Progress Report - Facts & Figures 10th Jan. 2005

First two days: immediate emergency relief

The tsunami struck 26 th December in the morning. By noon the first ad hoc meeting of concerned Aurovilians took place in Kuilapalayam to deal with the crisis.

First emergency activities

• A relief camp, with cooking and drinking water facilities, was set up in New Creation, ready at 4 pm . A doctor attended the most urgent medical cases. Some 1400 villagers were being sheltered and fed and blankets were handed out. Another smaller camp was set up in the Kottakarai area.
• On Monday the 27 th , it was decided to shift the refugees to an Auroville school which offered better protection. The influx from coastal villages continued. Relief activities were conducted in close collaboration with the local authorities.
• On Tuesday the 28 th , teams of Aurovilians went out to make a first rapid assessment of the situation along the coast and in the Auroville beach communities. Immediate relief to the flood victims continued.
• On that same day, following the warning for another tsunami, the relief camps gave shelter to and fed about 2500 residents.

 

Auroville Tsunami Relief Centre

• Under the umbrella of Auroville Village Action Group the Auroville Tsunami Relief Centre has been made responsible for the tsunami relief related activities. Jos van den Akker and Hemant Lamba were appointed as coordinators of the team . Networking activities with others NGOs, contacts with the press and general coordination of relief and rehabilitation activities is among their tasks. Jos handed over his responsibilities to Dave Storey on Monday January 10 th .
• Many volunteers came forward to take responsibility for tasks that needed to be planned and coordinated. An office, open from 8 till 6, has been set up. From this office all relief activities are being coordinated.
• Three Field teams were immediately formed. Two teams went out to the villages along the coast to assess the situation. One team took up responsibility for the affected Auroville beach communities. We are now doing reassessments.
• A Clean-Up team is responsible the cleaning activities in the villages.
• A Trauma Counseling team has been formed and is now working with the affected villagers and Aurovilians.
• A Financial Management team is taking care of incoming funds and donations from India and abroad. They have set up a comprehensive and transparant accounting system for incoming and outgoing funds.
• A Communication team releases updated information on our activities on the Auroville website www.auroville.org is also responsible for interacting with the media. Short films covering our activities are in the process of being produced.
• A Sourcing and Purchasing team makes sure the needed items are ready for distribution at the right time.
• A Distribution Preparation team receives the purchased or donated goods/items and prepares suitable kits according to specifications given by the village field teams.
• A Health team is coordinating all health-related issues. A survey on water safety is being carried out. Furthermore a supplementary feeding project, covering all the villages where Auroville is active, is being set up.
• An NGO-Networking team is responsible for establishing relationships and coordinating Auroville's relief and rehabilitation activities with other NGO's involved in tsunami related relief and rehabilitation. A database, searchable by anyone, anytime, anywhere, with all tsunami-related info will be set-up. This database will be incorporated in a special intranet, categorizing and disseminating all tsunami-related information among the concerned NGO's. The aim is to create a coordination and information sharing model, useable in any future disaster emergency.
• An Office team functions as a nodal point for the entire relief efforts and makes sure the Tsunami Relief Team can function smoothly.

Assessing needs and distribution

• After assessing the immediate needs, the distribution team started to compile relief items, consisting of food, clothes and blankets. A more detailed assessment took place in the meantime. On the basis of this needs assessment, distribution of packages of school supplies, buckets, trunks, kitchen utensils, etc., took place. In addition, sports materials were distributed among the youth.
• Distribution of food and non-food items is continuing. We expect to finish the present round of distribution by the end of tomorrow, Thursday the 13 th. All distribution is taking place after consultation and in close collaboration with the local village elders. All distribution activities are done by volunteers.
• We are keeping full distribution records on individual and the village/community level.

Cleaning

• A special Clean-Up Team is taking 100-150 volunteers, on a daily basis, into the villages of Ganagachettikullam and Mudiliarkuppam, as well as the beach areas in front of Auroville beach communities. More villages and locations are being cleaned every day.
• The volunteers include residents of the villages in and around Auroville, Aurovilians, guests of Auroville and students from Auroville schools.
• The cleaning is done together with the residents of the village, as this is a major contribution towards boosting their morale.

Auroville beach communities

• All affected beach communities have been visited. Individual needs and requests have been assessed. Money has been released for necessary works like fencing, small repairs, house renovation, new water pumps. Assessments of further needs are taking place.
• Personal financial support will be provided to all those who need it.
• Volunteers have been assisting in cleaning up the debris.
• Pumps have been installed to desalinate water wells. The salinity level is going down and under control.
• The process of finding temporary housing solutions for some residents is in full swing.

Trauma Counselling
Since many residents of the shoreline villages are traumatized by the events, we are now in the process of setting up trauma counselling relief activities. Members from the Auroville Tamil Women Group and other concerned parties have set a up a structure and visited the villages since Wednesday, January 5 th .

Rehabilitation
Gradually the Auroville relief operation has been moving into the rehabilitation phase. The first meeting and brainstorming sessions are over and various working group are now fully functional, covering temporary and permanent shelter needs, the rebuilding of livelihoods, training, sanitation, etcetera.

Government Liaison
The Auroville Tsunami Relief Team is in daily contact with the local Government Administrator Adi Dravid, Mr. Abdul Hassan, assistant secretary Mr. Atulia Mishra from Tamil Nadu Government, District Observer, and the District Collector Mr. K.Balachadaran.

A new Progress Report will be published on Monday, January 17, 2005

Auroville Tsunami Relief Centre
Aurelec
Auroville – 605101
Tamil Nadu
Ph: 0413-262 2184 or 0413-262 2979

 

Status Report

1. Villages covered by Auroville Tsunami Relief Centre

Villages / communities covered	Villages/communities to be covered today/tomorrow/day after
Bommayarpalayam Kuppam	Ramatnagar
Bommayarpalayam Village	Chinnakalapet Kuppam
Pillaychavadi Kuppam	Perijakalapet Kuppam
Chinnamudiliarchavadi Colony	Ganakachettikulam
Nadakuppam	Arujindathinagar
Thandirayankuppam	Anichamkuppam
Sodanaikuppam	Mudiliarkuppam
Chimmakalapet Vaniyar Community
Perijamudiliarchavadi Village
Chinnamudiliarchavadi Kuppam
Kottakuppam
total villages /communities covered: 11	total villages /comm. to be covered: 7

2. Auroville Beach Communities covered by relief activities of Auroville Tsunami Relief Centre

from North to South
Eternity	Waves
Sri Ma	Repos
Simplicity	Gokulam
Halcyon	Samarpanam
	Quiet

3. Distributed items

Food items	Non-Food items	specification Non-Food items
rice	blankets
oil	clothing items:	second hand sarees, new lungies, new towels
dahl	educational materials	large size and small size notebooks, pens, pencils, pencil cases, schoolbags, school uniforms
biscuits
bread	plastic goods	20 lt.-buckets, 12 lt.-pots, 2 lt.-jugs, 1 lt.-mugs
	soaps	bath soaps: 150 grams, laundry soaps: 500 grams
	coconut oil	bottles of 100 ml.
	sports materials:	volley balls, volley ball nets, cricket bats, skipping ropes
	metal trunks	content: 50 lt.

4. Distribution completed as per January 9 th

Food items		Non-Food items
Rice	5955 kg.	Clothes / Towels	1496
Oil	1383 lt.	School sets	745
Dahl	1408 kg.	Blankets	679
Biscuits	170 packets	Soaps	893
Bread	190	Plastic goods	855
		Metal trunks	0
		Coconut oil bottles	595
		Sports pieces	241

5. Financial report

Pledged Donations until January 9 th	Rs.	$
Village Relief	6,850,000	155,752
Auroville Beach Relief	2,350,000	53,438
Total	9,200,000	209,190

5b. Emergency Relief Camp in Kuilapalayam, 26 – 31 December, 2004

Expenditure	Food, shelter, energy, transport, rent cooking and food materials, blankets, clothes
	Rs.	$
Total expenditure	2,05,000	4,685.71

5c. Expenditure on relief work for Auroville Beach Communities

Expenditure up to January 9 th , 2005	Rs.	$
Water maintenance	29,645	674.14
Fences	1,06,300	2,417.14
House repairs	1,45,000	3,315.14
Night guards	15,000	342.86
Personal emergency maintenances	2,23,660	5,085.61
Miscellaneous	55,060	1,251.82
Total	2,02,145	13,086.71

5d. Expenditure for Villages

Expenditure until January 9 th	Rs.	$
Relief camp	2,05,000	4,685.71
Cleaning and other tools	45,000	1,028.57
Food items	2,84,000	6,458
Blankets	1,60,000	3,657.14
Clothes, lungies and towels	63,000	1,440.00
School uniforms	1,44,000	3,274.44
Educational materials	1,30,000	2,971.42
Sports materials	25,000	571.43
Metal trunks	21,000	480.00
Plastic goods	1,60,000	3,657.14
T-shirts volunteers	40,000	909,57
Village relief expenditure, total	1,2,77,000	29,133.42

5e. Total Tsunami Relief Expenditure

Expenditure up to January 9 th	Rs.	$
Village relief expenditure, total	1,2,77,000	29,133.42
Auroville Beach relief expenditures, total	202,145	4,620.45
Total Expenditures	1,156,145	26,426.14

5c. Expenditures on relief work for Auroville Beach Communities

Expenditures until January 9 th , 2005	Rs.	$
Water maintenance	29,645	674.14
Fences	1,06,300	2,417.14
House repairs	1,45,000	3,315.14
Night guards	15,000	342.86
Personal emergency maintenances	2,23,660	5,085.61
Miscellaneous	55,060	1,251.82
Total	2,02,145	13,086.71

 

Auroville Universal Township