EARLY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN 2003
Barely a month after its Launch, Mercy Relief (MR) connected with its contacts in China and implemented the ‘Beds & Books’ project in WeiXing County at the northern tip of Yunnan Province. The education project sought to assist 1500 students from poor villages to continue their stay within the school system over the next three years. The funds went into providing bursaries to help poor students stay in the dormitories, who would otherwise have to walk long distances averaging 10 kilometres daily through treacherous terrains. The funds paid for their food, lodging expenses and purchases of textbooks. To provide complimentary optometric health services to the poor villages, MR also implemented an eye-care project at Xishuangbanna, the southern-most county in mainland China.
SICHUAN EARTHQUAKE RECONSTRUCTION PROJECT
Location: Ziyang Prefecture, Sichuan Province
Project specs: Rebuild three schools, one home for the aged, one health clinic and two bridges; provide financial assistance to 22 underprivileged students
Total project cost: S$1.2 million
Project duration: June 2008 to January 2009
Project brief:
As the Mercy Relief disaster response team disbursed S$450,000 in aid to the quake victims at ground zero, MR started mapping out plans for reconstruction projects. In the Ziyang prefecture, about 200km from Chengdu, several areas suffered substantial physical damage which left many buildings structurally unsound. Many of the villagers were already poor to begin with and could ill afford to rebuild these structures. With funding from the Singapore public and corporate donors, MR was able to carry out seven reconstruction projects in collaboration with the Ziyang Foundation for Poverty Alleviation and the Poverty Alleviation Bureaus of Ziyang. The projects were completed in January 2008, and whilst the local regulations for reconstructed buildings were set at 6 Richter durability, our buildings were built at 7 Richter durability.
The Schools
In order to provide students with a safe environment to study in and restore normalcy to their lives as soon as possible, Mercy Relief helped rebuild three schools that suffered some of the worst damage.
Wolong Primary School
Funded by Hong Leong Group Singapore, MR reconstructed the primary school for some 70 students. We also expanded the premises to include a nursery. The project cost S$200,000.
Huayandong Primary School
Funded by the Singaporean public, MR reconstructed the primary school for 70 students, located in Huayandong Village, Anyue County. The project cost S$135,000.
Laojunjing School
Funded by a group of philanthropists from Singapore, MR rebuilt the school’s student dormitory for 400 students, and increased its capacity by three stories. The original building only had two floors and could accommodate 100 students. We also furnished the dormitory and repaired the teacher’s dormitory and admin building. The project cost S$585,000.
The Student Assistance Programme
Mercy Relief is providing financial assistance to 22 underprivileged students attending the Laojunjing school with S$30,000 in donations collected from the Singaporean public. These funds will enable the children, selected from the poorest families in the area affected by the earthquake, to stay in school for the next two to three years.
Before this programme, many children had to trek up to six hours every day (10-20km) in order to get to and from school. The roads there are in very poor condition and punctuated with many steep slopes as their homes are located high in the mountain, 1,100m above sea level. This means that they leave home as early as four in the morning, and return only at dusk around 8pm every day.
With the financial assistance programme, each child will be allocated RMB2,000 (S$440) a year to stay in the school dormitory. This will make it easier for them to attend school and also lighten the financial burden on their family.
The Home for the Aged
The Luochong Home for the Aged was built during the Qing dynasty with more than 100 years of history embedded within its walls. It was turned into an old folk’s home more than 60 years ago, but due to its age, the building could not withstand the impact of the earthquake.
With funding by a group of philanthropists in Singapore, Mercy Relief was able to rebuild this home, which houses 18 elderly folks and two orphans. The rooms were redesigned to accommodate two to a room, with an en suite toilet. We also added new features to the building, including a pigpen for the old folks to generate some income, and a recreation room where they can gather to play cards, have tea and socialise. The project cost S$125,000.
The Health Clinic
The Dongyue Health Clinic sits on a hill in remote Dongyue village. Built in 1965, this little clinic, run only by two physicians, serves more than 2,200 people from Dongyue and the surrounding villages. But with age and structural weakness, the building crumbled under the pressure of the earthquake. With S$26,000 in funding from the Singaporean public, Mercy Relief helped to rebuild this health clinic. The new structure now has proper amenities and four rooms – a reception area, consultation room, a resting room and a pharmacy.
The Bridges
Bridges are crucial linkages in many villages divided by rivers and water channels. Villagers often have families living on both sides of the river or own farmland on the other side of the waterway. When these bridges collapsed under the pressure of the earthquake, families were separated, and hundreds and thousands of villagers were cut off from main routes of transportation and communication. With funding from the Singaporean public, Mercy Relief was able to restore these links in two villages – Chiyun and Hedian.
Chiyun Bridge
Some 1,000 people cross this bridge everyday to get to the village centre to buy and sell their goods in the market, go to school and catch the next ride to the neighbouring township. With S$66,000 in funding, MR was able to rebuild this bridge that was completely destroyed by the earthquake.
Hedian Bridge
This bridge serves more than 1,500 villagers in Hedian, who cross over to tend to their farms and visit family members on the other side of the river. With S$45,000 in public donations, MR was able to reconstruct the bridge, which was launched in January 2009.
RAINWATER HARVESTING FOR SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOOD PROJECT
Location: Loufan County, Shanxi Province
Project specs: Build 2km of concrete drains; water channels and 36 sedimentation pools; 36 underground water storage cellars; 6 sets of water pumps; set up an irrigation network; train villagers on maintenance of rainwater harvesting and irrigation system; train villagers on vegetable farming and walnut cultivation.
Number of beneficiaries: 4 villages, 558 families or 2,024 individuals
Project duration: September 2008 to June 2009
Project cost: S$360,108 (including dollar value of local labour)
Project brief:
Loufan is a dry, arid place with most of its villages dependent on the short rainy season to water their fields. As a result, its inhabitants are mired in poverty from year after year of poor harvests. Of the 5,000 people living in Loufan, 80% are farmers. In fact, according to a report by The Economist, as much as 70% of water used by farmers gets lost through leaky irrigation channels or by draining into rivers or groundwater. Installing proper irrigation and water storage systems can go a long way to providing water security in such water scarce areas.
This is what Mercy Relief’s project aimed to do. With the help of local engineers and agriculturalists, we designed a proper irrigation system, rainwater collection tranches and 36 underground water storage cellars to maximise rainfall collection. The drains were built to flank the road that receives most of the rainfall, which is then channelled to the underground water cellars. These cellars are specially designed to withstand the harsh winter temperatures that dip to as low as -20 degree Celsius. We provided them with six portable water pumps to supply the fields which are further from the water cellars. With the completion of this project, villagers will have a stable supply of water throughout the dry season, and can plant crops all year round. In addition, villagers were taught walnut cultivation, which fetches a higher market price than their usual cash crops: millet, wheat and maize. We also teach them how to maximise their land by adopting better farming techniques that can help preserve soil fertility, reduce water seepage to groundwater and control pollution. With water security and better farming practices, villagers can raise their income and quality of life while conserving their environment.
SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOOD AND DISASTER MITIGATION PROJECT
Location: Liang Jiawan village, Zanhuang County, Hebei Province
Project specs: Build agriculture irrigation system, reservoir and irrigation ditches; remove silt; construct flood prevention walls; train villagers in vegetable farming and walnut cultivation.
Number of beneficiaries: four villages, 136 families or 537 individuals
Project duration: September 2008 to June 2009
Project cost: S$130,540 (including dollar value of local labour)
Project brief:
Hebei, a northern province of China, envelopes its wealthier neighbours – Beijing and Tianjin – but is itself trapped in poverty in part due to poor irrigation which affects its agricultural sector, the largest segment of its economy. The villagers in Liang Jiawan village in particular, suffer from severe flash floods during the rainy season as its existing water canal is old and deteriorated. Following MR’s ground assessment, we designed the project to provide villagers with a new reservoir and a proper drainage system to collect and channel rainwater to it. We installed water pumps at the reservoir to supply water to the farms located on higher ground and constructed a proper irrigation system for the surrounding farmland. Flood prevention walls (over 800m long) were built along the banks of the river that runs through the village which is prone to flooding.
To improve their agricultural revenue, villagers were taught better farming techniques to maximise their farmland by preserving soil fertility, reducing water seepage to groundwater and controlling pollution. Agricultural advisors also taught them walnut cultivation, which brings in higher revenue due to the higher price of walnuts compared to their typical cash crop.
ECO-SANITATION AND SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOOD PROJECT
Location: Shangwa Village, Yuanqu County, Shanxi Province
Project specs: Build 88 pigpens; build 88 biogas digester; purchase 352 piglets; build 5,280m(sq) of roads; build 2,200m perimeter walls around the 88 houses; build proper toilets in the 88 homes; train villagers to maintain biogas facility, rear pigs and grow vegetables.
Number of beneficiaries: 88 families or 430 individuals
Project duration: September 2008 to June 2009
Project cost: S$322,690 (including dollar value of local labour)
Project brief:
In the depths of Shanxi’s harsh mountainous terrain sits Shangwa, the most impoverished village in Yuanqu County, far removed from major towns and urban centres. In order to help them develop a better source of income and improve their quality of life, Mercy Relief started this eco-sanitation and sustainable livelihood project. We first worked with the local government to relocate the villagers to a new location closer to the county centre. Many of them could ill afford livestock so we provided the 88 families with 352 piglets as the “start-up capital”, a first step towards self-sufficiency. We then introduced biogas technology to help them manage their waste, and at the same time generate income from it. We taught them how to channel the waste from their livestock and toilets to a bio-digester. The gas produced in this air-tight cell is then channelled through gas pipes to the 88 houses to supply the cooking stoves and to generate electricity. This not only helps increase the household disposable income through cost-savings from electricity and coal, it improves the sanitary condition of the village as the waste is no longer left exposed to external elements. Disease contracted from exposure to untreated waste is also reduced and the health standard of the village is elevated with lower air pollution. Villagers also learn to protect their environment through proper treatment and recycling of their waste.
Connectivity to larger towns where their goods can be sold is another problem. So Mercy Relief built new roads that will link them to bigger towns where they can sell their goods, make purchases and make contact with other villages.
The construction of the biogas cells and roads was done by the local government and villagers as part of their contribution to the project. MR wants its beneficiaries to be co-owners and not passive recipients of aid.
