World Vision’s Tsunami Response

Three years after the Asian tsunami, World Vision has improved the lives of hundreds of thousands of people with funding from the more than US$300 million raised worldwide. Canadian individuals and businesses, along with the government, generously donated C$64.3 million to this relief effort.

World Vision’s work has included the building of more than 11,000 homes, health promotion interventions for 440,000 people and a massive school-building program.

Following the tsunami on December 26, 2004, World Vision simultaneously responded in five countries: Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, India and Myanmar. World Vision’s relief teams dispatched emergency aid before mounting a massive, multi-year response that included the building of high-quality homes and livelihood recovery.

“This was by far our biggest response ever and, after three years’ working in Aceh we can look at the achievements and feel a sense of accomplishment at the scale of the work done,” says David Taylor, World Vision’s Indonesia Tsunami Response Program Director of the response in Aceh, Indonesia.

Coordinated Response
The flow of donations, grants and corporate funding following the tsunami was so great that World Vision created a special Asia Tsunami Response Team based in Singapore to oversee the response.

As of October 2007, US$285 million had been spent. By the end of September 2008, World Vision will have spent US$309.1 million on relief and rehabilitation work, with an additional US$37.4 million to be spent by country offices on long-term community development work in tsunami-affected areas.

The Asia Tsunami Response Team is now phasing out and passing on leadership to the individual country offices.

Program Highlights

Construction of 84 schools, 33 preschools, 27 health clinics and more than 11,000 homes
Provision of employment opportunities, support and vocational training to more than 40,000 people
Distribution of assets including: fishing boats and equipment, water pumps, computers, diving kits, sewing machines, food processors and carpentry equipment
Support for 200 child-friendly spaces, 119 children’s societies, 60 playgrounds, camps, counseling and recreation activities
Child rights awareness for 27,000 parents, community leaders, teachers and government officials
Educational support (including school supplies and tuition) for more than 2,000 teachers and 137,000 children

Detailed Reports
For a more comprehensive look at World Vision’s tsunami response please click on the following reports:

Executive Summary
India Final Report 2007	Sri Lanka Final Report 2007
Indonesia Final Report 2007	Thailand Final Report 2007

By December 2007 World Vision had completed construction of 11,000 houses, like these in Aceh Besar, Indonesia, for tsunami survivors. Hundreds more will be constructed in 2008.
Photo: Maida Irawani, World Vision (2007).