Considering all the natural risks the communities we work with face (earthquakes – the fault line of the Dharamsala region passing through Naddi and McLeod Ganj, floods, landslides…), it is coherent for an organization likeEduCAREto have a Disaster Management & Emergency Planning Project to reduce the vulnerability of the population to such hazards.
To achieve this goal, my project consists in providing the communities with cognitive and technical tools in order to lower the effects of hazards.
More exactly, I am running workshops to raise awareness about disasters among the youngest through the school and the Girls Club. I am also setting up a training session for the adults in partnership with a Training and Capacity building coordinator from the United Nations Development Programme, also consultant to theDistrict Disaster Management Authority, for them to receive first-hand information about hazards and get advice on mitigation strategies they can easily implement.
The other side of the project is to build a community action plan so people can respond appropriately and efficiently in case of the occurrence of a disaster.
This is probably one of the most challenging aspects of my project since it implies for us to be the link between the authorities in charge of the disaster management and the communities. Indeed, if the programme theoretically exists at the rural level, although the population is not aware of it, it is far from being functional. Furthermore, it has proven difficult to understand how the Indian administration operates and especiallyto identify the people in charge.The ultimate goal would be to have a village level incident response team that would be able to react automatically.
Also the monsoon doesn’t make our lives easier! But at the end of the day, the challenging environment we live in makes the job even more interesting!
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Sam is ready for brave the elements
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Aude Guiraud
Disaster Management & Emergency Planning Project Manager
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