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Rapid Inclusive Relief |
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AIDMI> Activities> Disaster Response> Rapid Inclusive Relief
The floods in South Asia in 2007 were some of the worst in recent history. They affected an estimated 28 million people in Bangladesh, India and Nepal. A team from AIDMI visited flood-affected areas in Bihar in August to assess the situation and find out if any intervention was possible and suitable. Meetings with the State Disaster Management Department were held to get an overview of the situation and identify uncovered flood-affected areas, in addition to the contacts establishment with local NGOs.
The Initiative
The findings of the initial assessment were very useful and revealed many aspects complicating the relief process. The floods devastated enormous areas and millions of people were deprived from their daily lives. Families had to escape their flooded homes and many stayed on any nearby hill or on the top of an embankment without any food or medicines within reach. Before any development project could be introduced, the affected had to be provided with food.
The prime objectives in Bihar were to provide direct, basic and immediate relief including nutritional food, tarpaulin sheets and house repairing, blankets, and livelihood support to the most needy flood-victims through local partner organisations. Furthermore, AIDMI wanted to develop basic conditions for local capacity-based long-term community recovery and risk reduction, such as the organisation of a local network responsible for implementing risk transfer initiatives like microinsurance, microcredit or Child's Right to Safer School: A National Campaign programmes and school insurance. |
Flood-affected families receive food rations at the SSVK Relief Centre, Zanjarpur, Madhubani, Bihar.
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The Outcome
AIDMI commenced a food distribution project in Madubhani and Dharbanga districts in August 2007 in cooperation with Samajik Shaiksanik Vikas Kendra (SSVK) and Gram Vikas Parishad (GVP). The receiving families were selected upon the following criteria; they were already members of our partner organisations in Bihar and flood-affected. The level of migration, poverty is exceptionally high in Bihar and consequently women head many households, these women were prioritised in the relief work, as well as widows and single women. The immediate food support was provided to 2 086 families in 27 villages. Each kit included rice, flat rice, pulses, salt, turmeric powder and biscuits, which served a family of six members for fifteen days. In addition, nutritious powder made of wheat, pulse, monkey nuts and jaggery were distributed to 324 pregnant women and 258 malnourished children through SSVK for thirty days.
In another area of Darbhanga, the embankments were completely destroyed and people were in acute need of food, as they had had to flee everything to escape the rising water. AIDMI provided all resources to establish a community kitchen, serving 147 families counting 880 people for 15 days. Especially children below six years benefited from this as they were seriously undernourished. The local community managed it in cooperation with the local partner Mahila Vikas Ashram (MVA). The fact that the community itself managed it, made it efficient and result oriented.
A second phase of relief work in October and November included distribution of tarpaulin to 1 083 families in 34 villages. As shelter repairing support, AIDMI provided bamboo and other materials as shelter support to 24 families in one village through MVA. 2 017 families were provided with blankets according to the number of family members.
MVA indicated that a need for livelihood support was present and, as goat and cattle husbandry is common in the area, it was decided that ten flood-affected families would be supported with two goats each. Women headed the majority of these households because their husbands and other male family members had migrated to cities like Mumbai in search for work. The goats will provide them with milk that they will sell at the local market and as the goats breed they can earn money by selling them.
A fire ruined Navtolia village in February 2008. AIDMI immediately went to the scene of fire and undertook a rapid damage assessment. 57 families, about 400 people lost everything they had and the following day AIDMI and MVA provided them with a ration of food.
Inclusiveness
The focus has been on women and the significance of the project is likely to leap gender related activities empowering female beneficiaries. Overall, the female participation has seen a substantial growth in identifying underlying risk, planning of programmes, addressing relief needs, management and monitoring of programmes. By supporting women within the most needy communities in a state where poverty is widespread, this project endorses the humanitarian mandate of targeting minorities and the most vulnerable communities who are socially excluded. Moreover, the project blazon hymn of the TEC findings by initiating livelihood relief and recovery into development.
Lessons Learned
The initial assessment proved very constructive. Bihar is one of the most challenging and complex states in India: poverty is widespread, the general level of education is low, male migration is strong and implicates various health issues such as HIV/AIDS and government resources are limited. The density of local NGOs is exceptionally high, but most of them are focused on relief work and not long-term recovery and development. These factors among others make our working conditions in Bihar difficult, but not unfeasible: the cooperation with these well-established local actors has been especially thriving and useful to multiply the stakeholders' capacities during the project implementation.
Because of their socio-economic conditions the communities in which AIDMI has been working are more vulnerable. Efforts were made to promote participation in decision-making and implementation of the activities. Long-term recovery is not on the agenda in Bihar, even though yearly relief is provided.
AIDMI experienced that risk mitigation can be discussed during a relief period and a creation of information and awareness concerning disaster and relief and other procurements are necessary. Finally, it is crucial to establish long-term planning for sustainability, especially in coordination with locally established actors.
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