Spending the Tsunami Millions
On the morning of 26 December 2004, when children were playing on the beach and mothers were cooking Sunday lunch at home, the second strongest ‘megathrust’ earthquake in recorded history ripped open the ocean floor off the west coast of Indonesia. Releasing the same amount of energy as 23,000 Hiroshima-sized atomic bombs, it sent giant waves travelling as fast as jet planes smashing into the countries of the Indian Ocean. Scenes of destruction were everywhere. More than a quarter of a million people died in a matter of minutes. Millions more lost their homes and livelihoods.
Download tsunami_evaluation.mp3
The cost of rebuilding was estimated at $10.75 billion, but a record breaking $13.6 billion was pledged by donors worldwide.Christian Aid raised £47 million in the appeal. By the end of 2007 we had spent £40 million – five times more than in any previous emergency – rebuilding 22,000 homes and helping 180,000 people back into work. This is a remarkable achievement by our 33 partners in Sri Lanka, India and Indonesia, especially as we are one of only three DEC agencies on course to spend our budget on time by the end of 2007.
A recent independent evaluation looked at where the Christian Aid money went and how well it was spent. Now you can listen in to this internal Christian Aid staff podcast from December. Christian Aid's Anthony Morton King is interviewed by Antoinette Powell. Check out the programme notes below for a link to the report...
Programme Notes:






