The Initiative
One of AIDMI's principles for action is that disasters can be reduced substantially if the community is well informed about measures they can take to reduce vulnerability and if they are motivated to act. It is this belief of creating a culture of safety by learning and spreading knowledge that was the basis for formation of the CRCs.
Created as a response to the ongoing urban risks and urban floods, CRCs aim to merge urban governance and urban risk reduction activities. For the effect, these centres work as platforms between communities and authorities by supplying information regarding area development and urban government issues, along with relief support. Because improving infrastructure is a necessity for development, CRCs have been representing a good example of information management—solving urban governance issues and spreading knowledge among community-members.
Outcomes and Activities
Community Resource Centres are run voluntarily within the community in one of the community member's homes and provide information on local to central governmental schemes in a well-explained and easily comprehensible manner. In the slums where CRCs are implemented, several community members have already benefited from various schemes related to women, girl-child, employment, education, ration card or family welfare, among others.
By learning how to fill in official documents, apart from other activities such as tax collection or voting activity, the community members are provided with active citizenship tools. In addition, CRCs are responsible for conducting Report Card surveys and solving lodging facility related complaints with urban local bodies.
Dialogue and cooperation between disaster experts and non-experts are among several activities on disaster preparedness, along with providing education and awareness on urban planning to the children.
The flow of information proved to be so positive that from the initial six CRCs; Ahmedabad currently has 40. Furthermore, these activities have been carried out in Bhuj, Kheda, Nadiad, Vadodara and Surat.
Inclusiveness
Community Resource Centres are mainly set up in urban risk reduction programmes in city slums, where the most vulnerable tend to be. Within these, there is no specific focus: CRC activities are available for all those who are motivated and want to reach information.
This project's added value relies on the fact that due to its activities, community members are provided with adequate citizenship tools that allow them to be included in their society everyday. The Report Card clearly illustrates this increased participation, not only because people are given a voice to express themselves about their life conditions but also because this voice is taken to the authorities. It is through the acknowledgement of their rights that community-members are invited to participate.
Besides, all groups have been included, with a special focus on children: these are responsible for running the community library and have been receiving several trainings. All children activities aim to encourage motivation among the community youth, so that later on they will always know how to be included.
Lessons Learned
The major constraints of the project are related to the interaction with the authorities. Community-members are now more aware of their rights and of how they can actively participate in their own vulnerability reduction, but some of them are so poor that they cannot even afford to transportation costs to visit official departments.
Moreover, even though governmental schemes are not binding, not everybody is motivated to take advantage of them. This is a clear sign that children should be included on CRCs activities as soon as possible so that they can be motivated.
Coordination between the community and authorities has increased. Transparency and accountability have also increased, as CRCs are community-driven. Community voices are taken into consideration during city-budget planning and other programme designing such as a door-to-door garbage collection scheme.
