Principal ›

Gerenciamento de Desastres

Building resilience of local communities to respond to disasters

A number of Micah Network members have expressed a need to build local capacity to deal with disasters. In response, Micah Network is committed to building Disaster Management capacity of local actors, including Christian communities as well as to establish mechanisms to coordinate resources and advocacy initiatives.

Micah Network is also committed to working in partnership with other networks to achieve this. Micah Network, Integral Alliance and the World Evangelical Alliance have agreed to work together “to see the global church, at all levels and in all places, engaged in disaster management.”

Global Taskforce prepares 5 year Strategic Plan

Micah Network has established a Global Disaster Management Task Force and its first meeting was held in Limuru, Kenya in July 2009.

The members of the Task Force are:

  • Kurkura Waffo, Kale Heywet Church Ethiopia
  • Willy Nkamuhebwa, Agency for Integrated Development and Training Services (AIDTS)
  • Roshan Mendis, LEADS Sri Lanka
  • Dino Touthang, EFICOR India
  • Hilda Romero de Bojórquez, Associacion A-Brazo, El Salvador
  • Nigel Timmins, Tearfund UK
  • Jaap Boersma, Tear Netherlands
  • Paul Rebman, World Relief US

During the meeting in Kenya, the Task Force developed a 5 year Strategic Plan to help build capacity of local communities, including the Christian community to respond more effectively to disasters. Priority will be given to the most disaster prone countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Micah Network is currently seeking funding for the first year of the five year plan, to better scope the global project and to begin to:

  • build capacity of Micah Network members and church leaders in disaster prone countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, in theology and practice of disasters
  • support Micah Network members and church leaders to advocate for policies to reduce disasters and improve the post disaster response and recovery at international and national levels
  • promote and support effective learning, good practice and quality standards in disaster management.

For further information, contact Nigel.Timmins@tearfund.org

Why focus on local communities?

  • Over the past 10 years there has been an increasing trend of disasters growing in number and intensity. Contributory factors are increasing numbers of people living in vulnerable circumstances, environmental degradation and climate change. In 2008, 354 natural disasters were recorded.  More than 235,000 people were killed, 214 million people affected and economic costs were estimated at over US$190 billion.
  • Disasters disproportionately affect the poor. 
  • The local population is the primary responder to a disaster in the first 48 hours. However international evaluations repeatedly acknowledge how the international humanitarian assistance sector by-passes or even undermines local capacities.
  • Most disasters are predictable, for example cyclones in the Bay of Bengal and Caribbean are not unusual, nor drought in the Sahel.  So it is possible to plan for known hazards and to improve a community’s resilience and preparedness for the most likely disaster risks.

History

In 2006, representatives of Micah Network, World Evangelical Alliance and Integral Alliance met together to discuss a concept paper written by Marcus Oxley of Tearfund UK, proposing a collaborative approaching to disaster management by the 3 networks. In 2007, the executive committees of the boards of the 3 networks all endorsed the concept paper and agreed to work towards achieving it together.

Micah Network convened a South Asia working group in October 2007 to give further consideration to the concept from the perspective of Micah Network implementing agencies. This meeting discussed disaster management in the context of South Asia and identified some key issues / concerns of particularity to the region. Click here to view the papers which were produced by the South Asia working group. Micah Network members around the world were invited to comment on these papers and their application in their own context.

Strategic Conversation

In September 2008, Micah Network convened a Strategic Conversation on Disaster Management and invited Micah Network member agencies as well as representatives from Integral Alliance and World Evangelical Alliance to participate.

35 disaster management specialists and leaders in the area of disaster management from evangelical agencies in 22 countries, recently came together for a week-long “strategic conversation” in Bangkok to discuss improved capacity building, coordination and response in the face of disasters. Click here for more information on the aims and outcomes of the meeting.

Disaster Management Forum

A disaster management forum has recently been established for practitioners to share knowledge, information and resources on disaster management. Please click here for more information.