CARE International, one of the world's
leading relief and development agencies, has been awarded one of the coveted
UN Habitat Awards. The award recognises the strength of ASHRAYA, a community
managed housing and disaster preparedness project in cyclone affected coastal
Orissa. It is funded by the British public through the UK Disasters Emergency
Committee.
The award comes three years after the
so-called supercyclone of 29 and 30 October, 1999, which devastated the
farming and fishing communities of coastal Orissa. The eastern India state
was subject to hours of high winds and surging tidal waves that pushed
torrents of water far inland, ripping up homes and trees and killing people
and animals. The death toll is estimated at around 20,000 people.
Housing was especially affected. Around 800,000 homes were demolished and 1.9 million badly damaged. Reconstruction was a top priority, but there was also a desire to build better, stronger homes that could withstand future punishing storms, and to work in partnership with local people, rather than imposing a top-down approach as has been sometimes seen in the past. Thus CARE's ASHRAYA project was conceived - ASHRAYA simply means 'the shelter'.
CARE decided to focus on the worst affected villages of Astarang, Balikuda, Mahakalpara and Rajnagar, where over 80 percent of housing was destroyed. These isolated coastal villages were also far from the main transport routes.
Rather than adopt a small number of villages, CARE made a conscious decision to spread the intervention over a larger area by building only 10 to 15 core houses in each village (usually about 100 people live in each village). This approach maximised the number of households that would have safe shelter - for themselves and their assets.
Future safety and security were central to the project. CARE approached the issue of Safe Shelter by adopting a 'Core House' approach. The core house is designed to withstand cyclones, has a flat roof so that people can shelter from floods, and is not vulnerable to fire and can therefore also act as a safe storage place for grain.
Community partnership is central to the ASHRAYA project. Local people are encouraged to build their own core houses - and to learn new building methods as a result. Each beneficiary is provided a pass book, Ashraya Family Pass Book, which contains details of the family and the house construction. This document is countersigned by all partners involved during the handing over of each core house and helps to ensure accountability for the beneficiaries and the project.
During the project CARE formed partnerships with 11 different local NGOs in three districts, to implement the projects on the ground. CARE also entered into a strategic partnership with the NGO, Development Alternatives, to support the programme in house design, technology, technical support and capacity building of partners and local artisans.
These partnerships developed are ASHRAYA's biggest achievement. It is through these partnerships that the impact of the project will be sustained. The physical assets of the project and more importantly the process will remain with the partners in Orissa long after the project has finished.
ASHRAYA's good practice was included in the United Nations Habitat 2002 Best Practices Global 100 list. CARE India was congratulated by the Government of India's Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation for the award.
The citation came on the occasion of World Habitat Day, 7 October 2002. Mr. Prusty, Director of CARE India's Emergency Response and Rehabilitation said: 'CARE is honoured to receive this citation. We will be happy to share our experiences with others working in the area of emergency response.'
For further information about CARE's ASHRAYA project, please call Kaye Stearman or Elizabeth Brown on 020 7934 9346/7.