Emergencies update September 2018

Transcription

1 Emergencies update September 2018 The Church can help as first responder to prevent people needing aid in a crisis, to help them stand on their own two feet. We need to take their journey from accident and emergency through to prevention and governance. Geoff O Donoghue, CAFOD Director of Operations CAFOD has been responding to humanitarian crises for more than 50 years. It is an integral part of our work. How we respond to each emergency, however, depends on what we can offer to each individual situation. Our humanitarian mission is inspired by scripture, Catholic Social Teaching, the tradition of the Catholic Church and the experience of people affected by crisis. Working in partnership and with people of all faiths and none we save lives and relieve suffering. We are committed to upholding the humanitarian principles of impartiality, humanity, neutrality and independence. This update is a brief overview of how your support for our emergency work has saved lives during the past year. Some of these crises are short-lived or are not reported by the mainstream media. It is in these hidden emergencies that CAFOD is often able to respond where no one else can. India: Kerala floods The unrelenting rain which began in July and spiked in early August 2018, has caused unprecedented flooding and landslides across the southwestern state of Kerala, India. In the worst floods in a century, torrential rainfall has left over 300 dead and hundreds of thousands homeless, with many still stranded, running out of clean water and food. The government-launched rescue efforts to reach those communities who had been cut off for several days has helped to rescue over 20,000 people. Now, receding flood waters are giving hope to the hundreds of thousands who are now homeless, but many families who have lost everything now need emergency aid and need to be protected against disease outbreaks in relief camps. Giovanna Reda, Head of Humanitarian Programmes for Asia region, said: Unprecedented monsoon rains in Kerala have washed away whole villages and left communities homeless. Crops and livestock have been destroyed. They have lost everything.

2 CAFOD has been supporting our partner Caritas India, who are already responding to the crisis with a project that will provide food and essentials such as hygiene products to over 32,000 of the most vulnerable and isolated people in two districts of Kerala. Following updated reports from across the region, Caritas India is now looking to scale up their response to reach more than 40,000 people in six districts of the Kerala State. Alongside the distribution of food, blankets, mosquito nets and hygiene items, Caritas India is also providing information on hygiene best practice to the affected communities to help stop the spread of disease. Over the next few months, it is important to help communities not only rebuild their homes but to work alongside communities to re-establish local economies. Executive Director of Caritas India, Fr Paul Moonjely, said: Farmers, daily wage workers and agricultural labourers won't earn anything for the next two to three months. Thousands have no homes to go back to. After all the initial needs are met, there is a need for longer-term rehabilitation, reconstruction and livelihood support for affected families. For more information and updates on our support for Caritas India s Kerala floods response please go to Democratic Republic of Congo: Ebola outbreak On 1 August 2018, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared an outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) after confirming four new cases in the Mangina area, in the territory of Beni, North Kivu. According to the health ministry, the latest outbreak has claimed the lives of 20 people, including two health workers. This is the tenth Ebola outbreak officially declared in DRC and comes only nine days after an outbreak in the western part of the country, in Equateur province, was officially declared over. CAFOD immediately began working with local partners in the area and specialists in Caritas Congo who responded to the Ebola outbreak in Equateur province. Bernard Balibuno, CAFOD s country representative in DRC, said This is the second outbreak of Ebola in DRC we have seen this year. Yet, due to the instability of the area where this outbreak is located, it has the potential to play out very differently. Beni is an area that has been experiencing compounding humanitarian crises and ongoing conflicts for many years. Thousands have been forced to flee their homes and are already at increased risk of hunger and disease. To add an Ebola outbreak to this situation is likely to push many communities to breaking point. CAFOD has already been able to reach out to specialists from Caritas Congo who were on the frontline in the outbreak. In 2015, an Ebola outbreak in West Africa claimed the lives of 11,000 people. This outbreak was so deadly as the disease had never been seen in the region before and this led to delays in identifying the nature of the problem. During the outbreak, CAFOD worked in Sierra Leone and Liberia, to raise awareness in local communities, provide safe and dignified burials and training, and distributed Outbreak Prevention Kits. Page 2 of 10

3 Due to well-established partnerships, CAFOD was able to respond through the network of Church partners who, at the height of the disease, were able to deliver, life-saving prevention information, hygiene kits and food to quarantined and vulnerable families. This training, skills and knowledge will now be used by CAFOD s team and partner staff in DRC to help to limit the spread of the virus in this outbreak in DRC. CAFOD Safe burial teams were trained as part of the Sierra Leone Ebola response. The priority will be to work with local communities to prevent the virus from spreading. This may involve the quick delivery of support, clean water and information, as well as assisting with the safe and dignified burials of people who have died which is critical for containing the spread of the virus. Bernard explains. In Beni, CAFOD s work has already reached thousands of displaced people and host communities with food, clean and safe water and sanitation facilities. One reason that the virus has spread so extensively in West Africa is a widespread fear and lack of trust in the advice given on Ebola prevention. Many people don t have access to reliable information, and high death rates and stigmatisation make people afraid to take their loved ones to hospitals, even if medical facilities are available. CAFOD will support local communities to better understand how hygiene practices can limit the spread of this highly infectious disease. Venezuela: economic migrant crisis The United Nations estimated around 2.3 million Venezuelans have fled the country since Many of these have arrived in neighbouring countries like Colombia, Brazil, Peru and Ecuador. CAFOD has been supporting local organisations to provide aid, including food, shelter, legal aid and psychosocial support, to the growing number of people who have sought refuge in neighbouring countries. Over the past few years, increasing numbers of people are leaving seeking refuge in neighbouring countries. In Venezuela, oil makes up around 95 per cent of exports. During the early 2000s, when oil prices were high, socialist President Hugo Chávez used oil profits to reduce inequality and poverty, building over two million homes and capping the price of basic goods such as flour, cooking oil and toiletries. When oil prices dropped in 2014, the government suddenly had to make lots of cutbacks. This led many people to begin buying goods on the black market, causing inflation to rise. Now in the fourth year of recession, Venezuela is struggling with shortages of basic goods and public services can no longer function. Other issues such as a lack of education opportunities, the recruitment of children into gangs and political unrest earlier this month, there was an apparent assassination attempt on President Maduro are all factors which are causing people to leave. Page 3 of 10

4 Longstanding CAFOD partners, Caritas Colombia, have been supporting migrants crossing the border for several years. Monsignor Héctor Fabio Henao, director of Caritas Colombia, explains how the organisation has been supporting Venezuelan s who have crossed the border into Colombia. He said, The Catholic Church has been on the frontline supporting Venezuelans who arrive by providing food, shelter and emergency aid while working alongside governments across Latin America to do more. We try to give the migrants as many services as we can, but they need so many other things, like jobs, education and medicines. CAFOD s local partner Caritas Colombia, initially, they opened a restaurant in Cúcuta, a city on the border with Venezuela. As the crisis has grown it is estimated around one million migrants have now crossed the border into Colombia - they now operate in more places. Their main aim is to supply food and emergency aid, as well as legal and psychosocial assistance. In the North of Brazil, CAFOD s local partner, Caritas Brasileira, has seen the arrival of thousands of Venezuelan refugees and is working to provide food, shelter, healthcare and sanitation to the new arrivals. Esther Gillingham, CAFOD s Brazil Programme Officer, said: Since 2017, the impacts of the political and economic crisis in Venezuela have intensified resulting in increased violence, poverty and a persecution of social protest. Men, women and children and are being forced to walk the 200-kilometre road across the border into the city of Boa Vista in the Brazilian Amazon in search of food, medicines, and shelter for their families. Earlier this month, the Brazilian government temporarily closed part of the border in Roraima, North Brazil. Increased tension has caused violence to erupt at some points of the border and led to the army being stationed in some areas. CAFOD Monsignor Héctor Fabio Henao, director of Caritas Colombia, continued: Although the crisis started some years ago, at first it was only a few people who crossed the border. Now, waves of people arrive daily. At this time of crisis, we hope the governments across Latin America will come together to find lasting solutions. CAFOD will continue to support local partners in the region to help those affected by this ongoing economic crisis. Guatemala: El Fuego volcano eruption Around mid-day local time, on Sunday 3 June 2018, there was a catastrophic eruption of Guatemala s Volcán de Fuego in three central departments, or states. It has been described as the country s most severe volcanic eruption in 45 years. El Fuego is around 27 miles southwest of Guatemala City, the capital. It is an extremely active volcano and had already erupted in February, this year. It is located on the seismically-active Pacific 'Ring of Fire'. The death toll stood at 75 people, as of the 7 June, although this is expected to rise as more bodies are still recorded as missing. It is estimated that more than 1.7 million people were affected by the volcano s eruption. Page 4 of 10

5 The Catholic Church has been on the front line of this emergency its reach across the worst affected areas, through the national Caritas network, meant that vulnerable and marginalised communities received the vital aid they needed, to survive in the aftermath and look to rebuild damaged homes and properties. CAFOD Vehicles covered in ash in the wake of the El Fuego volcano eruption In response to the eruption our local church network in Guatemala co-ordinated the delivery of humanitarian aid water, hygiene, clothing, medicine, and psycho-social help to evacuees assessed damage and needs in communities co-ordinated its response with local and national disaster management authorities and other aid organisations. Middle East: Yemen and Syria crises You responded with generosity and compassion just before Christmas 2016, to our Yemen Crisis Appeal raising more than 300,000 for the people of Yemen. In Yemen there has been a three year long bloody civil war, between the Houthi ethnic group and supporters of Yemen s government led by President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi. At the request of the Yemeni government, an international coalition led by Saudi Arabia have carried out air strikes across the country against the Houthi. For ordinary Yemenis, the consequences have been devastating. The UN now estimates that more than 10,000 people have been killed since the start of the conflict, with 6,000 people killed in 2016 alone. The UN has described the situation in Yemen as the worst ongoing humanitarian crisis in the world. The impact of this conflict is devastating. Hunger affects 17 million Yemenis which is 60 per cent of the population. People do not know where and when they will get their next meal. Millions of people don t have access to safe drinking water and proper sanitation. Last year, the country faced the largest outbreak of cholera, claiming the lives of thousands of people. reports CAFOD s Giovanna Reda. Working in conflict-affected communities in the south of Yemen; before the blockade, and assault on Yemen s port city of Hodeidah, CAFOD s partner was able to provide nutrition services; which involves screening and identifying children under five and breast-feeding mothers for acute malnutrition. Their work also included training community volunteers to spot the worst cases of malnutrition in their communities, and get mothers and babies treated at available health facilities or in the home. Page 5 of 10

6 Against a challenging environment they have been able to check thousands of children suffering from malnutrition or showing signs of the condition providing the nutritious food supplements needed for proper treatment. In recent months CAFOD made a grant of 12,000 to our partner Caritas Djibouti, to support more than 500 families from Yemen, who had fled the conflict into neighbouring Djibouti. This money provided emergency medical care, food assistance and support for small micro-credit businesses so that refugee families could be more economically independent. We have been working with local church partners in Syria since early 2012, ensuring that people affected by the crisis have food, relief supplies and safe places to stay. In Iraq and Jordan, we are working with partners to provide Syrian refugees with humanitarian relief items, health care, education and livelihood services. We are also supporting Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Turkey and continue to work to alleviate suffering during this crisis. Rohingya crisis Your compassion and generosity have enabled thousands of refugees who fled violence in Myanmar to survive. Thanks to your support and in partnership with Caritas Bangladesh, we have reached more than 360,000 Rohingya refugees with life-sustaining aid. On 25 August 2017 attacks by militants on border posts led to a violent response by the Myanmar security forces, resulting in huge numbers of mainly Rohingya people fleeing to Bangladesh. The Rohingya are a predominantly Muslim ethnic group who have lived in the region for centuries. Before the recent crisis there were an estimated one million Rohingya people living in Rakhine State in Myanmar; however, Myanmar law does not recognize the Rohingya as citizens and they faced severe restrictions on movement, access to education and jobs. Over several decades they have faced repeated military oppression and many had already been driven to flee to neighbouring countries. One year on, there are about a million mostly Rohingya people living as refugees in camps in the Cox s Bazar area of Bangladesh over 700,000 have fled since August last year. Most of the refugees are women and children. Many Rohingya families arrived in Bangladesh traumatised by the violence they have experienced or witnessed, bringing nothing more than what they were able to carry and the clothes they were wearing. Zoe Corden who works in CAFOD s Asia team met Solima when she was only 15 days old. Wounded and hungry, she was held in her mother s arms among hundreds of people waiting at the entry point to Bangladesh. Solima s mother, Khodesha (right), gave birth to her in Myanmar. Our house was burned, said Solima s father, Selim. They took our land and cattle. We hid ourselves in the jungle. Page 6 of 10

7 Eleven of their neighbours were killed and every home destroyed, when their village in Myanmar s Rakhine state was attacked. Solima s parents waited until she was just a week old before embarking on the long, dangerous journey to safety in Bangladesh. As their exhaustion grew, they were forced to abandon everything they had tried to bring and just concentrate on getting themselves to Bangladesh. We packed clothes, but now we only have what we are wearing. So far, we have reached more than 360,000 Rohingya refugees with lifesustaining aid. Working with our local partner, Caritas Bangladesh and its dedicated teams of local aid workers and volunteers: 48,000 vulnerable families have received food lentils, cooking oil, sugar and salt 41,000 families have received kitchen supplies and other family household kits, such as blankets, clothing and sleeping mats 40,000 families have had their makeshift shelters strengthened or rebuilt against heavy rains. The Rohingya refugees are living in extremely poor conditions. They are still in need of essential humanitarian aid, including clean water, sanitation, improved shelters and basic daily living supplies. Rebeya, our Hygiene Promotion Volunteer working with Caritas Bangladesh said, I came to understand that my role was vital, good hygiene in these difficult conditions can prevent illness and save lives. Makeshift shelters are home to thousands of Rohingya families. The second phase of our emergency response is well underway; together with Caritas Bangladesh we are working to reach more than 39,000 vulnerable people with: the installation of solar street lighting, and distribution of solar lamps pathway clearing, installation of bamboo steps, ramps and bridges, as well as laying of irrigation underground repairs to existing safe water points construction of female bathing areas community-based hygiene promotion activities. Continued distribution of shelter upgrade kits Despite the very difficult and cramped conditions in the camps, many Rohingya refugees have said they would prefer to stay than risk their lives returning. This crisis is complex, with ramifications beyond our immediate emergency response. If the protocols and principles of a safe and dignified return are agreed, for example, and Rohingya families choose to go, will there be education and health services? Will their homes be rebuilt? And what about the many children born in Bangladesh what will be their status? said Rozario. But Bishop Rozario makes it clear that the future for the Rohingya refugees remains bleak, and it is clear that the humanitarian needs will continue for some time to Page 7 of 10

8 come. Where will the funding come from as the crisis goes into a second, third, or fourth year? No political solution appears likely in the foreseeable future. Sierra Leone: landslides and flooding In August 2017 days of torrential rain battered Sierra Leone s capital Freetown and resulted in flooding and a devastating landslide that killed 500 people, including more than 100 children. Although heavy rains were expected in Sierra Leone, given the time of year, the level of devastation caused by the rains and the landslides was not anticipated. CAFOD and its local partners, Street Child Sierra Leone and Caritas Freetown began distributions of food and water to affected families and helped to prevent the spread of diseases by providing health, hygiene and sanitation support. Kathleen O Brien who works in CAFOD s schools team recently travelled to Sierra Leone. Entering Sierra Leone s capital on a quiet morning, I could hear the happy cries of children echoing out of the glassless windows of the Malamakaningo pre-primary school. This was a stark contrast from a year ago. In August 2017 the school was used to shelter people who had lost their homes in a disaster from which Freetown is only beginning to recover. Torrential rain battered the city for three days and in the early hours of 14 August floodwaters and landslides ploughed through the areas surrounding the capital, killing 1,141 people and displacing three times that number. I fainted when I saw my friends and family dead, said 21-year-old Matthew Sesay. I did not even find my siblings bodies intact. Such was the force of the floods that many of the victims were dismembered. One of a team of young community volunteers set up to aid people in the aftermath of the disaster, Matthew said he had helped to move up to 15 bodies out of his mud-filled home. They were collected by the authorities and taken to a mass grave. Matthew at the site of the landslides in Freetown. Matthew and the other volunteers received support from CAFOD s partner Caritas Freetown. The team helped to clear 316 houses of mud and dead bodies in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. Page 8 of 10

9 Matthew showed us the remains of his house, which is still a shell of a building, with the roof collapsed and floors strewn with mud and debris. Now I have no one to take care of me, he said. I hope that God will help me, and God will guide me. When the disaster struck, Matthew had been a student teacher at university, looking forward to a good career. But with all his books destroyed, and lacking the money for university fees, he can no longer study. He stayed in the temporary camps for the first three months after losing his home and family but is now staying with some friends. He does some teaching in one of the local primary schools to earn some money as well as to continue helping his community. Matthew plans to spend the anniversary of the landslides in prayer. For me it will be a very sad day, he said. I will just pray to God to have mercy on their souls and that such destruction will never befall Sierra Leone again. This is not the first disaster the people of Sierra Leone have endured. In the 1990s, political instability led to a nearly decade-long civil war which affected nearly two million people, with many forced to flee to neighbouring countries as refugees. Then in 2014, the country was one of the worst-hit by the Ebola virus outbreak, which killed nearly 4,000 people and infected more than 10,000 others. Yet these trials have bred resilience. As we crossed Kaningo stream on stepping stones formed of sandbags to visit one of the houses that had been cleaned by the young team of volunteers, I asked Grace Jones, the lead supervisor from Caritas Freetown, what people could do if they feared another disaster. Most would not have enough money to move elsewhere, she replied. But even though people have no choice but to rebuild and carry on moving forward, they still have hope hope that this rebuilding will not just be on a small scale, but an opportunity to grow the country and watch it thrive. East Africa: drought 18 months on In spring 2017 our East Africa Crisis Appeal raised over 4million. The generosity of CAFOD supporters saved thousands of lives across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, where people can now focus on re-building their lives with hope. Our immediate priority was to provide emergency food and water to over 30,000 people in some of the most remote and hardest hit areas. Now, 18 months on the CAFOD projects provide community access to safe, clean water and nutritious food. We have also been digging new wells, as well as repair old ones. Several communities are still receiving food aid to help them through the hungry season between planting and harvesting of food crops. Others are in a better position to have started their training in new farming and livestock rearing techniques. Boru Wario is a member of the community water management committee in Burgabo, Kenya. Before Caritas Marsabit repaired the village borehole, it was the only source of water for miles around. Boru told us about the difference your support has made in the community. During the recent drought, there was a lot of pressure from both people and livestock on the borehole which led to its breakdown. Fortunately, by the help of God Page 9 of 10

10 we got assistance from Caritas Marsabit who provided us with water through water trucking. Every household was entitled to three jerry-cans of 20 litres per trip. Before the revival of the borehole, our livestock used to go to Turbi about 28km away for water. This has really saved our animals from dying of fatigue. When the borehole broke down we used to go for weeks without washing, but now we can take showers whenever we want and keep our clothes clean. The community will have an opportunity to learn new methods of growing crops, using the water source for micro-irrigation. They will learn to grow kale and spinach, which can be eaten to improve health and can be sold at the market as a cash crop. We say thank you to the doors and Caritas Marsabit for really supporting us because if it were not for them we could not have seen through the recent drought. Thank you Our world is changing dramatically. Today, droughts are longer and more devastating, floods are more extreme, water stresses and food shortages are tipping communities into conflict and violence. These changes are not only a result of environmental degradation, climate change and poor risk management, but also shifting social and economic trends. The situation facing poor people is rarely caused by a single factor, but instead by a range of inter-related factors working together on different levels. Our approach to resilience and sustainability reflects our core values of dignity, sustainability and stewardship and builds on our global work in four closely related and integrated thematic areas: water, disaster risk reduction, environment and livelihoods. We strengthen local skills and capacity to continuously improve the role of and share of local actors in responding to humanitarian needs and to reduce risk and vulnerability, strengthen resilience and help sustain livelihoods. In the long term, we are helping local communities prepare for future emergencies. It is now firmly a part of our general development world. Acting before a crisis hits is crucial to reduce the risks communities face, including developing effective early warning systems in areas prone to natural disasters, and exploring drought-resistant crops across dry regions of Africa. It forms part of the essential bridge between emergency and long-term development work. Support for emergency appeals and donations to our ongoing emergency response fund enables CAFOD to react quickly, getting funding to where it is needed, as soon as it is needed. This is possible because our vast network of local partners know the local situation and what is needed and our Church partners often mean we can reach areas and people others cannot. Our central team are ready to be despatched to the front line at short notice, where they provide expert advice on security, water and sanitation, logistics and much more. On behalf of CAFOD and the communities we serve, thank you for your generous support and prayers during times of emergencies and humanitarian crises. Page 10 of 10