SMS operates in an area that is disaster prone causing mammoth loss to the nature & community. To win over the crisis SMS undertakes both structural and non-structural measures.
Objective:
Reduce vulnerability and risk
Increase capacity to combat any disaster particularly by women.
Reduce loss of life & property during disaster.
Reduce distress during disaster through precautionary measures.
Reduce distress of the flood victims in post disaster situation.
Activities are aimed at:
Institutional build-up strengthening local social structures
Training on Coping Strategies and Reaction Capacity
Cooperation and Co-ordination linking community/organisation/officials/volunteers
Workshops on emergency reporting/emergency kit
Strengthen Child Support system & school safety
Generate awareness
Promote traditional coping mechanism
Since 2000 – Rescue, Relief, Rehabilitation has been replaced by ‘preparedness', especially of women SMS prepares women to protect themselves during disaster and rescue lives of others. This has increased the esteem of women in the society.
Area: Nadia, 24 Parganas, Murshidabad
SMS has taken a bundle of activities to restore the condition after the disaster in vulnerable areas. In North 24 Parganas its work spread across Bagdah & Bongaon blocks over 175 booths of 13GPs with the support of CARITAS INDIA. SMS has also been working in 20 Panchayats in 350 booths of Murshidabad and Nadia district supported by UNICEF covering about 30000 families. Women have shown the mettle and emerged powerful with responsibility and authority.
Activity:
Community is motivated to develop their own self-reliant responsibility to disaster, aftermath effects and rehabilitation thereafter.
At the start through PLA vulnerable areas are identified and information are collected. Linkage with Gram Panchayat Pradhan, SHGs and CBOs under the supervision of SMS & training imparted to SHGs to handle various tools make it effective. SMS followed the following methodology to bring optimum development and utmost result.
Seven Steps of Community Based Disaster Preparedness process and activities
(1) Selection of Community:
According to the vulnerability criteria.
(2) Rapport building and understanding the community:
i. Linkage with PRI, Govt. Departments, key persons, Local Institutions, Members of SHGs, CBOs etc.
ii. Meeting with the community.
(3) Participatory disaster risk assessment:
VCA through PLA
(i) Transect (physical features like high & lowlands identified)
(ii) Social resource mapping,
(iii) Seasonality mapping & Institutional linkage for weather report
(iv) Time line
(v) Problem Identification and Prioritization of problems through FGD.
(4) Participatory disaster risk management planning:
Preparation of Plan of Action (POA)
(5) Building and training community based organisations in CBDP:
(i) Formation of different task forces (TF)
(ii) Training of task forces
(iii) Assigning their roles and responsibilities
(6) Community managed implementation:
(i) Presentation of POA in Gram Samsad.
(ii) Proper canvassing and lobbying for giving due merit and importance of acceptance of CBDP plan in Gram Sabha
(iii) Organizing mock-drill to face real life situation
(iv) Mothers’ meeting
(v) SHG meeting
(7) Participatory monitoring & evaluation:
(i) Meeting with the community and other stakeholders.
(ii) Internal and external monitoring.
PLA graduates into POA under which budgeting and execution of sustenance plan is made and presented before the Gram Sansad for endorsement. The POA bridges between the community and the government to include the Gram Sansad approved plans in the government policy.
It includes in the family level
Family survival kits, that includes
Dry food for 10 days
Valuables in a packet
At the community level
It includes training and delegation for
Security task force
Health
Rescue and relief
First aid
Sanitation
Early warning
Shelter
Dharmagola or community granary is formed in the villages to combat scarcity of food at difficult times. Seed banks are also run to store seeds for cultivation. Mock drills are arranged to alert and prepare the members. The community is trained and materials are given to cope at the time of crisis with activities like tube well lifting, making bamboo platforms, and life jackets.
On many occasions SMS in the non-CBDO area took active initiative in restoring families bringing relief in the form of food, shelter, & clothing out of its own fund.
Effects:
Community level preparedness (In percentage): - 90%
No of family to keep survival Kits (In percentage): - 75%
No of GPs to give financial support to the CBDP plan of action: - 2 GPs
Impact
Villagers have started identifying with their village & problems
Started planning
Awareness about keeping the village clean
Storage of fuel and food
Trainings taken and imparted
Involvement with gram-sansad
Better equipped with precautionary measures (like swimming) & drills
Women participation increased
Increased ownership among villagers
Attitude of the community towards women is changed to a large extent.
Increased level of confidence in women to combat disaster.
Vulnerable sections of the community including differently able people are participating in all the activities regarding CBDP.
The vulnerable people of the community have been benefitted due to the increased capacity of the community for preparedness.
Traditional coping mechanisms have achieved more importance and have been propagated to a large extent in the community.
Facilitators’ teams have been capacitated to organize PLA and helped Task Force Team in disaster mitigation activities.
TFT and Facilitators’ team are taking spontaneous initiatives in the implementation of CBDP.
Disaster risk reduction program has been incorporated in different development activities of villages. (NREGA, Health & Sanitation)
Dependence of the community on relief has been reduced.
Inhabitants are now more capable to assess the risk through the vulnerability and capacity analysis of the locality.
Participation of the voters has been increased in Gram Sansad due to the cooperation of TF and facilitators’ team members.
PRI members are being sensitized to incorporate CBDP in their developmental activities.
Remarkable Outcome
About 3000 children of 2/3 years of age have been taught to pronounce their respective name & address to ensure identity & not be lost during disasters.
Training on preparation of life jackets has culminated as a livelihood for several families who make and sell life jackets to earn daily living today. It can be sited as a fine example of community resilience.
CASE STUDY
29th May 2008 evening Sundarpur village of the Bongaon block in North 24 parganas had witnessed a devastating storm. The Task Force (TF) had performed an incredible rescue operation saving quite a number of lives through first aid, hospitalization and timely saving lives. They had promptly arranged food and other amenities in coordination with the block office, police station, gram panchayet & hospitals. TF had distributed 12 kg of wheat & tripols for each of distressed 35 families. Many youths and teenagers inspired by the instances of the women or otherwise trained during the mock drill course had taken active role and saved lives. The like of 14 years old Suman Biswas who had witnessed TF training had saved a 9-month-old infant (Sabuj Vakta).
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