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 Turkey Earthquake Rehabilitation – METR11 Appeal Target: US$ 491,499 Balance requested from ACT Network: US$ 331,499 Geneva, 18 January 2001 Dear Colleagues, On 17 August 1999 and again on 12 November 1999 earthquakes measuring 7.4 and 7.1 on the Richter scale, respectively, hit Turkey in areas east of Istanbul. The first earthquake rocked the Marmara Region of Turkey. The second earthquake occurred on the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ) with a macro-seismic epicentre near the town of Golcuk (Kocaeli Province) in the western part of Turkey. With a great deal of the emergency needs now met, the government, local and international agencies and NGOs are focussing their efforts from relief to recovery operations. There is currently a considerable need for reconstruction and rehabilitation projects targeting the most vulnerable communities and earthquake survivors. Over a year after the first earthquake, many families are just now beginning to rebuild their lives and return to a degree of normalcy. However, for many others still living in tents and makeshift shelters, the winter will continue to challenge their daily means of living and subsistence. One year after the earthquakes, The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) conducted a needs assessment in the areas of Golcuk and Duzce which revealed that a large segment of the population is without any form of livelihood. A large proportion of the population in the earthquake-affected zones worked in factories prior to the earthquakes. Some of these factories were forced to close down due to damage, while others chose to close down rather than risk damage from future earthquakes. Many other households received their livelihoods from small businesses that were either forced to close down due to damage, or were completely destroyed. A questionnaire administered by UMCOR to 97 households, as part of the needs assessment, revealed that 45% of the respondents would like to restart businesses they lost as a result of the earthquake, or start new businesses. Of these, 46% said that lack of capital was the single greatest barrier to doing so, while 31% said that lack of education or training was the single largest constraint to starting or restarting their own businesses. 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. Turkey – E’quake Rehabilitation 2 METR-11 UMCOR is proposing a programme which includes: an integrated housing repair and construction project, an economic empowerment project utilising a micro-credit lending model, capacity building training for local NGOs and a community outreach project. Project Completion Date: 1 January 2001 – 31 December 2001 Summary of Appeal Targets, Pledges/Contributions Received and Balance Requested US$ Total Appeal Target(s) 491,499 Less: Carry over funds from METR01 (approx.) 160,000* Balance Requested from ACT Network 331,499 * Donors have been asked to approve use of the surplus METR01 funds for the current appeal. The precise amount will be determined shortly on receipt of final reports and donors will be informed accordingly. 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 Please also inform the Finance Officer Jessie Kgoroeadira (direct tel. +4122/791.60.38, e-mail address [email protected]) of all pledges/contributions and transfers, including funds sent direct to the implementers, now that the Pledge Form is no longer attached to the Appeal. 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 co-operation. For further information please contact: ACT Co-ordinator, Thor-Arne Prois (phone ++41 22 791 6033 or mobile phone ++ 41 79 203 6055) or ACT Appeals Officer, Neville Pradhan (phone +41 22 791 6035 or mobile phone ++41 79 285 2916) 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 Turkey – E’quake Rehabilitation 3 METR-11 I. REQUESTING ACT MEMBER ¨ United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) II. IMPLEMENTING AGENCY UMCOR-USA is a New York non-profit corporation established in 1940 by the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) of the United Methodist Church in response to the suffering of people affected by World War II. During its 60 years of service, UMCOR has used church and private funds to support relief and development projects in more than 100 countries worldwide. UMCOR’s mandate is to “Address a crisis situation by providing for the relief, and rehabilitation of acute physical, social and psychosocial needs of the entire person without regard to religion, race, nationality or gender, affected by distress situations caused by natural disasters, political turmoil, persecution from any cause or other endemic factors”. UMCOR-Europe is an Austrian verein (non-profit entity) that shares UMCOR’s mission and mandate and operates from its offices in Vienna, Austria. In response to the aftermath of the first earthquake on August 17, 1999, UMCOR launched a needs assessment and program development mission in Turkey in October 1999. Shortly after launching this mission, a second earthquake hit Turkey on November 12, 1999. While developing program plans for the first earthquake region, needs from the second earthquake zone were being brought to UMCOR’s attention. This led UMCOR to closely assess the needs in both affected regions and develop an integrated assistance strategy that would allow intervention in both regions. With funds from ACT International in 2000 (METR 01), Phase I of UMCOR’s relief and reconstruction projects have included the following: ¨ Emergency Mobile Shelter Construction in Duzce: 192 high quality prefabricated homes were constructed by UMCOR; ¨ Reconstruction and Rehabilitation of the Karamursel Primary Boarding School for Hearing Impaired Children: Phase I and II Structural and Internal construction and renovation works were completed at the school; Phase III has focused on training students and faculty in disaster preparedness, support for modern educational methods for teaching hearing impaired children and an educational enrichment project directly affecting the 79 students currently enrolled at the school; ¨ Social Rehabilitation for Children, Youth and Women in Golcuk and Duzce: Focus on vocational and skills development with a transition to income generation for women; educational and social activities for women, youth and children; psychological counseling for women, men and youth. Phase I of UMCOR’s activities in Turkey focused on meeting the immediate needs of those persons affected by the two earthquakes. Phase II of UMCOR’s current work seeks to build off Phase I activities through a longer-term and more sustainable approach to project development and implementation. Phase II of UMCOR’s work includes an integrated housing repair and construction project, an economic empowerment project utilising a micro-credit lending model, capacity building training for local NGOs, and a community outreach project. Turkey – E’quake Rehabilitation 4 METR-11 Description of ACT Member’s Implementing Partners The Women’s Solidarity Foundation (WSF) was founded after the August 17, 1999 earthquake by a group of female social scientists, professionals and activists from the women’s movement in Turkey. WSF initially responded to the emergency with the development of “Women’s Tents” in four communities throughout the earthquake-affected region. These “Women’s Tents” were meant as a designated safe-haven for women to gather, socialise, and receive essential humanitarian assistance, including medical, psychological and legal counselling. Since this time, WSF has received funding from a host of international donors, including UMCOR, Mercy Corps International, ACT Netherlands - formerly Dutch Inter-Church Aid and CORDAID, for the implementation of various educational, vocational, skills training and income generating projects targeting women affected by both the August and November 1999 earthquakes. Furthermore, WSF has implemented many of its projects in co-ordination with Turkish institutions and organisations including the Degirmendere Earthquake Victims Association, the Civil Co-ordination Centre, the Golcuk Public Education Centre, Women’s Culture and Communications Foundation and Women for Women’s Human Rights. UMCOR’s proposed interventions with WSF under the proposed 2001 ACT Appeal will involve co-operation and partnership in the sectors of social development and income generation. III. DESCRIPTION OF THE EMERGENCY SITUATION Background On August 17, 1999 and again on November 12 of the same year, earthquakes measuring 7.4 and 7.1 on the Richter scale, respectively, hit Turkey in areas east of Istanbul. The first earthquake occurred at approximately 3:01 AM on August 17, 1999 and rocked the Marmara Region of Turkey. The earthquake occurred on the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ) with a macro-seismic epicentre near the town of Golcuk (Kocaeli Province) in the western part of Turkey. The NAFZ is the most prominent active fault in Turkey and has been the source of numerous large earthquakes throughout history. The earthquake has been followed by as many as 5,000 aftershocks, some of which have registered as much as 5.5 to 6.0 on the Richter scale. The second earthquake, on November 12, 1999, was further to the east and centred on Duzce, a town of approximately 80,000 persons in the Bolu Province. The earthquake took place along the Duzce Fault Zone and caused damage and loss to be felt in the areas of Duzce, Kaynasli, Bolu, Akcakoca, Zonguldak and Adapazari.