Victoria's Response to Indian Ocean Tsunami

On 24 December 2004 the Indian Ocean Tsunami devastated many nations, claiming up to 235,000 lives and destroying billions of dollars worth of property. In the days following the tsunami, the Victorian Government donated $1.5 million to support the emergency response effort.

Soon after the disaster, it became clear that a massive and sustained effort would be required to meet the enormous challenges of post-tsunami reconstruction. The Victorian Government's response was to establish the $10 million Tsunami Disaster Reconstruction Fund (TDRF) to support substantial medium to long-term rebuilding projects in partnership with other Governments, community groups, aid organisations and the private sector.

Projects financed by the TDRF are helping communities affected by the Indian Ocean Tsunami - both to resume normal activities and to restore self-sufficiency.

Funding has been provided to projects that:

• rebuild capabilities or facilities destroyed by the Indian Ocean Tsunami of Boxing Day 2004;
• respond to the identified priority needs of the affected area and are endorsed by the Government of the recipient nation;
• are consistent with Australian and International reconstruction initiatives;
• build capacity and strengthen institutions and communities;
• have a significant impact on the affected community;
• address viability, sustainability and long term management issues;
• have a defined delivery period; and
• have clearly stated outcomes and an ability to measure and report on the attainment of those outcomes.

Following a commissioning phase, where projects were proposed for potential TDRF support, the Fund was committed to the following six projects, five in Sri Lanka and one in the Maldives:

Ruhunu Child-Friendly School Complex Project

Eastern Technical Institute Strengthening Project

Maldives Capacity Building Project

Vic-Jaf Fishnet Manufacturing Factory Project

Victoria Gardens Settlement

Health for the South

Ruhunu Child-Friendly School Complex Project
Many schools were damaged or destroyed by the tsunami, causing severe overcrowding and stretching many educational facilities to their limit.

In partnership with Plan Australia, the Victorian Government funded the construction of a new primary and secondary school complex in Hambantota District, southern Sri Lanka. The complex houses a primary school and secondary school, attended by 3,000 students.

The project has replaced schools destroyed or damaged by the tsunami and is improving educational standards in the district.

The school includes 30 colourful primary classrooms, 56 secondary classrooms, science labs, trade skills and arts workshops, a library, audiovisual room, administration block, staff room, playground, modern toilet blocks for each area and access to running water.

As well as ensuring the design was child focussed, Plan has been involved in establishing the school’s administration, for example ensuring children and parents are given ongoing opportunities to participate in the school’s governance.

The Victorian Government contributed $1,232,481 to the project.


Eastern Technical Institute Strengthening Project

The Victorian Government and Holmesglen Institute of TAFE partnered to develop trade and skills training in Batticaloa, an area of Sri Lanka's east that was severely affected by the tsunami.

Investment in capital works, teacher training and curriculum development has helped the Eastern Technical Institute (ETI) to develop the construction, electrical and metal fabrication skills crucial to post-tsunami reconstruction. Batticaloa required these skills desperately as over 17,500 homes in the District were damaged by the tsunami. The total project cost was $524,783, to which the Victorian Government contributed $324,783.

ETI students, staff and the wider community are benefiting from the project’s initiatives, which included renovations, the provision of tools and furnishings and improvements to the curriculum.

The project, completed in December 2008, also resulted in the Sri Lankan Government’s accreditation of ETI to deliver training in four trades. Accreditation enables ETI to receive ongoing Sri Lankan Government funding and graduates can now attain a nationally recognised qualification, which will help them to obtain better and higher paying jobs.

Melbourne based architectural firm McKewan Designs Pty Ltd contributed pro-bono services to the project.


Maldives Capacity Building Project

The tsunami had a terrible impact on the Maldives, causing damage estimated at over 60% of GDP. Despite this, the Maldives has received less aid and support than many other countries affected by the tsunami.

The Victorian Government and Australian Volunteers International developed a project to increase the Maldives’ capacity to recover from the disaster, focusing on education. Volunteer teacher trainers worked in various parts of the Maldives, assisting with teacher training and development, helping to address the teacher shortage created by the large number of foreign teachers that elected to not return to the Maldives following the tsunami. This also assisted in reducing long-term dependence on foreign teachers and increasing the quality of teaching in targeted primary schools.

The Victorian Government provided $365,472 to recruit, place and support the volunteers for two years.
Vic-Jaf Fishnet Manufacturing Factory Project

Sri Lanka’s fisheries sector was devastated by the tsunami. The impact is particularly evident in Jaffna, in the north of the country. To rehabilitate the fishing industry and provide employment opportunities, the Victorian Government has partnered with the Sri Lankan, French and Australian arms of the international Catholic relief and development agency Caritas Internationalis to develop a fishing net manufacturing operation in Jaffna.

A not-for-profit company, the North East Fisheries Aquaculture Development Foundation, has been formed to manage the factory.

The factory will provide employment for 119 workers, primarily women who lost husbands in the tsunami and the civil war. The factory will address the fishing net shortage in the north of the country.

A significant proportion of the factory’s profits will be used to fund a variety of local community development programs and employees will be given training and professional development opportunities. The total project will cost around $1.9 million, of which the Victorian Government is funding $842,786.

Unfortunately the ongoing civil conflict in Sri Lanka’s north has slowed the construction of the factory, which is now expected to be completed and operational by late 2009.

Victoria Gardens Settlement Project

Seenigama Village in southern Sri Lanka was badly affected by the tsunami, the waves extended as far as 2km inland. Many villagers lost their homes, creating a great need for permanent housing. The Victorian Government partnered with local charity the Foundation of Goodness to develop a permanent housing complex, the Victoria Gardens Settlement.
Victoria Gardens comprises 84 housing units connected to water, sewerage and electricity, a community centre, recreation ground, children’s play ground, a shop and associated infrastructure. The Victorian Government contributed $3.2 million for construction to Victoria Gardens.

The settlement is located within the village and is close to schools, community facilities and transport. By re-housing families within the village, the recipients remain close to the places where they earn their livelihoods and they have been able to retain their social networks.

The Victorian Government and the Foundation of Goodness are grateful for the $176,000 grant from the Australian Red Cross for the design and construction of a sewage treatment plant at the Victoria Gardens Settlement and for the $50,000 contribution by Incolink towards the purchase of land on which the Settlement was built. Assistance from legal firms Maddocks and De Saram is also gratefully acknowledged.

Health for the South Project

The Health for the South Project is increasing the capacity of Karapitiya Hospital, Sri Lanka’s major teaching hospital in the south, to provide trauma and emergency medical treatment. The project aims to significantly improve the hospital’s capacity for initial assessment, resuscitation and stabilisation of critically ill patients. It will give the hospital the capacity to drastically reduce delays to definitive treatment and to effectively respond to mass casualty events, such as the aftermath of the Indian Ocean Tsunami.

The hospital is the main teaching hospital and the only tertiary referral care centre for the Southern Province of Sri Lanka. It is also part of a pilot program for Sri Lanka’s new national trauma system.

The initial phase of the project, equipping and expanding the existing Emergency Treatment Unit, from two to six beds, has been completed. Emergency staff at Karapitiya Hospital are now confidently performing life saving procedures utilising new equipment provided through the program and knowledge gained through training provided by teams from Melbourne’s Alfred and Royal Children’s Hospitals.

An Emergency and Trauma Centre comprising an emergency department, operating theatres and short-stay wards is being developed within Karapitiya Hospital grounds to provide an emergency and trauma reception capability. The building is expected to be completed by August 2010.

The Victorian Government has allocated $3.5 million to the initiative from the TDRF. Health for the South is also supported by the Alfred Hospital and the Faculty of Medicine Ruhuna University, who together deliver the capacity-building training program for hospital staff. It is further supported by Sri Lanka's Ministry of Healthcare and Nutrition, USAID, AusAID, Stryker Corporation and Leighton Asia.

Melbourne based architectural firm Vincent Chrisp Architects is contributing pro-bono services to the project.


For more information, contact:

Tsunami Reconstruction Unit
Department of Premier and Cabinet
Level 3/1 Treasury Place
MELBOURNE VIC 3002
Tel. 03 9651 5138
email: sue.williams@dpc.vic.gov.au