Rapid Response Payment No. 30/2007

Funds Sent To: Association of Costa Rican Lutheran Churches

Amount Sent: 31,013 US$

Date: 2 November 2007

Details of Response

Emergency: Floods

Date of Emergency: October 18, 2007

Implementing Member: Association of Costa Rican Lutheran Churches (ILCO)

ILCO will implement this RRF with the ACT Member Lutheran World Service Costa Rica (LWS-CR) and the Ecumenical Forum for the Development of Guanacaste (FEDEAGUA).

EMERGENCY

Since October 9, heavy rainfalls have caused severe flooding in Costa Rica under constant rains, affecting particularly the Pacific area. On October 18, the Costa Rican governments declared a state of national emergency. Since then, red alert warning was maintained for all the affected areas.

In Guanacaste, permanent rains with episode of strong rainstorms have caused: i) flooding of villages and fields; ii) destruction of roads, bridges, dikes, houses, equipment and harvest; iii) displacement of population toward shelters provided by CNE (the National Commission for Prevention of Risks and Attention to Emergencies), where people are provided with food and other items, and toward other improvised shelters maintained by the affected population themselves which are not supported by the government; iv) isolation of the communities of Ortega and Bolsón, where main roads have been swept by the rivers. With the overflow of the rivers, perishable and household goods were damaged or destroyed. Women are the most affected segment of the population, because of the lack of household facilities. Children cannot go to school because roads are cut off and school buildings flooded.

Since Costa Rica does not receive grants from Official Development Assistance, the government along with private enterprises is the main source of funding for the response to emergencies. To date, the National Commission for Emergencies assessed the damage on infrastructure, the number of families affected in the cantons of Nicoya and Santa Cruz. On this basis, The National Commission, together with private enterprises, distributed food, clothes and sanitary kits to the population in the shelters provided by the government.

The ACT member organizations ILCO and LWS-CR agreed with the Ecumenical Forum for the Development of Guanacaste (FEDEAGUA) to plan a response to the emergency. First, the three organizations jointly assessed the situation of the affected communities in the cantons of Nicoya and Santa Cruz. FEDEAGUA actively participated to the evacuation of people and provision of food and clothes.

OBJECTIVE FOR INTERVENTION

Provide basic food aid, personal hygiene kits, medicines, analgesic, anti-histaminic, domestic utensils and cleaning supplies to the affected families in the targeted communities.

BENEFICIARIES AND LOCATION

The ACT members ILCO, LWS-CR together with its local partner FEDEAGUA plan to carry out relief operations in the following 13 communities: Poso de Agua, Corralillo, Cañal, El Torito, Nosara, Oriente, Juan Díaz, Colas de Gallo, La Esperanza, Cerro Negro and La Mansion (in the Canton of Nicoya) and in the communities of Ortega and Bolsón (canton of Santa Cruz).

The relief activities will target affected families in these communities, mostly female headed households, families with many children and elderly people. The cantons of Nicoya and Santa Cruz are located in the Western Pacific region of Costa Rica. Nicoya has a population of 47,237 inhabitants (24,024 men and 23,213 women). Santa Cruz has 45,755 inhabitants (23,521 men and 22,234 women). In both cases, the rural population accounts for more than 66% of the total population.

The target population numbers 325 families with about 1,500 members, out of a total population of 2,150. Priority will be given to those communities where there are no official shelters under the control of the National Commission for Emergencies. These families urgently need provision of food and first aid and hygiene kits.

PROPOSED ASSISTANCE

The implementing organizations, ACT members ILCO and LWS-CR together with their local partner FEDEAGUA, plan the following activities:

 Delivery of food and hygiene kits to 325 affected families, prioritizing families which are not in government supported shelters, as well as those who decided not to abandon their homes. The assistance will cover needs for a period of 3 months.

 Damage and needs assessment in 36 communities in the Cantons of Nicoya, Santa Cruz, Carrillo, Hojancha and Nandayure, in the Province of Guanacaste, which include the 13 communities targeted by this RRF.

IMPLEMENTATION PERIOD

3 months: November 3, 2007 to February 2, 2008.

IMPLEMENTATION METHODOLOGY

The Costa Rican Lutheran Church will be the organization in charge of the implementation and that will receive the funds on a separate account. It will be in charge of reporting in accordance with ACT guidelines. Lutheran World Service Costa Rica will assist the Costa Rican Lutheran Church in monitoring the operation. Both organizations will be assisted by the LWF/DWS Central American Regional Program in issues related to accounting and reporting. FEDEAGUA, a local development NGO and a long term partner of the Lutheran World Service will be in charge of the distribution of the kits. Monthly and two-weekly program meetings will serve as instruments for planning and monitoring. One day of evaluation per month will be included.

The food and non-food item will be purchased from suppliers in the regions of Nicoya and Santa Cruz, in accordance with ACT procurement guidelines. The commodity order will be passed to the best offer of three suppliers. The distribution will be implemented by staff hired for the operation, and delivered to the communities against due receipts.

TOTAL BUDGET US$ 31,013

(For the detailed budget and other details, kindly visit the ACT site. Thank you.)

ACTION

The ACT Co-ordinating Office has approved the use of US$ 31,013 towards the budget from its Rapid Response Fund and would be grateful to receive contributions to wholly or partially replenish this payment.

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ACT is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide. The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.