The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Spend judiciously, HelpAge asks NGOs

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 11, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Spend judiciously, HelpAge asks NGOs

By N. Ravi Kumar

CHENNAI, FEB. 10. The donors' expectations to see their contributions used as early as possible puts tremendous pressure on non-government organisations leading to hasty and sometimes unwise spending, according to Todd Peterson, chief executive of HelpAge International.

The NGOs must overcome the pressure and focus on utilising the donations judiciously. "You need to spend slowly, but spend it well. It is an opportunity and a risk," said the head of the global NGO, which plans to spend £ 2 million in three years in areas affected by the December 26 tsunami in India. HelpAge International works to improve the life of elders.

"It is not an easy situation. The expectation of the world [donors] is to see that the situation gets resolved very quickly. Some of the donors will visit the areas and ask why hasn't more been done?" Therefore, the focus should be on taking "pragmatic and quick decisions" to put life back on the rails, Mr. Peterson told The Hindu on Wednesday.

In Chennai, after a tour of the tsunami-hit areas in Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, he said: "I am here to see how our partners are getting on with the emergency response programme. I also wanted to get an understanding of the scale of the problem, the intervention mechanisms and inaugurate a project office of HelpAge India in Cuddalore."

Difficult situation

Hailing the work of HelpAge India, Mr. Peterson said long-term rehabilitation was yet to begin in several of the affected areas. One could see a lot of temporary shelters, many unoccupied as many of those affected were not interested in moving away from the shore, while the Government wants them to go inland. HelpAge's focus was on helping the affected "secure their livelihood again". For this, it extended assistance in many ways, including items of daily use, foodgrains, boats and nets. It would help farmers in the coastal areas overcome the problem resulting from seawater intrusion.

The NGO till now received £ 500,000 in donation. It would use two-thirds of the money in India and one-third in Sri Lanka. Underscoring the significance of extending a little financial assistance to those affected in the initial phase, he said HelpAge deployed mobile medical units in the areas for the aged.

Indrani Rajadurai, director (southern region), HelpAge India, said the Tsunami Project Management Office opened by Mr. Peterson would be well staffed and would function for three years. One of the aims was to train community helpers to provide emotional strength to the affected. The NGO was planning to assist 12,600 families in Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and Kerala.

The focus was on making the elders feel that they were important. According to estimates, up to six lakh people over 60 years have been affected in the tsunami. Around 30 per cent of the dead were elders.

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