Action by Churches Together (ACT)
Appeal - China
Assistance to Flood & Landslide Victims - ASCN-21
Appeal Target: US$ 501,002
Balance Requested from ACT Network:  US$ 476,836
Geneva,  27 June 2002


Heavy rains over 6 - 10 and 13 - 24 June 2002 caused some of the worst
flooding ever experienced in central and western China.  Many towns,
villages and even cities in the western areas were submerged.  The
flooding caused extensive damage to crops and property with hundreds of
thousands of people rendered homeless.  Roads, communication, water and
power supply facilities were severely damaged in most affected areas and
totally paralysed in some of the worst hit counties.

The local governments in the affected areas are still concentrating on the
most urgent relief aspects: rescuing and evacuating people; emergency
repair of communication, power and water supply facilities; and emergency
repair of railways, roads and bridges - vital to emergency assistance.
Distribution of food rice, drinking water, salt, some clothing, quilts,
mosquito nets, plastic sheeting and kerosene to the worst affected victims
is also in progress. Meanwhile, short cycle crop seeds and fertilizer are
being transported urgently to parts of the affected areas, especially in
the south eastern regions.

ACT member the Amity Foundation is proposing the following assistance for
the most vulnerable affected persons in Ningshan County in the mountainous
south of Shaanxi Province and Jialing County in the hilly north east of
Sichuan Province.

  Food - instant noodles, food rice
  Non-food - quilts, mosquito nets
  Reconstruction of houses



Project Completion Date: 30 June 2003

Summary of Appeal Targets, Pledges/Contributions Received and Balance
Requested
                                        US$
Total Appeal Target(s)                501,002
Less: Pledges/Contr. Recd.             24,166
Balance Requested from ACT Network    476,836

Ms. Geneviève Jacques  Thor-Arne Prois   Robert Granke
Director    Director, ACT    Director
WCC/Cluster on Relations       LWF/World Service


REQUESTING ACT MEMBER INFORMATION

The Amity Foundation



IMPLEMENTING ACT MEMBER AND PARTNER INFORMATION

The Amity Foundation is a church related relief and development
organisation aiming at promoting health, education, social services, rural
development, emergency relief and rehabilitation programs. Amity is
legally registered as a non-profitable organisation and has been serving
the people in China for the last 17 years.

Amity has been engaged in relief work for the past 16 years and has
established a nation wide relief network through its local partners and
local churches. Amity handles, on average, 3 to 4 emergencies a year.  In
major disasters, it starts with emergency assistance of 2 to 4 months
followed by rehabilitation programs for a period of 1 or 2 years. When
there is a need, and when resources are available, disaster mitigation and
prevention programs are initiated to help reduce the effect of disasters
on communities. Amity works in close collaboration with its local
partners.

Description of ACT Member's Implementing Partners

Amity implements its relief and rehabilitation programs in close
collaboration with the Overseas Friendship Association - a people's
organisation strongly supported by the Chinese government. It aims at
promoting friendship and co-operation between Chinese people and people
overseas.

The Overseas Friendship Association has been a close partner of Amity in
the fields of relief and rural development for the past 11 years and has
gained comprehensive experience in relief activities.



DESCRIPTION OF EMERGENCY SITUATION

Background Information

>From 6 to 10 June, violent rainstorms hit the central and western part of
China, bringing disaster to 14 provinces and municipalities which account
for two thirds of the country's total areas. The rainstorms caused
devastating flooding and extensive land/mud slides in many affected
central and western areas. Torrents of water rushed down the mountains and
rivers broke through their embankments.  Many towns, villages and even
cities in the western areas were submerged causing extensive damage to
crops and rendering hundreds of thousands of people homeless.  Roads,
communication, water and power supply facilities were severely damaged in
most affected areas and totally paralysed in some of the worst hit
counties.

>From 13 to 24 June, heavy rainfall again hit parts of the central and
western provinces, adding more casualties and miseries to the already
beleaguered areas. Meanwhile, the rains spread further to provinces in the
south west, north and along the Yangtze River, resulting in more than 500
millimetres in one day in some places and causing extensive damage in
parts of these provinces.

Shaanxi, Sichuan, Hubei, Chongqing, Ningxia, Gansu, Xinjiang, Guizhou,
Guangxi, Fujian, Zhejiang, Hunan, Anhui, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Inner
Mongolian, Shanxi and Hebei are among the most affected
provinces/municipalities. The worst and repeatedly affected
provinces/municipalities up to the present include Shaanxi, Sichuan,
Chongqing, Hubei, Guangxi, Guizhou, Jiangxi, Ninxia and Gansu.



Current Situation

Currently, torrential rainfall is continuing in large parts of central,
western and northern China as well as along the Yangtze River causing more
loss of life, damage and destruction.  The local governments in the
affected areas are still concentrating on the most urgent relief aspects:
rescuing and providing temporary shelter for the evacuated; emergency
repair of communication, power and water supply facilities; and emergency
repair of railways, roads and bridges - vital to emergency assistance.
Distribution of food rice, drinking water, salt, some clothing, quilts,
mosquito nets, plastic sheeting and kerosene to the worst affected victims
is also in progress. Meanwhile, short cycle crop seeds and fertiliser are
being transported urgently to parts of the affected areas, especially in
the south eastern regions.

Instant food, food rice, clothing, quilts, tents, plastic sheeting,
mosquito nets, kerosene are needed urgently. Emergency repair of roads and
other infrastructure vital to emergency assistance has to be undertaken as
a priority.

The Central Government has made an emergency allocation of more than 0.2
billion yuan (over 24 million US dollars) for emergency relief in all
affected provinces. The Ministry of Health allocated 2 million yuan (about
USD242,000) for medicine and medical treatment of the sick and injured.
Taking into consideration the vast numbers of people affected and the
extensive damage and destruction, the proposed assistance is inadequate.
External support is urgently needed and the China Red Cross has appealed
to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
for assistance


Impact on Human Life

The torrential rain and ensuing flooding and landslides have rendered
hundreds of thousands homeless.  Those that are homeless or have been
evacuated are facing serious challenges as regards food and other basic
life necessities. Many of them have difficulties in accessing proper
shelters - at this time of the year they are often exposed either to the
scorching sun or the cold rains and plagued by mosquitoes.  They also lack
quilts and blankets against the cold nights.  Most of the seriously
affected are the vulnerable, poor people living in China's poorest central
and western regions. They do not have money for food rice for the coming 4
to 6 months let alone money to rebuild or repair their damaged or
destroyed houses.

Those persons who remain in or near their homes in the severely affected
areas are also in a similar situation.  Their houses have been flooded
and, in many cases, their already meagre possessions have floated away
with the water or have been damaged, sometimes beyond repair.  They are
confronting a serious lack of food rice and do not have the clothing,
quilts and blankets to enable them to keep warm.  They also lack fuel -
such as coal - for cooking.  They rely on emergency relief items, but many
of the access roads to the more remote areas have been blocked or
destroyed making it impossible to deliver relief items using vehicles.
Emergency relief is being delivered to them by soldiers who have to make
their way to the remote areas on foot.  However, delivery of life saving
food and other necessary items cannot be guaranteed for these people and
many remain without any assistance.

Loss and damage of crops will mean a shortage of food rice for the coming
4 to 6 months.  The people normally live a very meagre hand to mouth
existence and have no savings to purchase food or other basic life saving
items.  Yet, they will be expected to contribute (money and labour) to the
reconstruction of their own village roads, bridges, irrigation facilities,
schools etc many of which will be left in ruins for many years.  This will
adversely affect the villages in all their activities - for example, their
children will have to attend lessons in make-shift classrooms or even in
overcrowded villagers houses, their agricultural activities will be
restricted as crops will yield less due to lack of efficient irrigation
facilities - perhaps for many years.


Description of Damages

Detailed figures of casualties and losses in all affected provinces are
not yet available. However, preliminary statistics concerning a few
provinces are being disclosed already.

Shaanxi Province - by 11 June:
Loss of life: 152
People missing: 266
People evacuated: 110,000
People seriously affected: 3,600,000
People affected: 5,100,000
Houses destroyed or damaged: 83,400 room units
Crops lost: 33,000 hectares
Crops seriously affected: 120,000 hectares
Crops affected: 166,000 hectares
Schools collapsed or damaged: over 2,000 room units
State/Province Highway destroyed: 37.6 kilometers

The estimated direct economic loss is more than 1.2 billion yuan (about
USD145 million).

Sichuan Province - by 13 June:
Loss of life: 62
People missing: 7
People homeless: 34,900
People evacuated: 225,800
People seriously affected: 8,570,000
People affected: 13,270,000
Houses destroyed: 55,300 room units
Houses damaged: 362,000 room units
Crops lost: 63,400 hectares
Crops seriously affected: 350,000 hectares
Crops affected: 621,400 hectares
County/township roads destroyed: 600 kilometers
County cities flooded: 11
Schools destroyed or damaged: more than 2,600 room units

The estimated direct economic loss is 2.2 billion yuan (about USD266
million).

Chongqing Municipality - by 17 June:
Loss of life: 39
People missing: 6
People injured: 2,513
People homeless: 19,900
People evacuated: 35,000
People seriously affected: 8,463,300
People affected 13,231,200
Houses destroyed: 61,300 room units
Houses damaged: 192,700 room units
Crops lost: 11,600
Crops seriously affected:
Crops affected:

The estimated economic loss is 1.29 billion yuan (about USD156.8 million).

Guizhou Province - by 11 June:
People killed: 27
People missing: 4
People injured or got sick: 10,312
People evacuated: 46,900
People seriously affected: 680,000
People affected: 1,150,000
Houses destroyed or damaged: 24,150 room units
Crops lost: 9,400 hectares
Crops seriously affected: 35,900 hectares
Crops affected: 54,300 hectares

The estimated direct economic loss is 0.377 billion yuan (about USD45.6
million).

Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (province) -- by 19 June

The estimated economic loss is 1.2 billion yuan (about USD 145 million).



Locations for Proposed Response

Ningshan County (one of the worst hit counties) in the mountainous south
of Shaanxi Province and Jialing County (one of the worst hit counties) in
the hilly northeast of Sichuan Province are the locations Amity proposes
assisting.




GOAL & OBJECTIVES

Goal: to help meet the basic needs of about 5,000 homeless, evacuated and
severely affected families in Ningshan and Jialing counties.


Objectives:

to provide 10 bags of instant noodles to each of the 5,000 families

to provide a mosquito net to each of the 5,000 families

to provide 2 quilts to each of the 5,000 families

to provide 15 kilos of food rice to each of the about 20,000 individuals
in the 5,000 families each month for 2 months (based on 4 persons per
family)

to help repair unsafe houses that are likely to collapse for about 800
families from among the 5,000 families

to help rebuild houses for about 190 homeless families




TARGET BENEFICIARIES

Number and Type of Targeted Beneficiaries

About 20,000 people -- men and women, old and young -- in around 5,000
families in Ningshan and Jialing Counties are the targeted beneficiaries.

Criteria Utilised in Beneficiary Selection
Homeless families
Evacuated families
Families with loss of two thirds of total crops

As mentioned previously, all the affected are poor people, living a
hand-to-mouth existence in the poorest central and western regions.
Should anyone be slightly better off, they will not be so well off as not
to need external assistance after fulfilling the above criteria.  Members
of the implementation group and the leaders and representatives for the
beneficiary villages will be involved in the selection.



PROPOSED EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE & IMPLEMENTATION

Description of Assistance
Instant Noodles -- 93 grams per bag
Food rice -- locally produced, ordinary quality
Quilts -- 1.5 meters wide, 2 meters long, cotton wadding - three kilograms
  in weight
Mosquito nets -- 1.5 meters wide, 2 meters long, made of synthetic
  material
Repair of houses - needs will be identified with the families, based on
  damage.
Reconstruction of Houses* a standard design is used with a floor space of
  about 80 to 100 m2, built with bricks and cement



House Repair and Reconstruction

People with professional skills in the 5,000 targeted families will be
teamed up in small groups, each group being responsible for construction
of a number of houses.  The beneficiary families will be expected to
provide the labour to construct and repair their houses. Technical staff
from the County Quality Control Bureau will visit the construction site to
exercise quality control at all crucial stages. The construction will only
continue when it is confirmed that technical specifications are met and
quality requirements satisfied.

For repair and rebuilding of civilian houses, the local governments will
contribute at least one third of the total costs required for construction
or repair. The beneficiaries will also contribute, in addition to their
labour, and will include materials from their destroyed houses. Amity has
calculated to provide a lump sum amount of USD 1,000 for repair and USD
4,000 for re construction. The Amity funds will be released in stages to
stimulate the initiatives taken by the government and the assisted
families.

In order to implement the relief work effectively, a local implementation
group will be set up. The head of the County Overseas Friendship
Association will be the group leader. Representatives from relevant county
departments, township departments, and target villages are also group
members. The implementation group is to provide feedback as to the actual
situation in the target areas. It works with Amity to co-ordinate, design
and implement relief work, and to procure and distribute relief materials.
In the course of implementation of relief work, adjustment will be made
based on the feedback by the implementation group, consultations with
different sources and the first-hand information obtained from the field
trips made by the Amity relief staff.


Procurement

All relief materials will be purchased locally. In order to ensure the
quality and to achieve cost effectiveness, 3 potential suppliers will be
invited to submit a quote. The supplier of relief materials will be
decided based on comparison between the quality, the price, the supply
period and the service offered.



Transportation and Distribution

Relief materials will be transported from the supplier's warehouse first
to the target townships, then to each of the target villages. There, they
will be distributed directly to the individual families.

When the items to be distributed arrive in the villages, representatives
of the beneficiary families will be called to the local village hall where
the items to be distributed will be awaiting collection.  Two members of
the implementation group and the village leaders take the responsibility
of calling up the beneficiaries according to the Amity Relief Material
Distribution Registers prepared before hand. The beneficiaries sign the
registers and collect the materials designated to them (members of the
implementation group take care of this distribution).  Following the
distribution, the registers with the names of the beneficiary families,
their signatures, a list of materials received along with beneficiary
selection criteria are posted on the wall of the village halls for public
information.



ADMINISTRATION, FINANCE, MONITORING & REPORTING

Administration

Amity Foundation works in close co-operation with its local partners.
However, the Amity Relief Work Division is the main operating body
throughout the relief efforts. It supervises and monitors the
implementation during the whole operation process to ensure that relief
funds are used as planned.

The locally formed Implementation Group, which is headed by the Overseas
Friendship Association, basically acts as a field office. The county
government is to provide office space for the staff of the Overseas
Friendship Association working for Amity's projects. It also provides
salaries and communication facilities for these staff as well as offering
vehicles for project staff to travel to the target areas.


Finance

Amity Foundation is responsible for finance management. In order to make
sure that relief funds are used as planned, for emergency relief
materials, it is agreed between Amity and its local partner that Overseas
Friendship Association will initially pay for the emergency relief
materials. They will be reimbursed later when the relief materials are
distributed and the receipts are received and are shown to correspond to
the total amount spent.

Purchase receipts (with tax bureau seals) provided by the suppliers which
clearly states the total amount/number, the unit cost and the total cost
of the bought materials.

Receipts provided by benefited townships which clearly states the total
amount/number of the emergency relief materials they have received (with
township government seals).

Receipts provided by beneficiary villages which clearly states the total
amount/number of the emergency relief materials they have received (with
village government seals).

Relief Material Distribution Registers with names of beneficiary families,
and number of family members.


For house construction, it is agreed between Amity and its local partners
(Overseas Friendship Association and the county government) that Amity's
funds will be released in stages. One third of the funds be released when
construction starts. Another one third released when construction is half
done. The last one third be released when construction is completed and
when the final inspection shows that all technical specifications are met
and quality requirements satisfied. Jiangsu Tianyuan Certified Public
Accountants will edit this appeal.  They follow the procedures and
regulations set by the Central Government.


Monitoring

Amity and its local partners will closely monitor the overall process of
the relief work. As one of the measures taken to monitor the work, target
townships and villages shall be requested to make known assistance
criteria, beneficiaries selection criteria, beneficiary families as well
as the assistance they each receive for public surveillance before hand.
Moreover, both Amity and the Overseas Friendship Association will make
field trips before, after and during relief activities to visit the
targetted families to see if everything is in agreement with facts.


Reporting

Amity is responsible for preparation of all reporting according to ACT
guidelines.



IMPLEMENTATION TIMETABLE

1 July 2002 - 30 June 2003

The implementation period, which begins from commencement of the emergency
assistance and ends with the submission of the final and audit reports, is
estimated to last for about one year.  A twelve month period is felt
necessary to complete the housing project as adequate and timely funding
cannot be guaranteed.  Should sufficient funding not be available until
the start of the winter months (November /December) then construction of
houses will have to wait until spring (February/March) otherwise the
quality of construction will be seriously compromised.



CO-ORDINATION

Amity works in close collaboration with the local governments. The
department of Civil Affairs of Shaanxi and Sichuan Provinces are
responsible for the overall relief work within their provinces. It maps
out the overall disasters and the needs in different prefectures and
allocates financial and in-kind support from outside the provinces to
different prefectures according to their needs.  It also co-ordinates
different relief agencies activities to avoid duplication of relief
assistance in the same prefecture. The Civil Affairs Bureau at prefecture
and county levels work following the same pattern within their prefectures
and counties to allocate financial and in-kind assistance that reaches
them to different counties and townships to avoid duplication of relief
activities.

Amity co-ordinates with these civil affairs departments and its local
partners.



BUDGET

INCOME RECEIVED  US$

HKCC (Pledge) 24,166
TOTAL INCOME 24,166



ESTIMATED EXPENDITURE

Description Type of No. of Unit Cost Budget Budget
 Unit Units RMB RMB USD
Food Inputs
Rice Kg 600,000 2 1,200,000 144,999
Instant noodles Bag 50,000 1.5 75,000 9,062
Non-Food Inputs
Cotton quilts Piece 10,000 84 840,000 101,499
Mosquito nets Piece 5,000 40 200,000 24,166
Reconstruction
Repairs to houses House 800 1,000 800,000 96,666
Building of houses House 190 4,000 760,000 91,833
Sub Total    3,875,000 468,226

Admin fee (staff salaries, Lumpsum   271,250 32,776
office maint, supplies, comm,
travel & accommodation)

TOTAL ESTIMATED EXPENDITURE   4,146,250 501,002
Less HKCC pledge:    200,000 24,166
BALANCE REQUESTED    3,946,250 476,836

Exchange Rate
Budget :1 USD   = RMB  8.275920



Note to the budget:

As usual a lumpsum, calculated as 7% of the project costs, is provided to
cover the administration costs. This follows an agreement with the Donor
Partners of the Amity Foundation and this formula is used for all the
projects implemented by Amity.



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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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