Oxfam in Viet Nam - defence from the sea
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The
Ky Anh sea dyke under construction
Photo: Keith Bernstein/Oxfam |
Viet Nam’s coastal waters provide a good income for people
who fish for a living. But the waters around Viet Nam’s coast
are also unpredictable. During the typhoon season (from July to
December), strong winds whip up huge tidal waves which can cause
massive damage to crops and homes.
Oxfam has worked with the people of Ky Anh, in central Viet Nam,
since 1989, helping them to build a series of dykes to protect their
homes and land from high seas. Oxfam paid for cement and steel to
build and strengthen the dykes, and bought large quantities of rice
as payment for people working on the project. Over the years, the
dykes have been damaged by storms, and during this time Oxfam has
worked with district officials and engineers from Hanoi to repair,
monitor, and improve their ability to withstand the onslaught of
the sea.
The success of the programme has also had benefits for other people
in Viet Nam. For example, Oxfam paid for district officials from
Tra Vinh province, in Viet Nam’s Mekong Delta, to visit and
learn from the experience of the dyke-builders in Ky Anh. This resulted
in a smaller version being built to shield farmers from high seas
in Tra Vinh.
The people of Ky Anh have built a network of earth dykes which
stretch 17 km along the Pacific coast. These dykes have successfully
shielded more than four thousand families from the worst of the
storms.
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