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A tremendous earthquake of the magnitude 9 on the Richter scale struck below the Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004, the day after Christmas. The resulting tsunami wreaked havoc in countries even as far as 3,000 miles away from the epicenter. Last estimates counted more than 250,000 casualties in 11 countries, before many governments officially stopped counting the dead. Besides lives lost, families broken and massive population displaced, the tsunami destroyed infrastructure: roads, highways, communications systems, hospitals, medical support and supply networks, food supplies and even structures that could have been used as temporary shelters. The tsunami also destroyed the economic infrastructure – the livelihood for some of the poorest people on earth.
In the weeks following the tsunami, Grameen Trust circulated an action plan that showed solidarity with the emergency relief efforts emphasizing the need for providing food, shelter, medical services and trauma therapy and efforts to reunite the families that were displaced. Based on its extensive experience in rebuilding destroyed and depressed economies and livelihood through microcredit interventions, in various places, including Myanmar and post-war Kosovo, GT is also chalking out a longer term two pronged approach for economic and livelihood rehabilitation of the tsunami victims. It has an Immediate Action Plan (IAP) focusing on supporting the tsunami victims through the existing GT partner network and a more extensive longer term approach: Grameen’s Post Tsunami Support Plan (PTSP) that incorporates direct involvement of Grameen Trust, the possibility of forging new partnerships as well as leveraging the existing partner network. Grameen Trust has over 50 partner projects in six of the tsunami affected countries: Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Tanzania, Bangladesh and Myanmar, which it supports by providing training, technical assistance and funding microcredit initiatives.
Fundación Latino Grameen (FLAG) in Spain organized a fundraising concert and has formed other partnerships to support GT’s post-tsunami rehabilitation efforts. In collaboration with its various donor partners, GT plans to begin implementing its programs in the tsunami affected regions in the coming weeks.
Report by Tamim Islam |
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