Action by Churches Together (ACT)
Appeal - Ukraine
Emergency Flood Relief - EUUK11
Appeal Target: US$ 571,628
Geneva,  20 March 2001


Heavy rainfall and a sudden rise of temperatures that caused rapid snow
melting has brought severe floods to 12 areas of western Ukraine
(Transcarpathian region). The region already weakened by long and bitter
years filled with economic decline, poverty and natural disasters, is now
overwhelmed by the devastating floods that the local population is unable
to cope with.  Damage to infrastructure is estimated to be slightly over
$38 million.  Some of the population most affected by the floods have
sought refuge in neighboring Hungary.

As floods have spread across the basin of the river Tisza - a region
common to Eastern Hungary, Ukraine and Romania, ACT seeks to assist all
three regions respectively through separate appeals.
  
Traditionally committed to assisting Ukraine, Hungarian Interchurch
Aid/HIA seeks to alleviate the plight of the local population through the
following humanitarian actions:

Nutritional feeding
Distribution of food and non-food parcels
Provision of disinfectants
Distribution of reconstruction kits 
Distribution of seed parcels



Project Completion Date:  20 September 2001.

Summary of Appeal Targets, Pledges/Contributions Received and Balance
Requested

                                          US$
Total Appeal Target(s)                  571,628
Less: Pledges/Contr. Recd.                    0
Balance Requested from ACT Network      571,628


Ms. Genevieve Jacques		Thor-Arne Prois		Rev. Rudolf Hinz
Director			ACT Coordinator		Director
WCC/Cluster on Relations				LWF/World Service



REQUESTING ACT-MEMBER

Hungarian Interchurch Aid (HIA)



IMPLEMENTING ACT MEMBER & PARTNER INFORMATION

Hungarian Interchurch Aid Beregovo, Ukraine (Vengerskij Rajonnij Blagodnij
Fond Uhorska Vselenska Sluzba Miloserdija) * registered.

The same staff who implemented the previous ACT appeal will carry out the
current program.

Reacting to the suffering caused by the floods in Transcarpathia, Ukraine
in 1998, Hungarian Interchurch Aid submitted a proposal to ACT,
established a field office in Beregovo and implemented ACT-Appeal EUUK81
consisting of a relief and a reconstruction phase. The previous project
locations correspond to those affected in 1998:  Beregovo, Vinogradiv,
Hust and Tjatsiv Districts.  HIA's relief activities were carried out in
31 settlements. Beside the distribution of food and hygiene parcels for
26,000 beneficiaries, 148 houses were dehumidified, the primary school in
Tsetovo (Beregovo District), the kindergarten and health centre in Bobove
(Vinogradiv District) were reconstructed. On a bilateral basis HIA
distributed 22,879 seed parcels (financed by HEKS), made further
reconstruction to the kindergarten and health centre in Bobove (Vinogradiv
District) and provided reconstruction kits for 248 families. The last two
projects were financed by the Governmental Office for Hungarian Minorities
Abroad.

During the realisation of the previous program, HIA assessed the social
situation in Beregovo District and in co-operation with HEKS established a
Social Foundation based in Beregovo.



DESCRIPTION OF THE EMERGENCY SITUATION

Background

Transcarpathia was part of Hungary from the 10th century until World War
I.  The region is traditionally and historically a multi-ethnic area with
the urban German population arriving in the 13th century when the Roman
shepherds also settled.  The 17th century saw the Russian population
becoming the major ethnic group and this was further coloured with Slovaks
and Jews.


General economic and social situation

2000 was the first year in independent Ukraine's history that the GDP
increased by 6%. The central budget closed with a 1,5 billion Hr (272
million USD) surplus and the population's income rose by 7% in comparison
to 1999 and last year's export by 17,5%.  Furthermore, Ukraine redeemed
USD 2 billion debt. Despite these increasing figures the GDP does not
reach USD 1,000 - 5 times less than the Hungarian or Polish figures.


Natural Disaster

Melting snow, heavy rains and a sudden rise in temperature (15-20 degrees)
are causing the worst floods in the river basin region of the Tisza river
and its tributaries for many years.  The River Tisza broke its banks on 6
March 2001 with the highest water level reaching 1.3 metres.  Some
thousands of people were forced to flee their homes. Most of them found
shelter in the villages and collective centres were established. And about
25 people found refuge in Hungary. The floods were most destructive in the
deprived and underdeveloped regions and the impact could be long-term.

One of the main causes of the floods is the deforestation in the
Carpathians.


Description of Damages

According to official information the damage caused by the floods has
reached USD 38 million. 216 villages in 12 of the 13 Transcarpathian
districts have been inundated, with Beregovo and Vinogradiv Districts
being the worst hit.

21,334 buildings are under water, 13,768 people have been evacuated, 826
  houses have collapsed and 6 people have lost their lives. About 9,000
  houses have been damaged enough to be a danger to their occupants - most
  of the damaged houses were made of adobe.  100,000 acres of agricultural
  land are under water.
64 villages do not have access to electricity
75 villages are cut from telecommunication networks
20 bridges damaged
53 km of roads destroyed
9 km of railways destroyed



Impact on Human Lives

As the affected population left everything behind, there is a high demand
on any kind of assistance. The full impact remains unknown and there is
considerable psychological trauma.

It is still unclear how long the water will remain and if more rain will
exacerbate the already severe conditions. Many flood victims will clearly
be unable to return home for some time. There is also a risk of contagious
diseases due to a shortage of potable water.

On 8 March 2001, the President of Ukraine asked for help from the
international community, especially the European Union, as the country has
not enough funds available to cope with the disaster. On 9 March he
visited the region and promised a 30 million-Hr-assistance to the county.
He ordered the government to elaborate the system of interest-free loans
for 15 years for the affected population.

The local authorities have supplied the affected population with drinking
water and bread, but there are other immediate needs:

non-perishable food,
hygiene items 
disinfectants 
mattresses, blankets, bed linen
clothing, shoes
medicines and medical supplies
candles
basic supplies for baby care



Locations for Proposed Response

Upon the information already received HIA wishes to implement its relief
program in 3 districts - Beregovo, Vinogradiv and Hust Districts , where
the damages are the most serious.


Data received from the spot on 10 March 2001:

Hust District
Vinogradiv
District
Beregovo District
Other
Total


Number of damaged settlements
26
19
6
165
216

Number of buildings under water
6173
4734
995
9432
21334

Number of evacuated people
117
5338
3256
5057
13768

Number of collapsed houses
14
650
107
55
826

Casualties
2
4


6



ACT/HIA will provide support the following villages: 
Beregovo District: 
Tsetovo
Orosijevo
Heten
Zlonkovoye
Vinogradiv District: 
Sasovo
Tsornotisovo
Hust/Huszt District: 
Kriva





GOALS & OBJECTIVES

To provide nutritional feeding for the evacuated population in the village
Bene and Hust.

To provide family food parcels and hygiene kits for those whose house has
collapsed or is deemed unsafe due to damage in the above-mentioned
settlements and for host families in three districts.

To provide disinfectants for those whose house was under water in
Beregovo, Vinogradiv and Hust Districts

To provide bed-clothes and blankets for those whose house has collapsed

To provide reconstruction kits for 320 families

To provide seed-parcels for 12,000 families whose houses have collapsed or
are under water.





TARGETED BENEFICIARIES

The families most affected by the flooding are mostly pensioners or
unemployed who make a living from their family plots.  The currently
affected population was also hit by the inundation in 1998 and since then
has been living under the official subsistence wage - under USD 21,46.  
Their reserves were based on the land and animals kept around their houses
(cattle, poultry and harvest). Everything has now been swept away by the
floods.

The collective centres for the evacuated population do not offer even the
minimum conditions and for this reason many sought shelter with relatives
or friends. However, the host families themselves also live under very
difficult financial conditions.

The typical Transcarpathian family comprises three generations of 4 - 5
members. The general distribution is: 1-2 pensioners, 2 adults, 1-2
children.


Number and Type of Beneficiaries

During the implementation of the current project ACT/HIA wishes to support
those families whose houses have been destroyed or seriously damaged in
the chosen settlement in three districts.


Criteria in Beneficiary Selection

The staff of ACT/HIA FO has contacted the local authorities, the flood
committee and pastors of the selected settlements to assess the damages. A
list will be drawn up on the families belonging to the different
categories and will be approved by the local administration.



Number of Targeted Beneficiaries According To Proposed Assistance

Supporting the evacuated population in Bene and in Hust with food items:
320 beneficiaries

Distribution of family food and hygiene parcels: 1,750 affected families
and 700 host families

Distribution of disinfectants: 2,380 families whose houses were under
water

Distribution of bed-clothes and blankets: 771 families

Reconstruction kits: 320 families

Seed parcels: 12,000 families





PROPOSED EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE & IMPLEMENTATION

In the Crisis Phase assistance ACT/HIA contributed to the nutritional
feeding of the evacuated population, while in the Post Crisis it seeks to
implement food and non-food distributions along with shelter
rehabilitation and re-construction.

Implementation methodology
Nutritional feeding

ACT/HIA supported the catering for the evacuated population in Bene and
Hust who were accommodated in community buildings. The evacuated
population receives bread, margarine, cans, sugar and tea. From Hungary
HIA shipped 2 tons of pasta, rice and sugar along with 2,000 litres of
edible oil and 1,000 litres of disinfectants - altogether 8 tons.



Distribution of food and non-food items

ACT/HIA will distribute food and hygiene parcels to the affected
population and one delivery for the host families as they also live under
the poverty line and hosting the affected families is stretching them
beyond their resources.

Those whose houses were destroyed or badly damaged will receive food and
non-food parcels. A food parcel contains 10 cans of luncheon meat, 5 kg
Pasta, 2 kg rice, 5 kg flour, 3 ltr edible oil and 4 kg sugar. Food
parcels will be distributed on a bimonthly basis, 3 times during the
implementation. A hygiene kit contains 6 kg washing powder, 10 soap, 2 ltr
shampoo and 5 packs of toilette paper. There will be only one distribution
of hygiene kits.

2 sets of bedclothes, 2 blankets and disinfectants will be distributed to
returnees.  Only those who were registered with ACT/HIA will benefit from
these distributions.  2 transport monitors will escort the cargo and hand
over the parcels. The acknowledgement receipts will be signed by the
beneficiaries and confirmed by the local administration.



Reconstruction kits: 

After finishing the damage assessment and compiling the beneficiary lists,
ACT/HIA will provide reconstruction kits for 320 of the most vulnerable
families affected by the floods. A reconstruction kit will contain lime,
cement, bricks, tiles etc. in the value of USD 750.  More concrete
information can only be provided after completion of the assessments.


ACT/HIA in co-operation with the local administration will monitor the
utilisation of the provided kits.

The assessments will be done as soon as the settlements can be approached
by road. The lists will contain the name of the head of each family along
with family members, address and current residence. The lists must be
approved by the local administration.

Procurements will be carried out in Ukraine and in Hungary.

ACT/HIA Beregovo Field Office has all the necessary equipment. 



Distribution of Seed parcels 

ACT/HIA wishes to support those families whose houses were completely
destroyed or badly damaged during the floods. As the affected population
are mostly poor and living in rural areas, their household plots were in
many cases the only means of livelihood. A seed parcel will include:
carrot (3 packs), radish (2), onion (2), pepper (2), tomato (2), green
peas (2), beans (1) and parsley (3) and the value will be around 3 USD.




ADMINISTRATION, FINANCE, MONITORING & REPORTING

The project will be implemented by ACT/HIA Beregovo staff that consists of
9 persons: Project Officer, Logistic Director, 3 Project Assistants, 4
Transport monitors. The Transport monitors and Project Assistants will be
employed part-time. All of them are Ukrainian citizens and took part in
the implementation of ACT-Appeal EUUK81 and related bilateral programs.

Their activities will be supervised and monitored by ACT/HIA Budapest Head
Office. Beside ACT/HIA HO will be responsible for finances and reporting
towards ACT CO, the donors and UN agencies.

ACT/HIA Budapest and Beregovo will carry out the assessments.



IMPLEMENTATION TIMETABLE
Start-up: 20 March 2001
Assessments: 10-30 March 2001
Close-down: 20 September 2001.




COORDINATION

ACT/HIA co-ordinates its activities with other NGOs in Transcarpathia
along with the Diaconal Office of the Reformed Church, Caritas, Maltese
Aid, Eastern European Mission in addition to the local authorities of the
district and Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Government Office for
Hungarian Minorities Abroad. ACT/HIA contacts UNDP Kiev and Bratislava and
ECHO.




BUDGET
				
ESTIMATED EXPENDITURE
				
Description	Type Unit	No of	Unit Cost	Budget
		Units	US$	USD
DIRECT ASSISTANCE					
Crisis Phase Assistance				
	Nutritional Feeding	lump sum			9,194
					
				
Food Distribution				
	Tinned meat	tin	59,500	1.16	69,236
	Pasta	kg	29,750	0.55	16,227
	Rice	kg	11,900	0.50	5,929
	Flour	kg	29,750	0.29	8,655
	Edible oil	ltr	17,850	0.79	14,019
	Sugar	kg	23,800	0.62	14,705
	Sub total				128,771
					
	Hygiene Parcels				
	Washing powder	6 kg	2,450	3.64	8,909
	Soap	piece	24,500	0.63	15,540
	Shampoo	l	4,900	0.91	4,455
	Toilette paper	pack	12,250	0.36	4,375
	Disinfectants	1,5 l	4,760	0.27	1,298
	Sub total				34,577
					
	Other Non Food Relief items				
	Bed-clothes	2 sets	771	14.55	11,215
	Blankets	piece	1,542	7.27	11,215
	Clothes	lump			40,000
	Sub total				62,429
	
    Shelter and Reconstruction
    Reconstruction Kits	kit  	 320	750	240,000			
	Food Security & Agricultural Input
	Seed parcel	parcel	12,000	3.07	36,857
	Total Direct Assistance				511,828
					

MATERIAL TRANSPORT, STORAGE, WAREHOUSING, HANDLING			
	Material Transport				
	Truck Rental & Related Costs	truck	15	1,000	15,000
	Other Internal Transport Costs	month	6	400	2,400
	Storage, Warehousing, Handling				
	Warehouse Rental	month	6	100	600


Description	Type Unit	No of	Unit Cost	Budget
		Units	US$	USD

	Labour for Loading & Unloading	lump			500
	Other Costs (Customs' clearance)	truck	15	100	1,500
	Total Material transport, storage, warehousing			20,000
					
PERSONNEL, ADMINISTRATION, OPERATIONS & SUPPORT			
	Staff Salaries& Support				
	Programm Director	month	6	1,000	6,000
	Project Officer	month	6	300	1,800
	Logistics 	month	6	800	4,800
	Project Assistant (3) part-time	month	6	300	1,800
	Bookkeeping/Finance	month	6	600	3,600
	Transport monitors (4) - part-time	month	6	650	3,900
	Staff Travel				
	International Travel	month	6	300	1,800
	Local & Regional Travel	month	6	100	600
	Office Operation				
	Office Stationary & Supplies	month	6	200	1,200
	Bank fees				1,500
	Communications				
	Telephone & Fax	month	6	800	4,800
	Vehicle operations	month	6	1,000	6,000
	Total personnel etc				37,800
					
Audit & Evaluation					
	Audit of ACT Appeal Funds				2,000
					
TOTAL ESTIMATED EXPENDITURE			571,628



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Action by Churches Together (ACT) is a worldwide alliance of churches and
their related agencies, meeting human need through co-ordinated emergency
response.  The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of 
Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.
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   Ecumenical Centre                          Phone: ++41-22-791.60.33
   150, route de Ferney                         Fax: ++41-22-791.65.06
   P.O. Box 2100                             E-Mail: act@wcc-coe.org
   1211 Geneva 2                              Telex: 415 730 OIK CH
   Switzerland                                 http://www.act-intl.org


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