Background
After the distribution in Zoo Road, CREST received request for aid from the Tamil speaking community in Taman Senangin, Perai. This community informed that they had not received any help following the recent flood.
Objective 1. To conduct need assessment together with the local Tamil Methodist Church at Taman Senangin, Perai. Our assessment will focus on post-flood recovery.
Travel Events
28 Nov – Arrive at mid-day by AirAsia flight. Rented car at Penang airport. Meet up with Pastor Samuel Lee at Jelutong Chinese Methodist Church. Accommodation provided by JMCM. Conduct a joint assessment with JCMC to Kampung Melayu.
29 Nov – Meeting with Pastor Samuel Periathamby of Tamil Methodist Church, Prai.
30 Nov – Depart from Pinang to Kuala Lumpur.
Activity
1. Kampung Melayu, Ayer Hitam, Penang. (GPS: N5°24.100’ E° 100 17.169’).
A visual assessment was conducted on the affected homes, checking electrical appliances and identifying needs through oral interview or discussion.
3 representatives were selected to represent the 22 families (refer to appendix A) living in the area. Encik Syed living next to the river was selected. He had taken the initiative to organise the local operations during the flooding. Most residents have resumed their daily routines.
Income generation was not affected as most of them are employed by companies not affected by the flood. Only 2 families were affected; one of which is a hawker selling rice who said that he had lost his cooking utensils. Most families running their own business experienced inconvenience as their vehicles are damaged and cannot be used to transport their goods. Many families had their refrigerators damaged and could not store their food which is rather inconvenient for them.
Electrical sockets were functioning since fans and lightings are observed to be working normally. The community has received mattresses and food supplies from different donor organisations in past weeks.
Due to prompt rubbish removal and lack of stagnant water sources, there was no indication of dengue outbreaks. Local residents are keen on disaster awareness training and are open to form a committee that would not only respond to disasters locally but in neighbouring communities as well.
Conclusion
The most immediate need is to restore the community’s transportation needs and food storage. We will explore the possibility of distributing vouchers for the purchase of refrigerators and subsidise repair of motorcycles/cars.
Training on disaster preparedness and response in Bahasa Malaysia will be hosted by MCRD and CREST will provide the trainers.
2. Taman Senangin, Perai, Penang. (GPS: N5°23.048’ E° 100 23.096’)
There are 300 households with some Rohingya refugee families in Taman Senangin. Initial relief items such as water, food and cleaning utensils had distributed by local NGOs. The Buddhist association has also set up a mobile clinic. Tamil Methodist Church had given out RM1000 cash aid to 60 households, 15 of which are members of the church.
The church will discuss with the local JKKK and propose the common furniture items required by the residents for CREST budgetary consideration. Tamil Methodist Church has highlighted that a training session with the local Tamil speaking communities will be expedient for future flood preparedness.
Recommendations
1. Distribution of remaining Seng Heng vouchers to Kampung Melayu Ayer Hitam. Suggestion RM 250 x 22 Households = RM 5,500 (RM 7,250 remained from last distribution).
2. Proposed to purchase furniture from IKEA for distribution and appeal for sponsorship IKEA. We may consider two to three types of furniture within the same price range.
3. Training for the Tamil speaking community in Tamil language will be hosted by the local church. Interpreter is required if conducted in other languages.
Submitted by: Edward Tan, CK Cheong Date: 06-Dec-2017
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