1st International Course on "Facilitating Community-Managed Disaster Risk Reduction" held in Quito, Ecuador

IIRR held its first international course on Facilitating Community-Managed Disaster Risk Reduction programme in Quito, Ecuador last October 17-28, 2005. The course was organized by the IIRR office, based in Ecuador covering Latin America and Caribbean.

“There is a demand for this kind of course”, according to IIRR regional director, Mr. Rustico Biñas “based on my discussion with grassroot NGOs and donor agencies assisting their partners in the region and in Africa and Asia ”. The objective of the course is to equip participating organizations in facilitating a community-managed disaster risk reduction activities, projects and programmes through field tested methodologies and tools. This is the first course of this kind, in the sense that community-managed is differentiated from community-based, wherein organizations/agencies base their projects on a certain area or community. The approach and content is entirely different.

Recognizing the value of the course and the opportunity to promote cooperation amongst southern countries in the field of capacity building in disaster risk reduction, the UNDP Regional Center in Bangkok supported this initiative by sending its advisor on South-South Cooperation, Ms. Zenaida Delica-Willison, who has a wealth of experience in community-managed disaster risk management. She assisted the IIRR's regional director Mr. Biñas and IIRR's program specialist on community mobilization, Mr. Orlando Buenviaje in this two-week intensive training workshop.

There were 18 participants from eight countries --- Ecuador, Nicaragua, Haiti, Kenya, Ethiopia, Malawi, U.S.A. and Italy. The Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Civil Defense of the Republic of Ecuador actively partnered with IIRR in this endeavor by providing the venue and the logistical support for participants' entry to the country. A local indigenous university, Universidad Intercultural de las Nacionalidades y Pueblos del Ecuador sent a participant to the course to learn disaster risk reduction. International agencies such as Lutheran World Relief, Swiss Aid, Plan International, Heifer Ecuador (International) and World Neighbors, IIRR partners in Latin America also supported the activity. Likewise CordAid, an international disaster and development agency based in The Hague, Netherlands provided concrete support by sponsoring its partners from countries outside of Ecuador.

The participants evaluated the course very positively and everybody endorsed to hold the course on a regular basis to primarily support NGOs and community stakeholders in working for safer and disaster resilient communities. IIRR takes on the challenge and has decided to continue what it has started and pursue the goal of facilitating community empowerment in disaster risk reduction. It intends to hold the course in different site every year to make it more relevant to the needs of the participating and sponsoring agencies.

IIRR is considering to hold the second International Course on Facilitating Community-managed Disaster Risk Reduction on the last two weeks of October, 2006 in Uganda, Africa. IIRR is banking on the support of its international partners and alumni, all very reliable allies of IIRR in its rural reconstruction and development work.