Events & Activities



Actions Now

March 2005

Commune Damage Prevention Action Plan

The process of establishing a community based commune damage prevention action plan in each of the six communes where DW works has been underway since the beginning of the 2005. This will provide the basis for the 2005 programme of activities in all communes participating in the DW Dipecho 2005 project.


The UN World Conference on Disaster Reduction

2 DW staff members participated in the World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe, Japan from the 18th to the 22nd January 2005.

The DW Dipecho project was exhibited in the ECHO exhibit area. Since the Conference DW has hsared documentation and its conclusions with partners on the occasion of the introductory meeting in Hué on the 22nd February on Community-Based and Child-Focused Disaster Preparedness Projects

DIPECHO Partners in Thua Thien Hue Province, and again to the Disaster Managemetn Working Group in Hanoi.

For a copy of the Civil Society statement to the WCDR, download Civil Society statement to the WCDR.doc

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Events

Thua Thien Hue Provincial Committee of Flood and Storm Control & Find and Rescue
Cruz Roja Española

Community-Based and Child-Focused Disaster Preparedness Projects

DIPECHO Partners in Thua Thien Hue Province

Introduction Meeting, Hué, 22nd February 2005

A half day workshop in Hué on the 22 february was organised by three of the five Dipecho partner organisations marking the beginning of the 2005 programme of work. The occasion provided the opportunity to present the Dipecho programme objectives and place these actitivities in the context of the Kobe World Conference on Disaster Reduction and the perspective for the next ten years.

Objectives

Date Time Activity
February 22nd, 2005
 22nd, 2005
7:30h-8:30h
 Registration
8:30h-8:40h
 Opening Speech, Mr. Le Xuan Truong, Deputy Director, DMC - Central Committee for Flood and Storm Control
8:40h-8:50h
 Speech, Mr. Phung Van Hoan, Head of Social Department, Viet Nam Red Cross
8:50h-9:00h
 Statement, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Thien, Vice-Chairman, T.T.Hue Provincial People’s Committee
9:00h-9:10h
 Statement, Mr. John Norton, President of DWF (on behalf of DIPECHO partner organizations)
9:10h-9:20h
 Statement, Mr. Nguyen Truong An, Vice-Chairman, Vinh Hai Commune People’s Committee, Phu Loc District
   
   

From the grassroots - lending a helping hand for safer houses

Preventive Strengthening of Houses against Storm

Safer shelters against typhoons,[668KB]* Viet Nam, PDR-SEA2 News Vol 2, No 3, March-April 2004

ARTICLE FROM THUA THIEN HUE NEWSPAPER

Acknowledgement from one project
By Luong Huu Duc

Implemented in Thua Thien Hue since December 15th 1999 with the aim of demonstrating and raising awareness of prevention and reduction damages caused by floods and typhoons, and reducing natural disaster, the DW project has achieved considerable results; especially, prevention awareness and understanding of from local people…

DW’s project (Prevent typhoon damage to housing, Central Vietnam) has been established since 1989-1993 as VIE.85. In 1999-2000, the project funded by CIDA & FAVC via Alternatives Association (Canada) was implemented in Thua Thien Hue, focussed mainly on raising awareness of prevention to local people, and demonstrating technique of housing resisting reinforcement. From April 2003, funded by ECHO, DW project has been continued in Thua Thien Hue with the target of encouraging and supporting families to recover the vulnerability of housing with adequate ways.

The project has been implemented in 6 partner communes (Phu Da, Vinh Hai, Thuy Thanh, Quang Tho, Thuy An, and Thuy Xuan) of the City and Districts of Thua Thien Hue. DW’s has several ways of working: animating, developing social environment to support the prevention work in practical conditions. Animation work on prevention is organized frequently in project areas with art shows, calendars, books, and banners with prevention messages, information delivery with loudspeaker of the commune, meeting, festivals, etc. Up to now, the project supports the reinforcement of 333 houses (around 4 million dong for each), and has build 21 public facilities (market, school, cultural hall, housing, safe harbour, etc.). On the other hand, the project has established prevention family groups in villages, developed community capacities, and, together with local governments, organized support actions for families and gave advices of prevention. DW actions include training courses on practical skill development in community and safe housing awareness raising, demonstrating resist reinforcement technique, reinforcing schools, raising prevention awareness to school children, developing and commercializing prevention components, organising prevention competitions such as drawing, poems, preventive building skills, and understanding of prevention: these activities have been organized many times over in the project partner communes, which attract the participation of a lot of people… The main point is encouraging and supporting families to reduce the vulnerability of housing with suitable techniques. The project has established credit program so that families can get loan with the interest rate of 0,3%. Each household can get loan of from 2 - 2,5 million dong. The key target of DW project is to help local people understand and apply 10 key principles to building. They are: Choose the location carefully to avoid the full force of the wind; Build a house with a simple shape to avoid negative pressure; Build the roof at an angle of 30° to 45° to prevent it from lifting off; Avoid wide roof overhangs, separate the veranda structure from the house; Make sure the foundations, walls, roof structure and roof covering are all firmly fixed together; Reinforce the triangular bracing in the structure; Make sure the roof covering is attached to the roof structure to prevent it from lifting; Match opposing openings; Use doors and windows that can be closed; Plant trees around the house as wind breaks. Mr. Phan Co Ngoc, a householder at Van The Dap Village, who was supported by DW with 4 million dong more or less says: “Thank the project, Party, and Government who concern the poor us. The project helps us and other families whose houses have been reinforced and all people in the commune as well have good understanding of typhoon prevention such as the 10 key principles. Our desire is how to expand the project to other communes in the province so that all people can know how to prepare and prevent typhoon effectively.”

Mr. John Norton, President of DW says in happiness: “During the period of working in Thua Thien Hue, there is an impression that I could never forget; i.e., the local people join the project with all their concern. Little children of kindergarten and primary school with their teachers’ help and the old of 70-75 years, with banners and flags, join the animation group and go around village. The prevention awareness is very high both in families and communities. Besides, another important motive contributing to the success of project is the cooperation between the Provincial People’s Committee, Project’s staff, and local governments. If in the future ECHO continues supporting and funding the project, we will choose Thua Thien Hue as our important partner for prevention investment.”

In order to develop the project in sustainability and permanence, support both in spirit and matter from relevant branches and levels should be considered more. By helping communes in remote and difficult areas eliminate temporary thatch houses and establishing web site to give information on actions of project, the project creates environment so that people can easily have better awareness of recovering housing vulnerability as well as apply key principles to building.

Thua Thien Hue Newspaper, October 2003

*[right-click to download without opening document online]

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