The wall fell on us and I threw myself on my mother to save her, but I lost my mother

The densely populated ancient city of Bam in southeast Iran was turned to dust and rubble when an earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale hit in December 2003- just over one year ago.

Trapped in buildings and suffocated by the debris, more than 30,000 people lost their lives. Around 80% of the town's infrastructure was destroyed.

It only took 12 seconds to wreak unimaginable devastation, yet it will take years to rebuild Bam and restore livelihoods lost.

Everyone lost one or more relatives in the quake. Twelve-year-old Masoumeh Shojee tried to save her mother as tremors tore apart her home: "The wall fell on us and I threw myself on my mother to save her, but I lost my mother. Afterwards, we saw there wasn't a mark on her body. We think she may have died of fright."

Bright and mature beyond her years, Masoumeh found the will to survive, "Even if I killed myself my mother would not return. So, I have to be brave. We as a family have to be strong and rebuild our house."

Like Masoumeh, Bam's citizens are resilient battlers, slowly rebuilding what was destroyed.

One tangible example is the shiny skeleton of the Shahid Biglari sports stadium that is transforming what was a heap of rubble.

"People want to rebuild the sports stadium," said World Vision's Andrea Swinburne-Jones.

"It's a focus for the community - people here absolutely love football, especially the children and it's always being played here."

Tangible projects like this are helping to rebuild the intangible-morale, a sense of direction, community and hope.

Population:		28 million children 40 million adults
GNI per capita:		$1750
Under five mortality rate:		42
Under five mortality rate ranking:		81 (Albania, Lebanon & Peru have lower under-five mortality rates than Iran)
Maternal mortality rate:		130 deaths for every 100,000 births
Child malnutrition:		One in ten Iranian children under-five is moderately to severely underweight. One in four Iranian children suffer from acute respiratory infection. One in five families in Iran do not have access to clean water or adequate sanitation.
Reproductive health:		Women aged 15-19 give birth to an average of 4.5 infants Twice the funds allocated to health are spent on Iran's defence sector
Not attending secondary school:		Girls 15% Boys 19%
Life expectancy at birth (years):		69
Total adult literacy rate:		77

More than 60,000 people have been directly assisted by World Vision's earthquake response in Iran during the past year, half of them children. Another 33,000 people will indirectly benefit from various projects.

"During the last 12 months our programme has made a positive contribution to the people of Bam and their city. The people we have worked with have been extremely appreciative of international groups coming to their country and helping them rebuild their lives," said Acting Programme Manager, Mr Hendrik Harbers.

Effective coordination with local and international non-government organisations and Iranian government authorities was key to World Vision's successful relief response and development activities in Bam.

"World Vision has done so many small things in Bam that have added up to a lot. We thank World Vision for its work," said Head of the Bam Ministry of Education, Mr Arman.

From relief to rehabilitation - handing over the reins

When I am involved with distributions for humanitarian work I am at peace. When I have nothing to do, I feel sad

One year after the quake, World Vision is completing its relief response and is handing the reins over to local authorities to continue development in the areas of child protection, education, health, agriculture and housing.

Local people like Shahin Rajabi, a 45-year-old widow and mother of four are helping others rebuild their lives, while dealing with their own grief.

"When I am involved with distributions for humanitarian work I am at peace. When I have nothing to do, I feel sad", said Shahin.

Shahin started work with World Vision one week after the earthquake. Even though her immediate family survived the earthquake, she lost extended family members. Her son desperately needs a kidney transplant - all the family can do is wait patiently for a match.

Another Iranian woman told a World Vision staffer that, in a similar spirit to post-war Britain, neighbours have learned to work together to survive: "The woman told me that before the earthquake, people were indifferent to their neighbours. The lesson learned from this is that people have to work together, to co-operate with each other."

People like Shahin, referred to World Vision staff, as the 'Angel of Bam' and others like her are determined to get back on their feet and give others a hand up at the same time.

Distribution of non-food items

Cumulatively, almost 115,000 relief items were distributed with local partners including the Iranian Red Crescent Society since January 2004. Approximately 13,000 families (average 5 members) benefited from distributions including:

• Water containers, water purification tablets, jerry cans
• Family clothing kits, underwear, winter jackets, shoes
• Kitchen sets, cooking sets, blankets, mattresses
• Hygiene kits, soap, first aid kits
• Tents, plastic tarpaulins/sheeting
• Emergency tool kits
• Agricultural tool kits
• School supplies

Emergency Sanitation Project

Without access to potable water and adequate sanitation facilities, the people of Bam were vulnerable to water-borne diseases, including diarrhoea, a major cause of child deaths.

The toilets are much nicer and cleaner now and it's really good we have somewhere to wash our hands too

In response World Vision has provided some 8,000 people with combined shower & toilet units installed in temporary housing areas.

Almost 900 children are benefiting from portable toilet units installed in primary and secondary schools.

Girls in grades four through six standing on the steps of their new toilet block told Carol Toms, World Vision Child Specialist: "The toilets are much nicer and cleaner now and it's really good we have somewhere to wash our hands too".

An additional 14,250 people are benefiting from separate shower and toilet units installed in temporary housing areas.

Some 6,000 individuals are benefiting from installed water tanks that mean constant access to safe drinking water.

Child protection & creative activities

"Working with the children we saw the physical pain such as broken bones. We also saw the emotional pain. Children were withdrawn, displayed aggressive behaviour and other anti-social behaviour. Now after one year, everything has become a little better," said Jahad Primary School teacher, Mr Adib.

World Vision's focus is always on the well being of children. Shortly after the quake, World Vision's child protection team established 14 'Child Friendly Spaces' to give children a safe environment to learn and play, return to a sense of normality and improve their coping mechanisms.

Working with the children we saw the physical pain such as broken bones. We also saw the emotional pain

Almost 1,500 children utilised the 'child friendly spaces', set up in ten kindergartens and primary schools.

World Vision has trained Bam's teachers to implement techniques in their classrooms that will benefit children by stimulating greater concentration and increasing relaxation.

Creative workshops involving an average of 250 children per week have also been conducted in primary schools and camps over the past seven months. Workshops provide fun activities and an outlet for excess energy. They also encourage children to develop important skills needed in school such as concentration, listening, imagination and participation in group learning. As of November, seven primary schools were conducting 15 workshops per week.

"My concentration improved after doing the workshops... Now I feel better that some people have come to help us", said Mohammed, ten-year-old Jahad Primary School student.

Health care restored

More than 3,000 people are expected to benefit from the construction of two health facilities in the villages of Kork and Chehel Tokhm. Health houses have been equipped with air-conditioners, household fridges and basic office furniture such as desks, chairs, waiting room chairs and filing cabinets.

Three health centres are being constructed in urban Bam. World Vision has handed over the project to New Zealand humanitarian organisation 'Operation Build' for completion. Approximately 30,000 people in the areas of Baravat and Ghasemzadeh will benefit from the centres.

House reconstruction

More than 1,000 people have access to safer shelter following World Vision's construction projects in the villages of Amir Abad and Kork, outside of Bam. World Vision supervised the activities of subcontractors laying foundations, erecting steel frames and roofing based on a standard design provided by the Ministry of Housing. Under this design, homeowners are responsible for finishing the remainder of the construction.

School building project

Helping children to return to informal and formal learning has been key, not only for children's continued education, but to restore a sense of normalcy and security into their lives.

World Vision constructed 60 temporary classrooms in 17 schools and equipped them with air-conditioners and furniture from May until August, benefiting 1,500 children.

School supplies including new school bags and stationery gave children a greater incentive to return to class and replaced personal belongings destroyed in the quake.

Agriculture-getting water back to Bam

Thanks to you, we can see water flowing again to our crops, and we don't need to worry about surviving anymore

"We thought we were going to have to look for something else to live on until next year's harvest, and just watch helplessly as our plantations died due to lack of water. Now, thanks to you, we can see water flowing again to our crops, and we don't need to worry about surviving anymore", said Ramezan Ranjbar (66).

Thousands of Bam's citizens rely on its date palm plantations for their livelihoods. A key aspect of agricultural recovery in Bam has been the cleaning, repair and rebuilding of Bam's water ghanats (water canals) that bring life to the desert around Bam and help produce its succulent, deep purple dates.

So far World Vision has restored one 13km ghanat, enabling water to flow back into the city. Three more ghanats will be restored and will benefit more than 10,000 people.

Resilient and hard working, yet at the same time fragile and still grieving, the people of Bam now chart a new path of healing and rebuilding.

The path is sure, but slow going.

Many of the 75,000 people left homeless in the formerly affluent city are living in prefabricated houses and some still remain in tented camps. 'Bread winners' and female-headed households eke out a living with the little they have. Feelings of displacement and frustration with the lack of facilities and services take their toll.

World Vision and partner agencies have fostered relationships with local organisations and authorities, building capacity, resources and know-how to continue development activities in Bam.

With the support of the international community, the Iranian government and provincial authorities are now better equipped to help the people of Bam get back on their feet and more specifically to implement systems and services that afford even better protection, care and opportunities for children and future generations.