Yushu Situation: Temporary Shelter Issues

February 2011.

Tibetan Village Project has received a generous challenge grant that did match your contribution dollar for dollar up to US $25,000. This money was used to purchase much needed tents for families affected by the earthquake that devastated Yushu in April.

Background: Tibetan Village Project (TVP) has worked with local NGOs, communities and volunteers in the earthquake area helping to coordinate the relief effort from Chengdu and Xining. It worked closely with the consortium of local NGOs set up in the area shortly after the earthquake. Between 15th April and the 1st May, 10 trucks of supplies: food, water, clothing, tents, and other basic staples were locally purchased or donated and sent to Yushu with volunteers.

Current Situation: It is now some 10 months since the quake. With so much still be done, the final count is 9,500 (app) perished.  TVP has helped many small business owners re establish them selves. We have also now injected many dollars in to the local economy, plus, we are looking at tourism and will be soon announcing tours in to Yushu to assit in cleaning up and to bring money in to the local operators.

You can help by contacting TVPA on our website and use the "contact" menu or you can donate direct to:-

Don Cullen

Tibetan Village Project Australia

P.O. Box 417

Black Rock

Victoria, 3193

Australia.

All donations are tax deductible in Australia.

 

Yushu needs more tents. From our assessment about three hundred families (that we know of) in Jyeku and surrounding areas still don’t have tents. According to government instructions, each family with a Yushu hukou or residence permit received one tent., but there are many families from surrounding communities who live and work in Yushu Prefecture, but do not have Yushu resident cards, and therefore have not been provided with tents. In addition, several monasteries, nunneries and villages outside the urban area need more tents. For example, Bumchu monastery, approximately three hours away from Jyeku, has 158 monks and they only have 14 tents (that is 11 people in one tent). Some village-based clinics, receiving treatment from Chinese medical NGOs, do not have a tent in which the doctors can provide care, and we witnessed some patients on I.V. lines that were hooked up to bushes outside.

Inadequacy of existing tents: Initial aid distribution included one tent per family, regardless of the size of the family. Thus, for example, a family of eight has to share a single 12 x 12 foot tent. Ideally, most families could use an extra tent. Some families received tents without poles. Most of the tents that were distributed are low quality summer tents (cost range from 500 rmb to 700 rmb, which is 100-130 AUD per tent). These tents leak when it rains hard and tear when there is a strong wind. A medium summer quality tent that does not leak costs about 1,100 rmb or 220 AUD per tent. The best quality tents are winter army tents that are insulated. These tents are year around and will last 2-3 years. These cost 2300 rmb or 460 AUD per tent. The local NGOs in the area simply do not have the capacity to handle relief and distribution work of this magnitude, or the funding to supply better quality tents. As for the government, its focus is on rebuilding infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, roads, homes and infrastructure.

Invest in Winter Tents: We understood that the government pledged to put up temporary manufactured homes, but the only visible homes of this kind being set up are aluminum homes arranged by Project Hope for school children. Now we understand that, in order to avoid “waste”, the government will not put up temporary houses and instead will invest in building permanent structures (“new socialist villages”), which it is estimates will take between one and three years to complete. It is not clear how families and children will survive in the upcoming winter. There is some reference in an official article from Xinhua after the visit of Li Keqiang on May 11th to winter tents and to rebuilding for rural residents, but this seems unlikely to be feasible before the end of the year? Even in the summer, the average altitude in most earthquake-affected areas is about 13,123 feet (4000 meters) and the area is incredibly windy. In addition, rural residents and former nomads who have been recently resettled need to leave to search for yartsaganbu fungus in the next few days, and should be equipped with tents if at all possible. Gathering fungus is their only possible income source and will be very important if it can be encouraged, given the current desperate situation for many of them.

Tent Distribution: TVP's volunteers in Yushu work with different relief centers and travel in and around Jyeku to assess need and distribute aids. Families who need a tent will receive a Tent Pass and later they come to one of the relief centers to pick up their tents once tents have been purchased and delivered in Yushu. If a family is not able to pick-up, we look for ways to deliver the tents to them. Priorities for tents are for those that do not have tents at all, families with children and those that serve others such as clinics and community centers.

Yushu Needs Your Support: TVP has purchased some insulated winter army tents (cost 2300 rmb) which it has distributed to NGO relief centers providing medical treatment for patients or caring for children, which is the first priority. But it does not have funds for further purchases to meet the needs of families without shelter, or for families leaving to collect yartsaganbu.

$414 AUD can purchase a high quality tent that will provide all season shelter to a family until they have a home of their own from the government. TVP’s goal is to provide 300 tents (aiming initially at one tent per family), which will cost about $124,200 plus transportation cost from Xining to Yushu, with delivery to outlying villages. TVP can arrange for direct delivery to those that need them if you wish to donate, contact Don at www.tvpaustralia.org.au