Envisioning our Future - Risk or Resilience?

 

A Perfectly Good Evening..the view from Bali, May 31, 2014

 A gorgeous view: grand expanse of a sunset arching over the infamous surf... rich conversation on how our future child focussed DRR model will be...defining the boundaries of the conversation...day 1 of our national DRR consultation starts very well.

 

This serene scene is punctuated by the news of 'a sustained, rather significant eruption of Sangean Api' in the south, 'sending large volumes of volcanic ash into the air', grounding scores of flights... and looming over tomorrow's field research site -Sumba. So, our tomorrow now looks more like this...quite a different picture than when we started some hours ago. (Image thanks-Dr. Roy Spencer)

Off we go hunting face masks which I hope will be adequate for my friend who has asthma. This is the way of the future! The future is now! In my day, disasters become the norm, not the anomale. And how do we cope? Are we risk and resilience minded? Is this thinking intrinsic in our daily lives, and way of doing business? Or do they take us by surprise, stealing from a perfectly good evening with friends at the beach, darkening a perfect sunset with elegant yet potentially deadly ash plumes?  Or much worse, erasing years of memory, hopes, dreams of a bright future. These are our questions. These are our children's questions.  Over the next week , we will listen closely to voices of ChildFund staff, partners and children and youth of Boyalali, Yog Yakarta, Sumba and Jakarta...and we will share our learning journey with you.

In July my heart was caught by the Gambia. Well not like the abstract concept of the Gambia but what must be the heart and soul that endures past losing hope. By children and people who believe in a better future for themselves and others and do something about it... daily.

For ten days I was privileged to be there conducting a training workshop on DRR. Following are a few of my experiences and impressions. The life of the place, including the culture, people and hospitality; as well as the complex and pervasive layering of vulnerabilities and impacts of climate change are indelibly stamped in my mind...

One of the most moving stories is of a friend of mine who used to be a sponsored child with ChildFund. From a very poor village, he now is married and works as a program manager helping other Gambian youth and their families overcome gut-wrenching poverty... and since our workshop he’s inspired to return to his home village and share what he learned on risk and resilience. He is such a passionate guy about giving back, "Because they believed in me," he says of his sponsors, “I want to give back to my community by building their capacities to reduce risks”... I received the photo above earlier this week, along with a request to review his workshop plan.

So his idea is to train up 50 young people, creating awareness and hazards pertaining to their locality, spreading the culture of disaster preparedness, and imparting skills and knowledge on DRR so that the youths and their families and communities can be more resilient to disasters, and better able to manage them when they do occur. Incidentally, he’s raising funds locally to pay for the training – most of it coming from his own pocket. Amazing? Look at the picture and see future leaders!

It inspires me to think of the cascading impact and influence of these 50 young people in their various walks of life, as well as the impact that the workshop will likely have on their own individual lives and futures. It is exciting to see when the powerful idea of resilience takes off and forms a life of its own. I believe that the seeds that we planted together in the Gambia at the DRR workshop that are now germinating will grow towards the betterment of life in West Africa.

My co-trainer in the pink shirt on the right is from Liberia. During the war he hid for three months inside of a burnt structure of a house with no roof - nothing but a shell. He crawled around at night hoping and praying not to be discovered. The colleague to my left is from Sierra Leone. When the rebels descended on her village to take retribution for a crime that a neighbor had committed, they chose her house. Able to convince them that the man they sought was from a neighboring village and not hers, she and her family escaped harm. The lovely young lady kneeling in front started by helping us in administration and logistics, but was so gifted, and similarly captivated by the topic that she ended up participating, making a presentation on vulnerabilities in the community on behalf of the Gambia country office.

More to follow soon...

 

 

 

Global Platform for DRR 2013 - Day 2

You are in for a treat! Today was an action-packed, edge of your seat kind of day at the #GPDRR13. Report on the launch of the Global Assessment Report, a room small enough to feel like an intimate discussion with the President of the Global Risk Forum, the Chair of the Drafting Committee of the original 2005 Hyogo Framework for Action...

DRR Progress - Where are We and what about DRR Governance?
Here is Dr. Marco Ferrari, discussing DRR Governance and Government. You are very fortunate to get to hear him, in the video I will post tomorrow as well - the latest on progress in the DRR global movement and priorities, from one of the authors.

 

Read more about Dr. Ferrari at http://www.idrc.info/pages_new.php/Marco-Ferrari/1067/1/831/927/

DRM versus DRR - Yes We still need to Distinguish Them, and Clearly
Dr. Walter Amman, President and CEO of the Global Risk Forum, also spoke on DRR: Government to Governance - From Disaster Risk Management to Integrative Risk Management-the Paradigm Shift in DRR, bringing greater clarity and distinction in DRM and DRR, calling for exactly that - a paradigm shift. It seems we are not as far along as we should be, and policy makers and practitioners alike can do well to heed the wise counsel of these two leading thinkers and global leaders, Dr. Ammann and Dr. Ferrari.

 

 

 

New Knowledge & New Conceptual Models
Professor Peijun Shi gave an absolutely brilliant presentation on "Professional Management and Integrated Governance" presenting his latest thinking around DRR and governance, along with some refined conceptual models which I will share more about tomorrow. As usual, Dr. Shi from Beijing Normal University, knocked our socks off. In addition, he showed his kindness by gifting me a complete publication of the Atlas of Natural Disaster Risk of China, an amazing book. Thank you, Dr. Shi!

 

 

Priority 5 of the Children's Charter for Disaster Risk Reduction -

Prioritization of the Most Vulnerable as Expressed by a very Powerful  Advocate

 

Finally, in one of the most moving speeches I've ever heard, a Vietnamese boy and budding DRR activist with cerebral palsy shared his experience of being trapped in his parents' home in a flood, and them helping him escape... he spoke on behalf of children with disabilities and challenged the international community to urgently prioritize people with disabilities preparedness and response planning, helping them evacuate first in times of disaster. To me, listening to him was really what DRR is all about. When we launched the Charter, it was really a way to express voices and experiences like his, and it was such a privilege to hear him speak out at the GPDRR. I was told by one of the facilitators that two months ago, he had never been to school, as his parents are very poor. One day, he attended a DRR training with his father, and after the flood he wanted to help people in his village so he continued to learn about DRR, and was invited to attend the GPDRR in Geneva. If the future of DRR is informed and guided by the likes of him, it will indeed be very bright. May it be so!

For more information on the Children's Charter, see  http://www.preventionweb.net/english/professional/publications/v.php?id=19894