ReliefWeb

By Susan Kim*

June 30, 2015—Women of Sana-anlo in Odisha, India, joined with the youths of their village in an unprecedented effort to make their entire community less vulnerable to the hazards, including cyclones and floods, that regularly impact this region.

The effort came on the heels of a training in disaster risk reduction that two youths of Sana-anlo, along with youths from other villages, were selected to attend. Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA) in partnership with the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) conducted the training.

Afterward, the youths shared with their neighbors the knowledge they’d gained and inspired their neighbors to take action and clean up a previously unusable pond. Among the participants in the cleanup were more than 100 women from the community.

This was remarkable because in villages such as Sana-anlo, women typically do not participate in community-based activities. The young organizers were able to help the women see they had a role to play in the community effort.

Now all of the villagers can use water from the pond for bathing and washing clothes. And that’s not all. This summer they plan to install a fishery in the pond to provide a source of income to establish an emergency fund in case of disaster.

“In this way, we not only help people prepare for disasters but also help them learn more about how they can treat their environment in a positive way,” said Yovanna Troansky, UMCOR’s program manager for Disaster Risk Reduction. “We are not powerless when we see problems in our communities.”

Communities, Not Just Individuals

Because the women in the village were inspired to emerge from their homes, this will forever change the level of disaster preparedness in this village, she added.

Once we understand how important it is to participate in the community, we can understand how our actions help us better prepare for a disaster.

The training in India also included a strong component of general preparedness. Villagers learned, for example, how to manage storm shelters, help people reach shelters safely, conduct search-and-rescue, care for livestock, and set up early warning systems.

Whether it’s cleaning a pond or setting up a shelter, disaster risk reduction is rooted in the community, not just in the individual, pointed out Troansky. “One of the most significant successes we have found in India is that people have developed a willingness to work together. If you are able to work together as a community, it is easier to recover. You are less vulnerable.”