September 12, 2005 -- Today the World Bank and the Royal Government of Thailand, along with their development partners, signed three grants totaling nearly US$3 million to provide support to tsunami- affected communities and vulnerable groups in Thailand, funding programs to restore livelihoods, protect the environment, care for the vulnerable groups, and improve access to legal services. Working closely with the Government of Thailand, the World Bank will partner with four community organizations – the Population Community Development Association (PDA), the Chumchon Thai Foundation, World Vision and the Local Development Institute – to provide assistance to communities in Ranong, Phang Nga, Krabi and Satun provinces, from September 2005 through April 2007. Signing on behalf of their organizations were: Mr. Ian Porter, World Bank Country Director; Mrs. Pannee Sathavarodom, Director-General, Ministry of Finance; Mr. Jun Yamada, Economic Minister, Embassy of Japan; Mr. Mechai Veravidhaya, President of the Population and Community Development Association; Dr. M.R. Akin Rabibhadana, Chairperson of Chumchon Thai Foundation; Mr. Poldej Pinprathep, Secretary General of Local Development Institute; and Mr. Chusak Wuthiwaropas, Executive Director of World Vision Thailand. Mrs. Pannee Sathavarodom, Director-General, Ministry of Finance, said, on behalf of the Thai Government, "the loss of lives and the loss of way of life for the victims of the Tsunami was truly devastating. The Thai Government has mobilized substantial effort and resources to reconstruct the area and help affected people by providing assistance, helping them to recover their way of living, and ensuring coordination among Government agencies. We appreciate and welcome this initiative, funded by the Government of Japan, for the World Bank to work with local community groups in providing further development support to the people." The grants were provided by the Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF)*. Mr. Jun Yamada, Economic Minister, Embassy of Japan, said,"the Government of Japan has made available substantial assistance to the tsunami affected countries and is very pleased that the World Bank has taken a proactive approach in working with civil society organizations and mobilizing funding from JSDF to support highly practical and constructive projects that will benefit affected people in Thailand." The first two of the grants will fund:  Response to the Tsunami Affected Communities in Southern Thailand: working with community groups to strengthen their abilities to provide support and leadership in traumatized communities, and support sustainable management of the coastal and marine ecosystem. Sub-grants will be provided to communities to fund specific and unique needs not met from other sources, and identified by the community themselves – these activities can include those that address specific needs of the community resulting from the crisis such as trauma counseling, facilities for disabled victims, support for widows and orphans; activities to replace or rebuilt social, cultural, economic assets lost in the disaster; and activities that help to restore the coastal and marine ecosystem.
Post-Emergency Response to the Effects of the Tsunami on Vulnerable Populations in Southern Thailand to assist vulnerable populations (migrant workers, ethnic minorities, the disabled, elderly, orphans and vulnerable children, extremely poor households, injecting drug users and other potentially marginalized groups) and help them recover economic means of survival, access services which they are eligible for, and cope with psychological trauma. This component will cover the cost of training for people working with affected communities to help them provide support and counseling to traumatized children and adults. Participants in the training will include facilitators, community leaders, teachers, health workers, government staff, and NGO staff.
A third project, to provide legal aide services for poor and vulnerable survivors of the tsunami to help them rebuild their lives, is also being developed and expected to begin later this year. Mr. Ian Porter, Country Director for Thailand, commented, "These projects build on experience gained in the implementation of other community driven development projects in Thailand and are adapted to respond to the needs of affected communities. They will complement the government's assistance packages by focusing on more medium-term needs, and giving local communities additional flexibility to adapt the response to their own specific cases, and to address those losses that, while not life threatening, are important to restoring the social and cultural fabric, and rebuilding damaged confidence and sense of well-being. At the same time the projects will use the opportunity to help put in place a better system for managing the natural environment." After the tsunami, the government’s efforts in restoring major public services and infrastructure were unprecedented, with roads, electricity, as well as the communication network restored in a few days. With the Thai government able to respond, both financially and technically, to the impacts of the tsunami with infrastructure rehabilitation and establishing of temporary and permanent housing, they invited international organizations, including the World Bank to work with them on longer-term rehabilitation needs. The Bank team is also closely collaborating with the United Nations country team, the Asian Development Bank and civil society organizations to respond to needs as they emerge. The World Bank is taking a medium-term approach to supporting all the Tsunami affected countries through a combination of knowledge, technical assistance, livelihood restoration and infrastructure rehabilitation activities in the form of grants and loans. For more on the World Bank’s response to the Tsunami: www.worldbank.org/tsunami. The World Bank and Thailand have formed a series of partnerships – in Governance, Financial and Corporate Restructuring, Social Protection, Poverty Analysis and Monitoring, Education, and Environment – aimed at facilitating knowledge sharing and providing policy advice on medium-term structural issues. Through the Country Development Partnership for Environment focused on the Government’s environmental priorities, the Bank will also assist with an environmental monitoring study on coastal resources, expected later this year. For more information on the World Bank and Thailand: www.worldbank.or/th. *Note: The Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF) was established by the Government of Japan and the World Bank in June 2000 as an untied mechanism for providing direct assistance to the poorest and most vulnerable groups in eligible member countries of the World Bank Group. As of March 2005, the Government of Japan had provided over US$250 million to the JSDF and over 160 grants, amounting to more than US$180 million, had been approved.
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