China: World Vision takes part in one of history's largest housebuilding projects
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World Vision is taking part in one of the most staggering house building projects ever undertaken as part of its aid response to last May’s China’s Wenchuan earthquake. The international agency raised over US$56 million for the response. Of this, more than US$13 million is helping to support the building of nearly 9,000 homes by providing incremental cash subsidies to families across the provinces of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu. The effort is in coordination with Chinese government plans to provide homes to around five million people within the next several years. Last year’s May 12 8.0 magnitude quake killed 69,000, left 18,000 missing and impacted some 46 million people. It led to an enormous aid operation that has been broadly praised for its scale and speed. The quake also destroyed millions of homes, damaging schools and severely impacting people’s ability to work. While the Chinese government is providing needy families with a subsidy, World Vision is complementing the handout with US $1,505 each for 8,823 homes. Of these, so far 2,183 have been built. The cost of house reconstruction in southwestern and northwestern (cos’ not only in Sichuan but also in Shaanxi and Gansu) China ranges between US $9,030 and US $22,575. Families receiving the subsidies are responsible for completing the work or hiring contractors to do it. World Vision works with the government to coordinate quality assurance activities and carries out on-site monitoring, documenting the progress and completion of the homes. World Vision’s experience working in grassroots communities hit by the 2004 Asia Tsunami proved that families rebuilding their own homes finish the work more quickly and meet levels of quality assurance. Experience also shows that rebuilding homes is a way of stimulating the economy allowing parents to quickly focus on paying school fees and providing health care to their children rather than on trying to pay for house construction. Victor Kan, World Vision China’s Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs Director, said: “The government and aid agencies are keeping up the same momentum in relation to the building of homes that was displayed during the first few weeks of the emergency response. There is great emphasis on making sure children return home quickly without compromising on safety standards. We want to build back better homes and ensure people are prepared for the possibility of another disaster.” Mr Kan said China was increasingly able to plan, prepare for and respond to humanitarian disasters having recently experienced severe snowstorms in 2008, and massive flooding both of which affected many millions. Along with the reconstruction of thousands of houses, World Vision is building schools and dormitories for 30,000 children, medical clinics for 42,000 people and helping thousands of families reach pre-quake levels of income generation through livelihood assistance projects. Children and their families will be trained to identify the most common disasters in their neighbourhoods – floods, landslides and earthquakes – as well as learn how to better protect themselves. By the end of World Vision’s three-year quake recovery programme more than 1.3 million people in Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces will benefit.
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