Rapid Response Payment Request No. 15/2008
Funds Sent To: Lutheran Church of Costa Rica (ILCO)
Amount Sent: US$ 34,356
Date: 10 June 2008
Details of Response
Emergency: Floods and landslides following Tropical Storm Alma
Date of Emergency: 27 May 2008
Implementing Member: Lutheran Church of Costa Rica (ILCO)
Implementing partners: The Ecumenical Forum for the Development of Guanacaste (FEDEAGUA) and the Socio-cultural Association of Las Vegas
Details of the Emergency
The first tropical storm of the 2008 Eastern Pacific season, Alma, lashed the coast of Costa Rica with heavy rains and strong winds on May 27, 2008 and the following night. The National Institute for Meteorology declared a Red Alert the same day. On June 2nd, after having conducted a damage assessment, the government declared a state of National Emergency.
Hardest hit areas are Guanacaste and the South and Central Pacific area. Updated figures give a number of 21,000 people directly affected by the floods in 453 communities, 3,500 displaced among which 1,759 are now living in shelters, 1,152 houses damaged. More than 130 road sections were disconnected, which left many communities cut off from outside communication during a whole week. Some families feel the damage particularly strongly as they still had not completely recovered from last year's floods, in particular in the area of Guanacaste (ACT Rapid Response Fund 30/2007, 2 November 2007). The daily life of the affected communities is interrupted and the agricultural sector has suffered a heavy loss of crops (rice, beans and maize).
Proposed assistance
ACT member ILCO is planning to assist a total of 300 families in Nicoya province (Canton of Guanacaste) and the South Pacific province (Canton of Corredores). These families do not benefit from any other assistance due to the remoteness of their communities. Most families had to flee from their homes and are now living with relatives.
There will be 10 communities in Guanacaste: Cangelito, Cerro Negro, La Esperanza, Colas de Gallo, Oriente, Juan Díaz, Moracia, Pozo de Agua, El Torito, Ostional and Bolsón. In the South Pacific province, two communities are selected: Las Vegas and Río Las Vacas. Families in Guanacaste are mostly farmers earning their income with agriculture. Families in the South Pacific province are indigenous people.
In agreement with ILCO's local partners, it has been decided that the following criteria would be applied in the selection of the families: single (female) headed households, families with 4 or more school aged children, families in charge of elderly or disabled persons, families whose houses have been damaged, and families whose crops have been affected.
Each of the families will receive one food kit, comprising of: 8kg of rice, 4kg of sugar, 3 kg of coffee, 4 kg of beans, 1kg of salt, 2 kg of wheat flour, 2 kg of corn flour, 4 packages of pasta, 4 packages of soup, 2 bags of milk powder, 2 boxes of cereal, 8 cans of tuna fish, 3 litres of oil, 4 packets of seasoning, 2 packages of bread. The families will also receive hygiene kits comprising of: 6 bricks of soap, 4 packages of toilet paper, 2 packages of detergent, 2 boxes of tooth paste, 2 packages of sanitary napkins.
The RRF implementation will include the following steps: assessment of the emergency situation, linking with community representatives, elaboration of a database of beneficiary families, buying, packing, transporting and delivering the items, workshops with the community leaders for community strengthening, monitoring, evaluation of the process, accounting and reporting.
ILCO will cooperate with two local NGOs: FEDEAGUA, and The Socio-Cultural Association of Las Vegas. FEDEAGUA, an organisation working for sustainable development, will be responsible for the distribution of the kits in the communities of Guanacaste, as well as for the follow up with the community leaders. Monthly meetings with community leaders will ensure that the community will be fully involved in the execution, monitoring and reporting of the project. The Socio-Cultural Association of Las Vegas, an indigenous association, will be in charge of the implementation in the canton of Corredores.
ILCO will be responsible for managing the funds, coordinating with the implementing partners and ensuring that project will be implemented according to ACT procedures, policies and guidelines. ILCO will deploy two staff members: one staff will accompany the distribution and follow up with the community leaders. Another ILCO staff member will be responsible for the finances and administration.
The procurement will be done in accordance with ACT policies. The items for delivery will be bought in San José, as goods are limited on the local market.
The implementation will take place over a three month period and be completed by 10 September 2008. The first two months are scheduled for the implementation, the third month for the evaluation of lessons learned and reporting. Depending on the situation analysis by the end of implementation, ILCO will consider sending an appeal to the ACT Coordinating Office to assist the families in rehabilitation of housing and generation of income.
BUDGET: US$ 34,356
(For the detailed budget, kindly visit the ACT site. Thank you.)
ACTION
The ACT Co-ordinating Office has approved the use of US$ 34,356 towards the budget from its Rapid Response Fund and would be grateful to receive contributions to wholly or partially replenish this payment. Should there be an appeal for this emergency, the RRF payment will be considered as an advance.
(ends)
ACT is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide.
The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
An aerial view after the flooded Chaiten town in southern Chile June 3, 2008. Chaiten Volcano started erupting on May 2 for first time in thousands of years, spewing ash, gas ...
