As I am sitting down at my desk this morning I felt compelled to post. The reason being, today is the one year anniversary of the 2009 tsunami that hit Samoa. I have to say it is truly hard to believe a year has passed since then. I wish I had more information on how the affected communities are doing but i will give you what I know.
From my understanding all families have had a house built for them from donor funds. Additionally, rainwater harvesting tanks have been installed at each new house to help provide a supplementary water supply. For the most part, infrastructure like roads, water pipes and electricity have been restored. Beach resorts/fales are still in the process of rebuilding which until they are rebuilt, their absence continues to have a negative impact on the small local village economies.
Going through most of the villages things do look better, but you can still see some of the aftermath and impacts a year later. Through the year there have been some programs going on to help in their recovery. Right now we are experiencing a revitalization of assistance most likely due to the year anniversary that will most like subside soon after, leaving those who have been working in that area throughout the year to continue plugging along.
As for what the Red Cross is doing, I know we have been active in the Water and Sanitation sector in the tsunami affected villages. And hopefully in about 3 months, the Community-based Assessment and Planning Program that I am working with the Red Cross to develop, will begin to work in some of the communities. The only hitch right now is the funding the program needed, it's kind of on hold. I can't go into more specifics than that but needless to say, it is a little unsettling seeing as I am out of here in about 2 and a half months and we have yet to hire a person to replace me.
Oh! Before I go (it's after 8:00am so I need to get to work), last Sunday Samoa started daylight savings time. Here are the benefits reported by local news sources of daylight savings:
* Enhancing energy efficiency.
* Boosting leisure activities.
* Promoting public health and safety.
* Increasing the Samoa’s economic growth.
Who would have thought changing the clock one hour would be the answer to all our problems! (Just as a side note, the sun rises and sets at around the same time all year long and daylight savings is only in effect for half the year)
Ok, back to work. When I stop having to work 12-14 hour days I promise to get pictures up. I'm sure you are all skeptical and probably a little jaded at this point and expect no follow through on that promise.
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