Women 'major' in disaster management
|
COMMENTS 
The terrible aftermath of the Orissa supercyclone in 1999 prompted UNDP to launch the Community-Based Disaster Programme (CBDP) which trains small armies of volunteers to handle evacuation, first aid, reconstruction, carcass disposal and counselling in disaster situations
 |
| Girls at HAM Radio Training Classes. Reliable Means of Communication During Disaster Situations |
Priyanka Priyadarshini Swain lives in Khandawara village in the coastal district of Kendrapara. Having spent her early childhood in a more urban setting where her father was earlier employed, Priyanka wanted to become a successful professional and make a difference to the world around her. She was grateful that her father was not conservative, and that he encouraged her to achieve what she wanted.
But destiny willed otherwise. Adverse circumstances forced Priyanka's family to migrate to Khandwara, and worse, she had to discontinue her education. Hopes and ambitions were clouded by despair.
But that was the past. Today, Priyanka has regained her confidence and determination. All of 17, she is a trained member of the village disaster mitigation community. She specialises in first aid for children and has a reasonably useful knowledge of several diseases and their basic treatment. She knows this knowledge will come in handy during emergencies which can strike anytime in this cyclone-prone region.
Earlier, her relatives and neighbours used to scoff at her for "wasting her time". But gradually, she has helped them understand the importance of being prepared for natural disasters, and is now motivating other girls to join in. "I want all the girls of this village to rise above the domestic grind. That is the only way my village will become progressive."
Priyanka is one of the most encouraging examples of how community-level interventions by organisations like the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have linked disaster-related work with development. The terrible aftermath of the Orissa supercyclone in 1999 prompted UNDP to launch the Community-Based Disaster Program (CBDP) in the state.
With a focus on disaster preparedness and mitigation, CBDP aims to empower people to face adversity on their own. The programme operates through a small army of National United Nations Volunteers (NUNVs) -- trained professionals in fields as diverse as medicine, agriculture, information technology and construction.
The UNVs facilitate the setting up of empowered groups in each village. The communities prepare their own contingency plans that list information like village population, number of houses, people in vulnerable groups like physically handicapped and pregnant women, houses lying closer to the water bodies, and other details that would prioritise their action in disaster time.
Community members are organised into sub-committees like evacuation, sanitation, first aid, carcass disposal, counselling and construction, and appropriate training is imparted to each group. Regular mock drills are conducted to ensure that villagers are prepared for the worst at all times and that any warning of danger will prompt them into organised action.
The skills, confidence and the exposure that the villagers gain through regular interaction with the volunteers is an added bonus - especially for the women, for whom this is an opportunity to step outside the confines of their homes and take their destiny into their own hands.
"Women are a highly vulnerable group in any disaster-prone region", says Pooja, a young UNV working in the Kantapada block of Cuttack district. "They have to look after their families when disaster strikes and also grapple with their own problems. Imagine the plight of menstruating women, or pregnant women who have to deliver in a situation where all construction has collapsed and everyone is out in the open." Such experiences during the supercyclone have driven the women to become active members of contingency groups.
Every week, the women of Barahipur village in Kantapada get together to discuss contingency plans with the local and UN volunteers. One of these is 37-year-old Khullana Pradhan, who had to suffer a great deal during the supercyclone. She has already been trained to tie up her house papers, some dry food and other essential items, and rush with her family to the nearest cyclone shelter. After that, her husband stopped berating her for attending the meetings.
Tulsi, a frail octogenarian, is also an active participant at the weekly discussions. "These meetings have made me brave. If the women of the house are brave, they can support the entire family and keep up their morale in emergencies," she says. Recently, the women have also started discussing livelihood options for themselves during the meetings. Some are already thinking of creating groups and selling cowdung uplas in nearby areas.
"We have to look at the problems of vulnerability to disasters and lack of development in an integrated fashion," says Saroj Jha, Assistant Resident Representative (Vulnerability Reduction and Sustainable Recovery), UNDP. "There is no point in setting up schools and other infrastructure without first ensuring that these structures and the people are safe from disaster. On the other hand, disaster preparedness has to be supplemented by development, especially as most of the disaster-prone areas in the country are also in the poorer states."
More direct development interventions of the CBDP include the setting up of information centres in the state. The centres are equipped with Iinternet-ready computers to access aamagaon.com, the local e-governance portal developed by UNDP. The portal makes available application forms for pensions, loans and kisan (farmer) cards. Villagers' grievances are emailed to local authorities. The centre facilitators also help the villagers surf the Net for agricultural information, and offer computer training to local boys and girls.
Here again, the girls have wasted no time in seizing the opportunity of computer literacy. Mamat's father doesn't mind spending 100 rupees a month to send her to the village information centre, where he himself comes to discuss farming practices with other farmers. Ordinarily, Mamat would not have been allowed to join computer classes in the city, which is far away and the classes would cost a packet.
Another important communication practice being encouraged is the use of amateur (HAM) radios in the villages. Simple to operate and not very expensive to install, HAM radios are reliable means of communication during floods and other disaster situations. UNDP has brought in instructors from the National Institute of Amateur Radio (NIAR), Hyderabad, to offer free training programmes to villagers.
While young boys are among the most enthusiastic students of the training sessions, girls are training to become HAM operators too, as also to create awareness about the concept in their families and neighbourhood.
Encouraged by the positive response in Orissa and Gujarat -- the second state of CBDP implementation -- UNDP is now looking to launch the programme in a total of 12 states in the country, covering other natural disasters like drought and earthquake as well. The Government of India, UNDP's partner in the initiative, will replicate the programme in the other states.
Women's Feature Service, December 2002