Visit Banda Aceh to find Nissan's best contribution

Two years have passed since the occurrence of the tsunami that caused tremendous damage to countries surrounding the Indian Ocean. Recently the event is rarely covered in the media, but currently at the affected locations, activities aimed at reconstruction are continuing. Nissan in this past year has been making efforts to crystallize assistance for the affected areas as a company.

Nissan (NML), immediately after the occurrence of the Indian Ocean Tsunami, as assistance for the affected areas, decided to carry out corporate assistance equivalent to a total of 100 million yen and collection and company matching of employee contributions. A portion of this was used for emergency assistance immediately following the disaster. As for the use of the majority of the funds, however, there is a need to carry out not only a simple cash contribution, but "assistance that meets the needs of the affected areas," "assistance with clear results," and "assistance that helps with mid- and long-term reconstruction," and there has been lively debate with regard to the crystallization of projects in which Nissan can cooperate with the UN institutions and NGOs that carry out reconstruction activities. As a result, assistance projects in four countries surrounding the Indian Ocean have been decided upon and are underway.

Hand shaking with Mohamed Saleheen (left) and Mr. Ota (right)

On December 5 2005, at Nissan Indonesia in Jakarta, a ceremony for the presentation of 12 Nissan vehicles to the World Food Programme (WFP) was held. Nissan, in order to carry out assistance in the hard-hit country of Indonesia, looked into the possibility of cooperating with WFP, which has developed on-site activities following the occurrences of disasters. Nissan, an automobile company, cooperated with the activities of WFP, for which means of transport hold the key. At the presentation ceremony, which was attended by approximately 40 Indonesian journalists, Mr. Ota, the president of Nissan Indonesia, presented the keys of the vehicles to Mohamed Saleheen, WFP Country Director for Indonesia. The Nissan vehicles, including the Terrano and Serena, will contribute to reconstruction activities in Indonesia through WFP activities, starting with assistance for affected areas in Sumatra.

The vehicle donation started with a visit to Sumatra in the end of May of 2005. The purpose of the visit was to access the conditions in affected areas of Indonesia as well as WFP activities, so that Nissan can find the best way to support relief operations. Banda Aceh and Meulaboh, which were visited, were the worst hit villages in Indonesia. Five months had already passed since the occurrence of the disaster, and operations such as removing the remains of buildings and recovering bodies had finished, but activities such as the reconstruction of damaged buildings had not begun at all. In affected areas in which all of the buildings had been damaged, the rusted remains of severely deformed vehicles and boats, which had washed ashore, had been left as they were.

Even those circumstances, lives are beginning to be rebuilt little by little. WFP has carried out assistance for the affected areas by supplying food. The objective of WFP is not only food distribution as emergency assistance, but also helping school education to function over the mid- and long-term by bringing children back to schools through the distribution of food, and raising the learning abilities of children by improving their nutrition. This is where cooperation with Nissan came into play. Following this, the details were worked out, and Nissan was able to hold a presentation ceremony on December 5 2005.