Young people in Myanmar (Burma) will develop and lead disaster risk reduction activities in their local communities to mitigate the impacts of natural hazards. YMCA Pathein and their volunteers will train young people in disaster preparedness and disaster risk reduction so they can raise awareness amongst their peers, families and communities.

Myanmar is exposed to several natural hazards, and when Cyclone Nargis struck the Ayerwaddy Delta, where Pathein is located, in 2008 it revealed just how vulnerable communities here are. The staff at the YMCA and young volunteers on the project will be trained using the innovative Mobile Knowledge Resource Centre (MKRC) in disasters and actions to reduce disaster risks. The MKRC is a truck which can access remote communities and villages and holds models to show the impact of hazards such as flooding, cyclones and earthquakes which has been developed with the support of CWS-Asia/Pacific. The training includes topics such as basic first aid, how to make life-saving devices for floods from plastic bottles, and how to make sandbags to protect homes from flooding.

The YMCA staff and young volunteers who have been trained in disaster risk reduction (DRR) will receive follow up support to develop action plans for sharing their learning with up to 100 community members through awareness raising activities and other actions. Young volunteers will lead on carrying out hazard and vulnerability mapping of their communities to identify ways they can reduce the risk of future disasters and think about evacuation plans for hazards such as flooding and cyclones.

The YMCA is ensuring that young people volunteering on the project are truly representative of their communities and include young people of different ethnicities, religions, gender, age, and those with disabilities.

CWS-Asia/Pacific, member of the ACT Alliance Forum in Myanmar, decided not to issue an emergency appeal. However, we are still working closely with our local partners to monitor the situation. Such situation demonstrate the importance of our engagement in conducting more disaster preparedness programs around the country.

Current situation – After cyclone, Myanmar camps face monsoon threat
SITTWE, Myanmar, May 20, 2013 (AFP)

Myanmar’s victims of sectarian strife were spared the full force of Cyclone Mahasen, but many are now returning to flimsy tents in flood-prone camps with the monsoon just weeks away.

Myanmar’s Rakhine state is pockmarked with makeshift settlements for up to 140,000 people — mainly Rohingya Muslims — displaced by sectarian unrest last year that claimed about 200 lives and saw whole villages razed.

Many were evacuated last week ahead of Cyclone Mahasen, which later veered into neighbouring Bangladesh. But most have now returned, according to Kirsten Mildren of the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

“They are actually no better off than where they were last week before the storm,” she said, adding the cyclone was simply a “dress rehearsal” for the rainy season — set to hit in a few weeks.

Many of the camps consist of little more than ramshackle bivouacs of bamboo and tarpaulin flung up in soggy paddy fields.

Sanitation is a key concern. Rain last week left standing water in many of the camps and Mildren said water-born diseases such as cholera were a particular fear.

“Thousands are sheltering in areas that make them vulnerable and we need to find solutions to this, ” she said. “If one week of rain has done this, imagine what it’s going to be like in a couple of months.”

Many Rohingya are completely reliant on humanitarian aid, with an almost total segregation of Buddhist and Muslim communities.

A lack of adequate food has also raised fears about malnutrition among children, many of whom have gone without access to education for almost a year.

“It makes me sad just to talk about our life here,” 55-year-old Hla Hla Myint told AFP, describing conditions at the Mansi camp near the state capital Sittwe.

“Ants, leeches and earthworms come into our tents. We are living in the water. I am so sad. We have no food,” she said.

While the former factory worker sought shelter from the cyclone with her two daughters in a local school, her husband and son stayed behind to guard their tent — all they had to protect them from the monsoon.

Myanmar views its population of roughly 800,000 Rohingya as illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and denies them citizenship — they are considered by the United Nations to be one of the world’s most persecuted minorities.

Attacks against Muslims — who make up an estimated four percent of the population — have spread to other parts of Myanmar, overshadowing widely praised political reforms as the country emerges from decades of military rule.

After months of warnings from rights groups and aid organisations, local authorities are now scrambling to build enough wooden shelters before the tents are swamped.

“I don’t think we have much time left — just over a month. These houses have to be finished in that time,” Rakhine government spokesman Win Myaing told AFP.

He said about 70 percent of the required shelters had been built, although he could not provide exact figures.

The UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, which has previously warned of a “humanitarian catastrophe”, said some 70,000 people most at risk from the monsoon would be housed in new wooden blocks.

That is in addition to shelters for 12,000 people already built by UNHCR along with an unknown number constructed by the government, according to spokeswoman Vivian Tan.

The semi-permanence of the wooden structures has caused concern that they will prolong segregation of communities — a solution, albeit temporary, that was advocated by a recent official report on the unrest.

Independent analyst Richard Horsey said a “huge challenge” would be to provide aid “without making these camps into permanent settlements”.

Tan said the aim was to eventually return the displaced to their old communities.

“This cannot go on for a long time. Solutions will need to be found in their own villages,” she told AFP.

At Bawdupha camp near Sittwe, more than 7,500 Rohingya have moved into 20 new barracks, each comprising eight one-family rooms. A dozen more are being built, but residents worry whether they would withstand a cyclone.

“The house is a temporary construction, not strong. I am concerned if there is a storm, it will be swept away,” said Muhibulah, 55, who has been living in the camp with his wife and three children for almost a year.

Like many Rohingya he has little faith in the authorities.

“We don’t trust the government. Absolutely not,” he said.

sym/klm/dla/dr/dwa

© 1994-2013 Agence France-Presse

The Myanmar Consortium for Community Resilience, a new women-led DRR approach

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

We are pleased to share the executive summary of the 2013 “Views from the Frontline” report for Myanmar. The full PDF version will soon be available on our website.

Views from the Frontline is an initiative of the Global Network for Disaster Reduction, that began in 2009 and is a global survey conducted every two years by civil society organisations to assist in measuring progress towards the implementation of Hyogo Framework for Action at the local level. VFL 2013 was the first time it has been conducted in Myanmar.

Church World Service-Asia/Pacific, with technical and financial support from Yakkum Indonesia, led the process, with fourteen – 11 local and 3 international – civil society organisations participating. 1315 surveys were collected from 38 townships across 10 states and regions of the country. Following an analysis of survey results, national and local level consultations were conducted to validate the findings, examine key constraints, opportunities and devise a set of key recommendations.

Results indicate needs of improvements

The results for the first part of the survey showed that while the perception of threat appears quite low overall, the respondents reported a significant increase in losses since 2005. Although there appeared to be some inconsistencies, this varied between States and Regions, some of which have suffered a disaster recently and some that have not.

The overall scores for part two of the survey indicate that all areas need significant improvement if we are to ensure the government – at all levels- civil society organisations and the community themselves are enabled to manage risk and prepare for, mitigate and respond to disasters. The average scores came below regional averages for all questions, and above global averages for some. The highest score related to capacity and the lowest score related to resources. The scores varied from township to township, with some townships scoring higher than others for some questions.

The main constraints

The main barriers or constraints identified in the national workshop and subsequent consultations to be stalling progress at the local level include:

• Limited awareness of disasters and disaster risk of government, the community and civil society organizations

• Limited skills of government locally (and centrally), the community and civil society organizations. The skills identified included management; leadership; technical; community mobilization; and advocacy. Where training or capacity building has been done, it has often not been followed by support to ensure that it is practically applied, having an impact on its effectiveness

• Limited resources- financial, human, material- of government, the community and civil society organizations that represent them

• Limited or no focus on areas that have not suffered a disaster recently; and limited or no attention given on strengthening structures in State/Regional and District capitals even in States/Regions that have suffered a disaster recently

• Weak infrastructure- mainly transportation and communication systems- and limited resources for information dissemination- for example, telephones

• Remote communities are often overlooked, thereby increasing risk and vulnerability

• Weak coordination among civil society organizations (local and international) and between civil society organizations and government

• Limited trust and conflicting interests between key stakeholders, often prohibiting partnership and collaboration

• Restrictive rules and regulations that slow down processes at local level. For example, registration process; obtaining permission to conduct activities

• Diverse languages spoken in the country

Leveraging opportunities

Despite the barriers that currently exist, there are also considerable opportunities that could be leveraged in Myanmar that should assist in accelerating progress at both the local and central levels.

The transition of the country should be seen as an opportunity to strengthen linkages and build trust between the community, civil society organisations, government and other key stakeholders that will enable more trust to be built between all stakeholders as well as to influence the direction of disaster management in Myanmar.

With sanctions lifted fully or partly, Myanmar is experiencing an influx of investment from both the public and private sectors providing a variety of possibilities for support. The existence of an active DRR Working Group; Myanmar Consortium of NGOs; Myanmar NGO Contingency Plan Group provides a concrete basis on which to build and include other key stakeholders, such as private sector. These platforms could easily be merged and renamed into an internationally recognized ‘National Platform for DRR’ (UNISDR) that will further open avenues for support.

Post 2015 discussions have begun that will determine what comes after both Hyogo Framework for Action and the Millennium Goals. The government in Myanmar is currently undergoing the process of developing an economic and social reform framework and the Ministry of Education

has begun a comprehensive education sector review. In addition, laws are being revised and/ or created with platforms to influence them or at least the rules and regulations that accompany them, including the Disaster Management Law. These all provide perfect opportunities to help ensure that disaster risk reduction is integrated in Myanmar’s development and poverty reduction plans, as well as eventually embedded into the school curriculum.

With respect to communications, Myanmar is experiencing freer media than ever before. As a result, more media platforms and broadcasting stations are rapidly becoming available. Mobile phones will soon become more accessible for all. In addition, particularly in the past few years, the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology’s facilities have improved and lessons may be drawn from these systems.

Some capacity and experience in community mobilization; community based disaster risk reduction; and advocacy does exist within local civil society organizations. This should be understood and strengthened further and good examples of disaster related activities replicated. Furthermore, local and indigenous knowledge could and should be utilized, including with respect to early warning systems.

Key Recommendations

Having analysed key constraints, and examined opportunities that could be seized at this critical time in Myanmar, the participants of the Views from the Frontline came up with the following key recommendations:

• All actors engaged in disaster related activities should work together to strengthen existing platforms by encouraging more ownership by government; by including more academia; and by mobilizing the private sector not only in emergency situations but also for preparedness and mitigation- and frame DRR within the context of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

• Principles of partnership should be understood and agreed by all key stakeholders- and should be included in all rules and regulations of new/revised laws- such as the Disaster Management Law

• More opportunities should be leveraged where key stakeholders work together towards a common goal, thereby promoting trust building, collaboration and cooperation. The model of a national platform for DRR can be looked as a framework to coordinate different stakeholders under one goal, and seen as a reference from other countries.

• Disaster risk reduction should be fully integrated into development plans- at local and central levels- and across ministries and government departments. Improving communication systems, transportation and other essential infrastructure should be made a priority

• Government and civil society structures should be strengthened in District and State and Regional capitals to ensure they are enabled to become engaged in and support disaster related activities within their constituencies

• Prior to any intervention, a thorough assessment of capacity and resources should be conducted to obtain a better understanding of what exists, what the gaps are and areas that need to be strengthened. This should include human, material, technical and financial resources; and community coping and other mechanisms (including early warning systems)

• More support should be provided to local civil society organizations to support communities on advocacy; technical skills; community mobilization; and other issues and appropriate budget should be allocated at central and local levels

• More awareness programs should be conducted- including in areas where disasters have not occurred recently and in remote communities

• All disaster related training programs- be they designed for the government, civil society organisations or the community- should include a follow-up support component to ensure that what was learned may be practically applied

The heavy clashes between the rival armed groups and subsequent military operation against the militants have resulted in a huge displacement of thousands of families from Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). According to UNHCR, as of May 1, 2013, 11,404 families have been displaced and registered, while officials estimate that it will reach to 20,000 families in coming days and will remain in displacement for up to six months due to on-going military operation and uncertainty as well instability in the area.

No. of Families 11,404
Men+18 12,566
Women+18 11,702
Children -18 30,926
Grand Total 55,194

The displaced people have sought refuge in Kohat, Hangu and Kurram Agency and almost 91% of them are living in off-camp settlements with host community. These IDP families travelled on foot from Tirah to Orakzai Agency (journeys which took between 8 hours and 2 days) as there was no transportation available. With no roads to follow, families were forced to walk across mountainous terrain, often barefoot, and in the rain which resulted in a large number of individuals, particularly children, elderly and women, becoming sick and injured along the way.

Last year, a significant number of IDPs all came down to Peshawar, but due to mounting security crisis in the Peshawar, the government directed all the IDPs to move south towards Kohat and Khuram Agency. Authorities have stopped all humanitarian actors from responding to the Tirah Valley IDP’s in Peshawar. This is a big protection concern for the humanitarian actors. Advocacy with authorities are ongoing to permit assistance to the vulnerable IDP population in Peshawar as some of them might not be able to move to Kohat or Khuram agency. The option of mobile registration in Peshawar is under consideration but no final decision has been made on this by the authorities as yet.
From the recent influx of IDPs, majority of the IDPs initially moved to Kurram Agency and around 500 IDP families in Kohat as of third week of April.

However, April 27, 2013 a new registration point at Jerma in Kohat District was established which attracted majority of the IDPs to take shelter in Kohat District. The number of registered families in Kohat after one day was 626 while on May 1, it stood at 3,489 families, due to which the number of registered IDPs from Tirah Valley has exponentially gone up and has increased by 36% of the total IDPs in a time span of only one week. There are reports that numbers of IDPs do not have their CNICs which is a main source for verification and registration and there are number of people who have their CNICs but do not have the correct address of Tirah Valley. This means they will not be registered under the current registration criteria. Hence, these people will be left without any assistance.

The registration points will be closed in Kohat between May 6 and 13 due to upcoming election in Pakistan. Once the registration is resumed from May 13, the number of registered IDPs is expected to increase.

At the moment, UNHCR is registering the IDPs through Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), WFP is providing food, UNHCR is providing NFIs and Tents in New durrani camp through CERD.

As families had left their homes in a hurry, they had no provisions with them for shelter, medication, water or food, and had to sleep in the open-air. Therefore, urgent assistance is required for all IDP families with all types of assistance being prioritized (food, temporary shelter, NFIs, healthcare, cash assistance, water).

CWS response
CWS-P/A is planning to conduct a Rapid Need Assessment to get more information on the situation and the identified gaps to plan for the emergency response for IDPs recently displaced from Tirah Valley, Khyber Agency.

MAINSTREAMING SECURITY RISK MANAGEMENT IN THE ORGANIZATION

Aid workers have been moved to the frontlines in providing assistance to communities after major humanitarian challenges such as environment disaster, continuous civil unrest or even during war. They find themselves in places that are remote, difficult, and hostile; regularly facing the threat of violence, targeted attacks, and abductions. With conflict, natural disasters, and complex emergencies increasing aid workers are continuously putting their safety at risk.

The humanitarian community must analyze and address the risks that aid workers face on a daily basis at the field level; where their daily work may not be seen as neutral and security incidents are frequent. By increasing communication and discussion on security risk management at a global or regional level, individual organizations and country-level platforms may gain greater knowledge and skills to enhance security management for the local context in which they work. Furthermore, security-related policies and procedures must be developed with input from both senior management and field level staff within an organization. It is of the utmost importance to transfer the knowledge and skills required to mitigate risks and handle security incidents to those at the field level. In order to ensure aid workers have the knowledge and skills necessary to reduce risks and effectively handle unforeseen incidents, several steps can be taken. First of all it is important to understand and analyze the local conditions and threats continuously. Secondly one must build their capacity through training, role plays, and drills on better risk management techniques. Finally, one should always be accountable and provide quality relief and services to the community in a fair and transparent manner, allowing those at the field level to perceive you as trustworthy and non-threatening.

An organization’s management should prepare its staff for field work by providing information on the relevant historical background and current events. Cultural information on the communities such as the interaction norms between men and women or political, ethnic, or religious differences which affect inter or intra community cooperation is also extremely important to understand when working in the field. Information can come from sources such as local staff, implementing partners, the community, news and other media, government and security agencies, and an organization’s past experiences. It is important to ensure any staff working or traveling to the field areas is aware of the context—even local staff should be briefed as disaster, conflict, and other circumstances can quickly change the environment. Once understanding is developed, an analysis of how the context may affect humanitarian efforts, aid workers, or the communities should be made. By considering the various possibilities even ones that seem unlikely the security risks and threats for staff working in the field can be minimized. Particularly useful for conflict areas or areas where there is history of ethnic or religious differences is the principle of Local Capacities for Peace and the concept of ‘Do No Harm,’ which basically means that the organization’s work will not cause harm to anyone or worsen conflicts or tensions.

To adequately deal with threatening situations, practical training can play a vital role for preparing aid workers to face the multitude of challenges that can arise in the field. Without knowledge or experience, the ability of an aid worker to safely operate in high-risk environments is significantly hindered. One organizational strategy is to send team members to security-related trainings regularly, followed by an in-house training that can be developed to benefit all staff members. Training sessions, role plays, and practice drills on topics such as first aid, abductions, attacks on an office, fire safety, or what to do if caught in the middle of cross-fire or riots provide valuable information and life-saving techniques that can potentially make the difference between life and death.

An organization must also have standard operating procedures, supporting logistics procedures, and security guidelines to better manage crisis situations. These policies and procedures enable staff members to know what to do on a daily basis to minimize risks, how to handle a specific kind of incident, and how the organization will approach incidents such as kidnapping. All staff should be oriented about the security procedures and guidelines and be held accountable to them.

Despite all other efforts to implement security guidelines and reduce risk, if an organization does not run fair and transparent projects at the field level, it cannot effectively mitigate the security risks. Transparency at the field level directly impacts how an organization and its staff are perceived. Any doubt by local community members, government or military as to the motives or fairness of operations by the organization places the field team at increased risk of attack, abuse, or early closure of activities. An organization should coordinate effectively, ensure community participation, and follow quality and accountability standards at all times. For example, upholding to the Sphere Minimum Standards during disaster response helps to ensure that quality standards are met. Following the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP) Standard in Accountability and Quality Management guides an organization to remain accountable to all stakeholders and to preserve the dignity of affected communities. There are various approaches to quality and accountability. An organization should adopt and uphold one or a combination of the available international standards such as Sphere and HAP to ensure quality and accountability. By doing so, security risks associated with doubt, ineffective implementation, or lack of community participation in decision-making or implementation can be prevented. By realizing the connection between accountability and transparency and the security of staff; one can significantly improve the working environment at the field level and the safety of their field staff.

Security management is a crucial element to maintaining response capacity, safety of staff, and continuation of activities. It is essential that humanitarian organizations have well defined, coherent, and working security plans to minimize security risks of aid workers. A positive relationship with stakeholders at the field level is also relevant to ensuring staff security. An organization is responsible to ensure its staff is aware and equipped with the skills necessary to apply policies and procedures on quality, accountability, and safety and security. Individuals are also responsible while working in the field or at office locations to follow guidelines and common sense to preserve their safety. Security at the field level can be summarized into a simple equation: knowledge + capacity + accountability ⇒ security.

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Read the MultiRegional Risk Management E-News

Find more information about the MultiRegional Risk ManagementTraining

With grant support from European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO) through Dan Church Aid (DCA/CA), CWS-Cambodia was pleased to support, through the Battambang Partnership Project, one Cambodian Non Governmental Organization (CNGO), the Rural Development Association (RDA) to implement a post flood recovery project. This project helped recover livelihoods and build resilient communities affected by the late 2011 flood. This project was implemented in 30 villages in Thma Koul district, Battambang province and in Mongkol Borey district, Banteay Meanchey province.

The post flood recovery project – started in June 2012 and concluding in February 2013- aimed to alleviate the food shortage and restore livelihoods of flood-affected poor and vulnerable households through helping them to increase access to food, capital and skills while building their resilience to natural disasters and outbreaks of water-borne diseases. The flood recovery project activities implemented included: Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT) for people to buy food commodities and other basic need, Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) for people to raise chicken, establish home garden and purchase fishing equipment, Cash For Work (CFW) for people to renovate the canal; water filter distribution and education on water sanitation and hygiene.

These activities are outlined with results as follows:

- 293 extremely poor households in 30 villages in Battambang and Banteay Meanchey provinces received monthly cash grants of 95,000 Riel ($23.75) per household from June to November 2012. This was in the form of Unconditional cash transfer. This grant distribution activity- which cost a total of 167,010,000 Riel (USD 41,752.5) was aimed at providing vulnerable households with income during the annual lean period, during the rainy season when households are busy with farm work. The monitoring completed after the cash distribution revealed that beneficiaries use the cash as intended- to buy food commodities for consumption, purchasing rice as the main priority. Besides rice, they purchased oil, salt, vegetable, meat and other food ingredients. The purchase of these additional food items was important in increasing the quantity, quality and the variety of food consumed within families. Furthermore, the households did not borrow money from money lendersto purchase food for their families. This financial support prevents them from becoming vulnerable to debt which can in turn make them even more vulnerable.

- 284 households in 29 villages received Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) of 120,000 Riels ($30) to purchase fishing equipment. Before the distribution of cash, all households received education and explanation from community fishing committees related to fishing law such as legal fishing equipment, fishing locations and community fishing sources. Based on monitoring conducted by RDA staff, the equipment is useful for their families to catch fish for family income and consumption. For instance, in October-November 2012 and besides home consumption, Mr. Souy Yan, a beneficiary living in Ph’av Thmei Mongkol Borey district, Banteay Meanchey province, could earn between $6-10 per week from selling fish he caught to support his family of seven. This is his additional income to the existing one he earns from growing rice and selling labor.

- In July 2012, 60 households participated in Cash For Work (CFW) project in two villages in Thma Koul district, Battambang province to renovate a 1,040-meterlong community irrigation canal (1,872 cub meters).The households received 10,000 Riel ($2.50) for moving of one cubic meter of soil. On average, each household participating in this CFW scheme could earn between $70-75. The rehabilitated canal can now store water for irrigation of gardens and rice cultivation and can release water to reduce flood in the villages. Based on post activity monitoring survey result, the main item purchased with the money received was on food, particularly rice and other food items. In addition, some households asked their family members to return from working in Thai-Cambodia border to participate in the Cash for Work (CFW) of renovating canal.

- In order to help the flood affected communities to access safe drinking water, in November 2012, 954 ceramic water filters were delivered to 954 households in 30 target villages in Battambang and Banteay Meanchey provinces. In addition, four schools received 17 ceramic water filters for 569 schoolchildren. In order to effectively use and maintain the ceramic filters, the villagers have received education on safe water and how to use the filters. Based on the result of post delivery monitoring survey, the communities successfully used the water filters to improve safe drinking water. As a result, the occurrences of water borne diseases have been significantly reduced.

- In December 2012, eight-one day training courses on home gardening were organized for 210 villagers (110 women) and 15 one day training courses on chicken raising and vaccination were organized for 311 villagers (151 women) in 30 target villages in Battambang and Banteay Meanchey provinces. Staff of Agriculture Offices in Thma Koul and Mongkol Borey districts conducted the trainings. For chicken raising training, the topics covered by training included the importance of chicken raising, chicken breed selection, chicken’s house building, chicken feed preparation,common chicken disease prevention and vaccination. For vegetable growing training, the topics include importance of vegetable growing, vegetable growing timing, soil preparation, watering and fertilization. Based on observation and evaluation conducted by trainers and RDA staff, participants were interested in the training and applied knowledge and techniques in their home garden and chicken raising.

CWS-P/A Response:
Currently CWS-P/A is monitoring the situation and collecting secondary information.

For more information, please visit CWS Pakistan/Afghanistan website

“Stories & Facts from Fukushima”

CWS-Asia/Pacific has been pleased to support JANIC in its activities to strengthen civil society in Japan after the nuclear accident happened in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami on Mar.11, 2011.

JANIC recently launched “Fukushima on the Globe”, a portal site of citizen’s movement inside and outside Fukushima. Though media coverage and people’s interest in Fukushima seems to be going down, still more than 160,000 people are displaced from their home and millions of people including children are living in the area where annual airborne radiation dose exceeds 1 mSV, ICRP’s limit of radiation exposure for member of public.

JANIC established this site to share these people’s difficulties with international community, as it is not only the problem in Fukushima or Japan but also the problem for all human beings on the globe. Having a team based in Fukushima city, JANIC will try to focus on people’s situation and citizen’s movement that are not covered by other media. The purpose is to connect Fukushima and the world, to tackle this difficult challenge for human beings together.

This site is managed by Japan NGO Center for International Cooperation (JANIC) supported by Church World Service (CWS) as a part of joint project with Fukushima Future Center for Regional Revitalization, Fukushima University.

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CWS-P/A is among a limited number of organizations that recently received recognition for health work in Afghanistan. Within the last month, six awards were presented to CWS-P/A’s health team from the Nangarhar and Laghman health directorates. The health program received an appreciation letter from the Nangarhar Public Health Directorate for its T.B. control, awareness, and capacity building program. CWS-P/A along with a few other agencies are recipients of appreciation letters that acknowledge good performance for T.B. control. Additionally, the Directorate appreciated the services of Dr. Khalid Qurishee, Health Management Information System (HMIS) Officer for his role in supporting the Nangarhar Public Health team in the development of financial plans.

Mother and Child Health Coordinators (MCH), Dr. Shakira, Dr. Roqia, and senior trainer, Dr. Mah Jan, also received awards from the Laghman Public Health Directorate for their services and for their well-organized and excellent behavior with patients. Together, these awards reflect the commitment of CWS-P/A’s dedicated health workers. Their team work and solution-oriented approaches continue to make CWS-P/A’s health facilities in the provinces of Nangarhar and Laghman widely appreciated.

Dr. Jan Mohammad, Health Program Coordinator in Afghanistan shares, “Our program has monthly supervision plans for each health facility. This helps in providing feedback and deciding action plans to fill any gaps.” The doctor regards this as an important aspect of collaboration and team work among health staff members and the relationship in providing communities with quality health services.

Coordination of the health activities with both health directorates since CWS-P/A began working more than a decade ago in Afghanistan is a positive factor in the delivery of quality health services to the communities. The work is monitored routinely by the health councils. These council members comprise of local community elders that represent their community. The joint vocation of the directorates and community elders has been instrumental in supporting CWS-P/A’s role to serve communities. Due to the active role and acceptance of the community, CWS-P/A is able to effectively provide health education, following which the community members make informed decisions about their health and seek assistance when required. These decisions are the foundation for decreasing the presence of preventable diseases and reducing the mother and infant mortality rate in these areas.

Appreciation is foremost extended to the communities in Laghman and Nangarhar for their commitment to improve their lives and for enabling CWS-P/A to help foster an environment for sustainable change. CWS-P/A once more would like to thank the health departments of Nangarhar and Laghman, the international support from partners, and all other stakeholders that help promote and support health assistance for these communities.

For more information, please visit CWS Pakistan/Afghanistan website

March 11 2013 marked the two years anniversary for the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, and the subsequent Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. Although the Japanese Government declared end of 2011 that the reactors reached cold shutdown, much is not clear about the real situation inside the plant, and the facilities remain in an extremely unstable situation. Furthermore, there are still over 160,000 people living in evacuation, and millions of people – including many children – are living in areas with high levels of radioactive contamination.

Hasegawa Kenichi, a dairy farmer from Iitate Village in Fukushima who was forced to cull his dairy cows and abandon his farm as his whole village was evacuated, says: “two years have passed, but nothing has changed. We are still struggling not knowing what will happen in our future. And we are worried about the children. We are still living in evacuation. Will we be able to return in a few years from now? We have no idea. We must prevent any other place from suffering as Fukushima and Japan have.”

While the media and public interest may be fading, the radiation and concerns of citizens are not. Furthermore, the real effects on both the environment and for the citizens are continuing, yet to be fully understood. The effects of the nuclear disaster on children are also of great concern. In February 2013, as a result of the thyroid tests currently being carried out for the 38,000 children under the age of 18 from Fukushima Prefecture, two cases have ben confirmed and seven others suspected. It is said that the usual rate of occurrence of thyroid cancer in children is 1 in a million. Therefore parents of young children continue to live with great fear and uncertainty. It is now vital for people both in Japan and within the international community to remember that the situation is still ongoing today, and to communicate about the situation and needs of citizens to the broad public and experts around the world.

More events to join hands and connect to the world

Participants at the Global Conference for a Nuclear Power Free World in Yokohama, Japan. Photo: Peace Boat.

Many citizens from Fukushima are now working together with local and international organizations to tell their stories as part of efforts to raise awareness of the ongoing situation in Fukushima. This is being done through public events held in Japan, support for Fukushima citizens to speak about their experiences with the international community, and creation of online spaces to communicate information to an English-speaking audience.

Peace Boat Disaster Relief Volunteer Center and Tokyo-based NGO Peace Boat have been working to support local citizens in such efforts. On 14-15 January 2012, Peace Boat and a coalition of other Japanese citizens’ groups organized the Global Conference for a Nuclear Power Free World in Yokohama, Japan. A total of 11,500 people from 30 countries participated, with a further 100,000 watching the conference broadcast live online. This event was followed by a second conference in December, held simultaneously in Tokyo and Koriyama City, Fukushima, with 5,500 participants.

These programs led to the launch of several Fukushima citizens’ initiatives. Following regular dialogue sessions and gatherings, the people of Fukushima created the “Fukushima Action Project” (FAP) as a vehicle to convey their voices and needs. It is important for them to ensure that their voices are heard by the Japanese government and international agencies and will be taken in consideration for future activities and policies related to Fukushima in particular and nuclear issues in general.

These events also gave the opportunity to create new connections with concerned citizens, politicians and organizations outside of Japan. Peace Boat has been involved in organizing events in many countries around the world with some citizens of Fukushima to raise awareness internationally based on their stories. Most recently, dairy farmer Hasegawa Kenichi and his wife Hanako were invited by Australian participants in the Global Conference for a Nuclear Power Free World to be part of a nation-wide speaking tour in Australia around the second anniversary of the disaster. After visiting five cities and speaking at public events, in the media and at the national and state parliaments, Mr Hasegawa stated that he “hope[s] that hearing my story is an opportunity for people to understand more about the ongoing situation in Fukushima. It is important to make sure that what is happening in Fukushima is not forgotten.”

Youth Ambassador program

High school students from Fukushima City who participated in music and cultural exchange programmes onboard the ship in summer 2012. Photo: Peace Boat.

Peace Boat is also working together with Australian groups to send a 12 junior high school students from Minamisoma City, a heavily damaged area after the tsunami, situated less than 25 km from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. This is the third Fukushima Youth Ambassadors project to be coordinated by Peace Boat, following a programme in summer 2011 which brought 49 children from Minamisoma to travel onboard Peace Boat’s ship from Viet Nam and meet with fellow tsunami survivors in Sri Lanka; and 7 high school students from Fukushima City who participated in music and cultural exchange programmes onboard the ship in summer 2012.

The 12 Youth Ambassadors will experience intercultural workshops, and learn about environmental sustainability issues through outdoor activities. In this healthy environment they will learn new skills and gain a fresh perspective on the future, an invaluable chance for them as they struggle to consider the future of their disaster-affected community. It will also serve help taking distance from the radiation-contaminated areas of Fukushima, while reducing the burden of worry on their parents. As well as the benefits for the children themselves, such opportunities also encourage the Fukushima community through the renewed energy and perspectives brought home by the participants, and bring the real voices of Fukushima youth to the international society, enhancing understanding and opportunities to consider future cooperation.

Such opportunities are vital to consider how to best continue to support the local community in Fukushima, as they struggle under tremendous ongoing pressure and stress: trauma, fear, separation from family and/or family breakdown, economic strains, community pressures, health concerns and anxiety. It is only international cooperation, and ensuring that their plight is not forgotten, which can help to support the people of Fukushima, and prevent such tragedies from happening again.

CWS-Asia/Pacific has supported Peace Boat since the beginning of the Great Eastern Japan disasters and we are pleased to continuing working together to support the people of Fukushima.