOAL and OBJECTIVES The project aims to provide life saving and life sustaining assistance to the most vulnerable of the flood affected people. Objectives: ¨ To provide food in the form of rice and lentils (pulse) to 5,000 families in the targeted locations. ¨ To provide one mosquito net (family size) to each of the 5,000 families to help them combat dengue and malaria. V. TARGETED BENEFICIARIES A total of 5,000 families will be targeted for provision of food and mosquito nets. The targeted beneficiaries will be from among the most vulnerable persons/families affected by the current disaster and will include: ¨ Women headed households ¨ Landless day-laborer families ¨ Families affected by river erosion Criteria used for beneficiary selection Surveys will be made by the local people, church leaders and partner organizations as well as the local government authorities to verify the most needy. The final beneficiaries’ list will then be approved by the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO), the highest Government Civil Servant in the Upazila (County). VI. PROPOSED EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE and IMPLEMENTATION Description of Assistance 5,000 families will receive 15 kg of rice, 3 kg of lentils and one mosquito net per family.