Hussain Alifulhu: A brighter future in Dhuvaafaru, Maldives

More than four years after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, 48-year-old Hussain Alifulhu vividly remembers the events of the fateful day when "the sea swallowed Kandholhudhoo", an island in the Maldives' Raa Atoll.

He had been asleep and was awakened by uncomfortable heat as his house's cooling fan ground to a halt. There was a blackout. Being an electrician, he got up ready to rush to the island's power house and fix the problem.

But when he stepped outside, Hussain was shocked to see flood water reaching the doorstep. After ensuring that his family was safe at the island's mosque - where several other islanders had sought refuge - he rushed to the jetty to look for a boat that would evacuate them to another island. But by the time he got his family to the jetty, the boat was full.

Evacuation efforts

Boats from the nearby, lesser affected islands arrived a little while later, bolstering the evacuation efforts. Hussain and his family of ten were among the last to leave Kandholhudhoo.

They were taken to Ungoofaaru, also in Raa Atoll, where they would stay in temporary shelters for almost four years while the International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) constructed a new island home for them on Dhuvaafaru.

Over that period, Hussain - like many other men - was at sea collecting sea cucumbers which he then sold to get an income. When he was not at sea, he would be fixing electrical problems at the temporary shelters. His skill and dedication led to him being of 13 community members selected and trained by the IFRC to operate and manage their future island's utilities.

Happily settled

Following their relocation in December 2008, Hussain and his family are happily settled in two houses that they received from the IFRC and have started to rebuild their lives. He says: "We are grateful to the IFRC for the quality houses they have built for less fortunate people like us. I would never have been able to build such houses myself."

As a trained operator, Hussain played a role in ensuring that the Dhuvaafaru island electricity supply system was in working condition before beneficiary families were moved in during December 2008. Initially they were employed by IFRC, but later he did the maintenance work on a voluntary basis.

He feels honoured to have worked as one of the electricity operators at the new island's power station. "I could not think of a better way to repay back IFRC's kindness than to work there for as long as they needed my services," he says.

Lifelong occupation

He hopes that the government will turn the operators' positions to full-time, salaried jobs so they can earn an income. But in the future he hopes to be able to open a workshop and restart his lifelong occupation as an electrician.

"I can't open my own workshop as I don't have any land, apart from the houses we got," he explains. "The government is yet to set aside space for such use."

Hussain sees a great future for Dhuvaafaru. He says: "I have a good feeling that this will be an ideal island, even better than it is now. But the new community needs to be patient because nothing will work as fast as the heart beats."

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Dhuvaafaru, the rebirth of a community in the middle of the ocean

In the middle of the Indian Ocean, far away from the motorways that could transport building materials for 600 houses and all the infrastructure that goes with it, the Red Cross Red Crescent took on the challenge of re-establishing a community from scratch.

When the tsunami swept across the Maldives on 26 December 2006 it completely destroyed the island of Kandholhudhoo, leaving more than 3,600 people homeless. It was immediately clear that these families needed to rebuild their lives in a new and safer environment.

Following an extensive study the Maldives' National Disaster Management Centre identified the uninhabited island of Dhuvaafaru as the most suitable settlement location due to its topographical characteristics such as its comparatively high elevation, its size and its reef, which is essential for better protection against tidal surges.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) signed an agreement with the Government of Maldives in May 2005 to build a new community on Dhuvaafaru Island.

The IFRC has funded construction of 562 houses as well as other community infrastructure such as an administrative building, a pre-school, primary school and secondary school, an auditorium, water supply and sewage systems, a sports complex, roads, and a power supply system backed up with solar energy.

Discover more about this incredible project and the achievements of the Red Cross Red Crescent's tsunami operation: http://www.ifrc.org/dhuvaafaru

Source: alertnet.org

Maldives pave way for National Red Crescent Society

The President of the Republic of Maldives has ratified a bill that lays the legal foundation to create a National Red Crescent Society in the island nation.

"The humanitarian work of the Red Cross Red Crescent in the Maldives, following the tsunami, has been amazing", the country's President Mohamed Nasheed, emphasized as he ratified a bill that lays the legal foundation to create a National Red Crescent Society in the island nation. "The people of the Maldives would like to see continuous engagement of the Red Cross Red Crescent in their islands."

Besides endorsing the formation of a local Red Crescent Society, the ratification of the Maldivian Red Crescent Act, on 7 May 2009, is a clear recognition of the humanitarian work that Red Cross Red Crescent has done in the country.

"The Maldivian Red Crescent bill will provide a firm legal framework for [the Red Cross Red Crescent] operations in the Maldives", President Nasheed added.

The lack of a National Society was felt

Per Jensnaes, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) delegation in the Maldives, remembers that when the tsunami struck in 2004 it took many hours to reach outlying islands from the capital, Male'. "I remember that while the IFRC and some of its members quickly responded by providing life-saving relief supplies", he said, "the absence of a local National Society was felt immediately by the massive relief operation", he added.

"Island communities are significantly isolated from each other" Jensnaes added, "had the Maldivian Red Crescent been in existence then, its volunteers in the atoll branches or island units would have responded immediately and ensured a quicker response to the benefit of affected communities."

The strength of local communities

The head of delegation noted that experience has proven that local communities and volunteers are best placed to assist themselves, to become better prepared for and to respond to natural disasters because they come from those communities and are, therefore, perfectly placed to know what their community's vulnerabilities.

With the legal foundation of the Maldivian Red Crescent firmly established, the society's first General Assembly is scheduled for 16 August 2009. Among others, the General Assembly will elect a governing board and adopt the National Society's statutes and rules of procedures, signaling the birth of a new member of the Red Cross Red Crescent family.

Once operational, the new National Society will strive, through voluntary action, to address human suffering in the Maldives as an auxiliary to public authorities. Like 186 other National Societies around the world, the Maldivian Red Crescent will adhere to the seven fundamental principles of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement; humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality.

Source: reliefweb.int

Final steps to recovery in the Maldives

Power is on its way to the island of Vilufushi as the final phase of work on the British Red Cross recovery programme in the Maldives begins.

Vilufushi was so devastated by the tsunami that a land reclamation project had to be carried out prior to reconstruction. In August 2007, the British Red Cross started building 250 houses. For the displaced households, the power project brings hope – by spring next year they will be able to move back to their island and into their new homes.

Zahid Jameel, the Maldivian consultant who designed the power system, is confident of its quality. “It has been challenging and has taken a lot of time looking into all the details and working with the Ministry for Energy and Water. We have done the best from what is available and now I am happy with the end result.”

Training scheme

Both the power station and the treatment plant for the sewage system will require maintenance once the British Red Cross leaves the island next year.

Local people are being trained in important technical positions and the community is being encouraged to take it on as a business enterprise. There will also be jobs in billing and collection of payments.

Russell Bryce, British Red Cross utilities manager, said: “There is a lot of opportunity and hopefully it will be run like a business, but will take into account people who can’t afford to pay much, such as the elderly. The idea is to generate enough funds to maintain the systems if they need any repairs and to pay a salary to those doing the work.”

New school

The British Red Cross is also building a new school on Vilufushi and on 7 August, a ceremony to mark the start of construction was attended by some of the children who come from the island.

“After three years and seven months I got to see my home island and I was so happy to be there. It looks so different from before,” said Aishath Naafia, studying in grade 10. “I am proud that we will have a bigger school, better facilities and I hope, good teachers too. I had the honor of participating in the ceremony and it felt so good. It’s the first time in my life that I had an opportunity like this.”

The displaced population from Vilufushi have been living on Buruni island, where currently 410 students attend a school that used to accommodate 90. Usman Afzah, studying in grade nine, said: “I feel so bad living in a tent like this for more than three years after the tsunami. We lost our freedom and our own space. But since I visited my home island again, all these bad feelings have disappeared because I have seen a completely different Vilufushi.”

Source: www.redcross.org.uk

Red Cross yet to spend $200M of tsunami cash

More than three years after the Asian tsunami devastated several countries, $200 million of the $360 million donated to the Canadian Red Cross has still not been spent.

After the tsunami slammed into 11 countries, including Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand, on Dec. 26, 2004, killing more than 225,000, Canadians opened up their hearts and wallets.

When the Canadian Red Cross appealed for money, individuals, corporations and the federal government couldn't send cheques fast enough. Most of it came within the first month after the devastation.

When all was tallied, $360 million had been collected and the agency insists the remaining $200 million has been allocated in its quest to build 6,000 homes. The Canadian Red Cross kept the fundraising campaign up for another year, while at least one other charity had long ago stopped.

"It is somewhat startling ... that a good amount of that money has not been deployed for its intentions when Canadians in a mood of outpouring gave money in almost an unprecedented way," said Liberal MP Dan McTeague (Pickering-Scarborough East), who was parliamentary secretary to foreign affairs minister Pierre Pettigrew when the tsunami struck.

"The public must have a reasonable expectation that monies that they contribute are, in fact, spent as they are indicated to be spent. One can understand timelines, but this tsunami took place over three years ago."

The Red Cross in Canada took in far more money than it ever imagined. Some say it was a combination of the time of year and the size of the catastrophe that put people in a giving mood. In all, the worldwide community donated a reported $7 billion in humanitarian aid.

A senior industry source said one of the contributing factors for so much money still being undistributed was that the Canadian Red Cross was thrust into the international stage, forcing it to establish offices in the stricken areas to begin the arduous task of rebuilding.

Jean-Philippe Tizi, director of emergency and recovery for the Canadian Red Cross, stated: "Following the tsunami, the Canadian Red Cross was requested by (the Indonesian Red Cross Society) to drastically scale up our support in response to the overwhelming devastation, ensuring increased capacity and speed of delivery. In order to support our operations and personnel effectively, an office location was secured."

Canadian Red Cross secretary general Dr. Pierre Duplessis has said it will take at least a decade to complete the tsunami relief.

Jenna Clarke, a Canadian Red Cross spokesperson, told the Toronto Star the money, which is invested and making even more money for the charity, is committed to building homes in Sri Lanka, Indonesia and the Maldives.

"I'd like to reinforce the point that of the money that hasn't been spent out the door, the majority has been committed. It's fixed, so it can't be spent on anything else – and the majority of that is on housing," Clarke said.

The Canadian Red Cross has a plan to build 6,000 houses. "We are on schedule to complete the housing by the end of the year ... but then again, it is construction."

Critics say the Canadian Red Cross spends its money slowly because it's a large bureaucracy.

"Anybody trying to spend $360 million would have troubles with capability. They didn't have to take in the money. They could have said, `I'm sorry, we've got enough,'" but they didn't," said the industry source, adding that Doctors Without Borders did exactly that.

David Morley, president and CEO of Save the Children Canada, was executive director of Doctors Without Borders Canada when the tsunami struck.

"After about five or six days, we could see that we would have way more money than we could spend at the time, so we told people we wouldn't take any more. ... We knew that was sort of all we could manage," Morley recalled.

"We could see that we would be" in the same situation as the Red Cross, he said. "It's a great deal of money to have to spend."

Morley noted Save the Children Canada raised about $5.5 million and, as of December, it had spent about $4 million. He said the response to the tsunami was a learning experience for all charities involved.

Source: thestar.com

Singapore Red Cross to cease Tidal Waves Asia Fund programme

The Singapore Red Cross Society which established the Tidal Waves Asia Fund to help victims of the 2004 tsunami has reported good progress on various reconstruction projects.

A total of S$88 million were raised and so far S$83 million have been committed to rebuilding homes, schools and hospitals in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Maldives.

But the Singapore Red Cross has decided to end the funding programme.

Chairman of the Singapore Red Cross Society Winston Choo said, "We will stop taking in more projects because I feel that we need that five million to be set aside in the event that there'll be cost over-run. We have, over the life of this activity, found that inflation has been creeping in (by) leaps and bounds, so it's necessary for us to set aside some money for possible cost over-run."

"What we have done so far is to give them a lift. In the end, it's important that… local government can go on to do the work themselves," he added.

The Singapore Red Cross is confident that the funds have been well spent, and it has also put in place measures to ensure that the money is properly managed.

From desalination plants in Maldives to schools and a pier in Meulaboh, Indonesia, to houses in Sri Lanka, about half of the projects have been completed.

And the Singapore Red Cross expects most of the projects to be ready by December next year, with some hospital construction and government projects to be concluded in June 2009.
Although funding stops, the work continues.

Mr Choo said, "We've helped to build kindergartens, build schools. What we would like to be able to do is to send Singaporeans across to share skills with the people there and to bring across some of the teachers from there."

The Singapore Red Cross also hopes that non-government organisations and welfare organisations will continue to play their part to help those in need.

Source: Channel News