What Oxfam is Doing
June 2008
The toll of the earthquake that shook Sichuan and neighboring provinces on May 12 is staggering: nearly 70,000 people dead, and more than 350,000 injured. Fifteen million people evacuated from their homes. Four hundred thousand homes and 7,000 schools destroyed, and thousands more badly damaged. In the days following the quake, Oxfam quickly launched a relief effort that has so far reached nearly 280,000 people in Sichuan, Gansu, and Shaanxi provinces with essential supplies and services.
Public health
Protecting public health is a top Oxfam priority in the immediate aftermath of an emergency, because people who have been displaced from their homes often find themselves living in crowded and unsanitary conditions. Oxfam and our partners are providing drinking water, portable toilets, and medical care, as well as information about how to stay healthy in these challenging circumstances. Mental health services for children are also being offered.
Emergency shelter
Aid providers assumed that earthquake survivors would want to be issued tents for use as emergency shelters, but Oxfam’s consultations with communities revealed that many preferred sheets of polyethylene or polypropylene that could be used for a variety of purposes. Oxfam therefore purchased thousands of plastic tarps and delivered them to families in need.
Food and supplies
In the first few weeks after the disaster, Oxfam supplied emergency rations that included 200 tons of rice and more than 230 tons of flour, along with tens of thousands of bottles of cooking oil. After careful assessments—as well as communication with other aid providers to avoid duplication—we also distributed emergency supplies that included quilts, mosquito nets, electric generators, emergency lighting, flashlights, soap, and sanitary pads for women and girls. Oxfam staff were present at the time of each distribution, both to ensure that supplies reached their destinations and to assess additional needs in the communities.
Safer schools and homes
Oxfam has undertaken construction of ten temporary schools and will eventually build ten permanent schools, as well. The first of the temporary schools opened June 10th. It is constructed of thin sheets of steel and Styrofoam and is earthquake resistant up to a magnitude of 7.0 on the Richter scale. Oxfam is working with Lanzhou University on the design of the permanent schools to maximize their capacity to withstand quakes.
We are also working with a Boston-based engineer who will train teams of Chinese university students in a set of techniques to improve the earthquake resistance of local housing. The students will fan out into rural villages to conduct trainings for people who are setting out to rebuild their homes. The methods draw on traditional knowledge from the region that has long been employed in temple construction but has often been overlooked in the building of houses.
How Oxfam responds
Oxfam works in close consultation with communities when we respond to disasters, and we pay particular attention to underserved and vulnerable groups. In the aftermath of the quake, we are trying to ensure that women, elders, and people with disabilities have a say in decision-making around relief and rehabilitation projects so that the needs and rights of the entire community are addressed; we are also are paying attention to the needs of ethnic minorities; for example, we distributed halal food to five Muslim communities because many of the emergency rations available to them had been cooked in lard. And we are working to assist earthquake-affected villagers in remote mountain areas who are particularly vulnerable to future earthquakes and landslides but whose communities are difficult to access and easily overlooked by aid providers.
Reducing disaster risks
While no one can prevent an earthquake, some of the harsh effects of a quake can be averted by careful planning aimed at reducing risks. As the emergency in China becomes less acute and reconstruction begins, Oxfam will look for opportunities to help communities build back safer and better than before.