China (ASCN71) 1/98
Dear Colleagues,
When Typhoon Winnie struck the provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangsu and Shandong on 18 August 1997, it was the worst storm to hit the area in 200 years. Its affect was catastrophic - affecting over 21 million people in 75 counties. The typhoon destroyed basic infrastructure and water conduits, damaged and washed away more than 177,000 houses and laid farmland to waste. It is feared that the economic recovery of the affected areas will be slow and it will take 5 long years for the people to attain the pre-disaster standards of living .
The ACT Coordinating Office issued an Appeal ASCN71 in September 1997 requesting US$ 100,000 for Amity Foundation to assist the victims. Till date the Appeal has received a cover of US$ 47,584 only, leaving Amity far short of funds required to complete repair and rehabilitation of the planned projects. These include an emergency drinking water project and reconstruction of four schools, one clinic and a church.
Some of these activities have reached satisfactory stages of completion with monetary contributions and provision of labour by the people, as well as through adoption of cost saving measures. However, funds are still needed to complete the drinking water scheme and reconstruct the church on Shepan Island. In addition, the beneficiary communities still owe some CY 400,000 (around US$ 50,000) to the construction companies and hope that Amity will be able to help in some way.
Thank you for your attention and support.
For further information please contact:
ACT Co-ordinator, Miriam Lutz (phone
++41 22 791 6032 or mobile phone ++ 41 89 203 6055)
or
ACT Appeals Officer, Neville Pradhan (phone +41 22 791 60 35)
ACT Web Site address: http://www.wcc-coe.org/act/