Red Cross promotes disaster preparedness
After a particularly nasty hurricane season and the tsunami in the Indian Ocean Belizeans do not need any reminders about the importance of preparing for disasters. That’s why a meeting held today by the Red Cross found the participants listening closely. News 5’s Jacqueline Woods has more.
Mary Lee Ellis, Ag Director General, Belize Red Cross
?We do know that natural disasters can?t be prevented. We do know, though, that sometimes what we do, our own actions make us at greater risks.?
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
In 1990, the International Federation of the Red Cross developed a vulnerability and capacity assessment methodology to help reduce the adverse effects natural disasters on a country?s population, economy and the environment. It?s a community based approach to situations such as floods, drought, hurricanes and earthquakes.
Xavier Castellanos, Delegate, IFRC
?So, the main element of the methodology is people participation. Everything that develops out of the work is based on peoples? knowledge and understanding of their local realities. So based on that I would say it is a simple methodology. People get a lot of information, produce a lot of information and at the same level its start to sensitive about understanding what their main vulnerabilities and not understanding what capacities they do have.?
The Belize Red Cross plans to implement the Vulnerability Capacity Assessment Project, V.C.A., in four vulnerable communities in Belize City, Ladyville, Lords Bank and the Corozal District.
Mary Lee Ellis
?I think what the Red Cross now realizes is that risk reduction is at the heart of development. If we don?t reduce our risks to disasters that we are facing every year then we will not be able to develop because as soon as we get so far, we are going to be knocked off our feet again and our level of development will be taken back to ten to twenty or even more years. So its always a catch up process and this is what we are trying to prevent. We are trying to ensure that we will not be so seriously impacted as they were in Asia.?
Today, the organization hosted a one day workshop for key partners who will train trainers to conduct the vulnerability capacity assessment that will be used to develop the project for their communities. Project coordinator Marie Magana gave us one example of how it will work for the community in the Fabers Road Area…starting with the identification of community leaders.
Marie Magana, Project Coordinator, V.C.A.
?We are going to look at the vulnerabilities. We are going to have a hazard mapping. We?ll make a map from Central Boulevard to the Western Highway including the whole Fabers Road Extension. We are going to identify the hazards, the vulnerabilities they have and from there we are going to work and help them to find solutions of their own. We are not going to solve their problems. We want to get them to work. We know that they can work with it by themselves or with the support of others or with the support of the Red Cross and hopefully reach to some solution of the problems.?
The work is schedule to run for fifteen months. At that time each community team will put forward their individual projects that will explain what will be done to mitigate the impact of disaster in their area. Jacqueline Woods for News 5.
