This document provides an overview of disaster preparedness efforts in Nepal led by ActionAid Nepal and funded by the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO). It discusses Nepal's high risk for various natural disasters and the devastating impacts they have had. The key goals of the Building Community Resilience to Disaster project were to raise awareness, build capacity, and implement small-scale mitigation programs to help vulnerable communities better prepare for and respond to disasters. The project was implemented in three districts over 15 months and aimed to help marginalized groups through training, advocacy, and community mobilization activities.

1. Building Community Resilience to Disaster (BCRD)
Sarlahi, Makwanpur and Rupandehi (SAMARUP)
A joint project of DIPECHO and ActionAid Nepal
2006-2007

2. Table of contents Page
Abbreviations and Accronyms
Foreword
1. Disaster Scenario in Nepal
2. Disaster Preparedness 3. ActionAid Nepal 3.1 AAN's EDM Response
3.2 Key Strategies of AAN on Disaster Preparedness
4. AAN and DIPECHO III Project
4.1 Building Community Resilience to Disaster - SAMARUP
5. Key programs and activities conducted by BCRD
5.1 Awareness generation and advocacy
5.2 Capacity Building
5.3 Reducing river cutting and protection of livelihood
6. Policy Advocacy for Change
7. PVA process in BCRD
8. Search and Rescue Training
9. Lessons Learnt from BCRD
10. Key achievements of BCRD project
11. Testimonies
12. Annexes
13. References

3. Abbreviations
AAN ActionAid Nepal
BCRD Building Community Resilience to Disaster
CARE Cooperation for American Relief Everywhere
CBO Community Based Organization
CDO Chief District Officer
DDC District Development Committee
DDRC District Disaster Relief Committee
DMC Disaster Management Committee
DP-Net Disaster Preparedness Network
DWIDP Department of Water Induced Disaster Prevention
DRR Disaster Risk Reduction
ECHO European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO)
EDM Emergency and Disaster Management
FSCN Friend Service Council Nepal
GLOFs Glacial Lake Outburst Floods
HFA Hyogo Frame Work of Action
ICIMOD International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development
MDGs Millennium Development Goals
NRS Nepali Rupees
NRCS Nepal Red Cross Society
PVA Participatory Vulnerability Analysis
SAR Search and Rescue
UNDP United Nations Development Program
VDC Village Development Committee
WCDF Women and Children Development Forum
YMC Youth Mobilisation Commitee

4. Foreword rewrite by Shashanka
Nepal is highly prone to various types of natural disaster. A decade long conflict has
further created vulnerabilities in the lives of people. Widespread illiteracy, lack of
education, limited assets ownership, lack of access to food, limited income opportunities
and exclusion have further marginalized people and their daily lives are worst affected.
Within these complicated socio-political contexts, the situation of poor, women, children
and Dalits is under the hardest hit.
Within this looming scenario of disaster in Nepal DIPECHO/AAN jointly initiated a
project "Building Community Resilience to Disaster" from March 2006 up to 15 months.
Raising awareness and advocacy, capacity building and the small scale mitigation
programs were three major components of this project. Project has been able to addresses
to different aspects of Disaster Risk Reduction in the community primarily focussing the
poor and marginalized groups. The project was implemented in three districts of Nepal
namely Sarlahi, Makwanpur and Rupandehi. A rights based framework was adopted to
implement the program.
DIPECHO/AAN envisaged the comprehensive awareness in community, sensitization
and education, capacity and skill building training and workshops, media advocacy, small
scale mitigation program. One of the achievements of this project is that it has been able
to change the perspectives of the people regarding disasters which were largely
influenced by the notion of acknowledging disaster as the divine creation. Similarly, it
revealed the hidden strengths of community on disaster preparedness and created a
potential environment for community mobilization. This project has been successful in
creating the space for communities to explore their community based knowledge and in
the mean time project has also gained series of learning processes from the community as
well.
With an aim to bring the learning, reflections and best practices this report has been
prepared. In the mean time, the community based learning will definitely enrich the
policy priorities from the community perspectives.

5. 1. Disaster Scenario in Nepal
Nepal is a high-risk disaster prone country. Every year people here are subject to floods,
land slides, cold waves, hail storms, fire, snow avalanches, Glacial lake Outburst Floods
(GLOFs), etc. A study (UNDP/BCPR, 2004) ranked Nepal as the 11th most high risk
country to earthquakes and the 30th for floods. Another study (World Bank 2005)
classifies Nepal as a "hot-spot" for geophysical and climatic hazards.
Earthquake has proved to be another violent disaster putting the population of this
country at a greater threat. The earthquakes of 1934, 1980, 1988, the flood of 1993 and
the landslides of 2002 are some examples of the disasters that we have experienced in
recent history. In 1993 alone floods and land slides caused huge disasters where in 1336
people lost their lives, nearly 17,000 households were destroyed and 5600 hectors of
fertile land were washed away. Similarly in 2002 nearly 450 people died due to floods.
Recent studies have shown that Nepal is under great threat of an impending earthquake
which may occur any time in future and as predicted with a magnitude of over 8.0 on the
Richter scale. Various studies and reports have shown that if another earthquake similar
to that of 1990 occurs in Nepal, Kathmandu Valley will alone witness the death of 40
thousand people, 95 thousand others will be seriously injured and 60% of the houses
valley will be collapse.
People’s vulnerability to disasters in Nepal is compounded by severe poverty,
displacement due to hazards and unplanned settlements. There are human settlements on
most vulnerable sites both in rural and urban areas such as near river banks, dense forest
areas and mountainous regions. These settlements are highly vulnerable to hazards such
as earthquakes, landslides and floods. Informal settlements are increasingly growing on
the river beds and flood plains.
Considering these disasters, Nepal made legislation in the beginning of 1980s for crisis
management. While Nepal was one of the first countries in South Asia to have created a
policy and legal environment for disaster risk management, there has been a growing
realization on the need to redefine the existing policies in order to accommodate the
considerable advances in the field of disaster risk management. This act has still not
included Cold Wave as a natural hazard where millions of people living in the Terai
region are mutely affected each year.
The Government of Nepal is now in the process of formulating the National Strategy for
Disaster Risk Management which is expected to be a gap analysis of all the phases of the
Disaster Management cycle for Nepal and to be a road map of where Nepal intends to be
by 2015 (the deadline for the Hyogo Framework of Action and Millennium Development
Goals).
The devastation caused by disaster looms larger than ever. Analyzing all these facts and
scenario we can conclude that Nepal is at high risk of natural disasters. All forms of
disasters have caused heavy losses of human lives and physical assets and adversely

6. affected the development process of the country. However, we are least prepared for
mitigation of the impact of possible danger. Disaster vulnerability has been proved to be
one of the contributing factors in aggravating and perpetuating poverty in Nepal.
2. Disaster Preparedness
DIPECHO III project was launched in Nepal with the support of European Commission's
Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO). ECHO is a service under the direct responsibility of
Commissioner Louis Michel. Since 1992, the Commission has funded relief to millions
of victims of natural and human made disasters outside the European Union.
DIPECHO projects have been launched worldwide since 1996. In Nepal, the first
DIPECHO project was implemented in 2001. Since then DIPECHO has significantly
worked on addressing, mitigating and developing coping mechanisms in disaster
situations. Its aid is channelled impartially to the affected populations, regardless of their
race, ethnic group, religion, gender, age, nationality or political affiliation. Part of the
Humanitarian Aid Office’s mission is to raise public awareness of the issue at stake.
ECHO is providing support for disaster preparedness in Nepal as well as many other
countries in Asia. In Nepal the following 9 international organizations implemented the
DIPECHO III project 2006-2007 - ActionAid Nepal, Belgium Red Cross/Nepal Red
Cross Society, UNDP, CARE Nepal, Oxfam, Danish Church Aid/Lutheran World
Federation, Practical Action, UNICEF and ICIMOD.
DIPECHO projects have fostered a large number of people like poor women headed
households, marginalized and excluded groups, ethnic minorities, youth volunteer
groups, school children and their parents, local government officials, and civil society
through various activities to sensitize about disaster.
With support of DIPECHO III, street dramas were performed and group discussions held
to raise awareness about natural disasters. Alongside, media campaign activities were
also milestone tools for advocating issues related to disaster, which played a major role to
fill in the gap of dialogue between government stakeholders and disaster affected groups
and simultaneously raising awareness at the grassroots level.
The project activities were implemented in 17 high risk districts of the country by the
nine implementing partners of DIPECHO III project in partnership with community-
based organizations. The activities included training to local people to build community
resilience to disaster, establishing Disaster Management Committees at local level to
address disaster preparedness and conduct small scale mitigation activities by building
safe shelters and embankments in a cost effective manner. The project has developed
awareness raising programs for various actors such as students, youths, parents, children,
women, farmers etc. The programs particularly provide information such as building
houses that are resistant to earthquakes or building check dams to protect land and houses
from floods.

7. ActionAid Nepal launched "Building community resilience to disaster" under DIPECHO
III project in Sarlahi, Makwanpur and Rupandehi districts focusing primarily on
awareness raising and advocacy, capacity building and small scale mitigation programs.
Similarly, other project activities include carrying out rescue and relief operations and
natural calamity impact mitigation measures.
Programs in "Building community resilience to disaster" were conducted at both local
and policy levels. Particularly, work was done to formulate a strategy at the national
level. Discussions and seminars were conducted among the concerned government
agencies, NGOs and stakeholders. A national strategy was formulated considering the
conclusions drawn from these seminars and conferences, based on the Hyogo Framework
of Action adopted by 168 nations across the world in 2005.
Hyogo Framework of Action aims at minimizing the risk of natural disasters by 2015 and
mitigates impacts in environment and human lives. According to the Hyogo framework,
the national strategy will include security of agriculture, food, health and education. This
national strategy will also include physical planning, safety, water supply, sanitation and
communications. Coordination between national and local government bodies, national
and international NGOs and donor agencies is needed to enable the formulation of the
strategy which is now in a final stage. This strategy aims to ensure human rights and
dignity of people suffering from disaster.
3. ActionAid Nepal
ActionAid has been working in Nepal since 1982. Its mission is to empower poor and
excluded people to eradicate poverty and injustices. The work of ActionAid Nepal
(AAN) over the years has undergone various changes informed by its engagement at the
grassroots and other levels. In 1996, AAN changed its approach from direct service
delivery to partnerships with local NGOs. It adopted a rights-based approach to
development in 1998 with the larger ActionAid global family. AAN believes that poor
people have a right to protection, human security as well as right to access appropriate
assistance to survive in and recover from disasters. Based on this belief, AAN works
towards building appropriate capacities to ensure a more strategic and rapid response to
disasters- before, during and after occurrence. According to the Country Strategy Paper
III 2005-2010 "Fighting Poverty and Injustice" AAN analyzes poverty as the
manifestation of economic, social and political exclusions and discriminations wherein
rights of women, men, girls and boys are violated, denied or deficient. AAN believes that
poor people forced into perpetual poverty by systematic denial of their rights.
3.1 AAN's EDM Response
AAN’s analysis identifies emergency and disaster as more than just a threat to life but to
livelihoods and dignity of life. It increases risks to people's livelihoods and leads to
destructions which may lead to vicious cycles of chronic poverty, destitution and
impoverishment. Disaster has been articulated as one of the key contributing factors in

8. aggravating and perpetuating poverty in Nepal. Hence, AAN has recognized 'Emergency
and Disaster Management' as one of its cross-cutting initiatives.
Emergency and disaster management is both preventive and curative. AAN entails risk
reduction by addressing issues of vulnerability and hazards, increasing capacity of poor,
marginalized and the vulnerable groups in collaboration with appropriate institutions to
influence development actors to formulate comprehensive programs to deal with
disasters.
AAN broadly translates its commitments in emergency and disaster management through
Creation of Information Base, Capacity Building, Alliances and Resource Mobilization,
Emergency Response, Information and Knowledge sharing at all levels, and Vulnerability
Analysis. AAN has undertaken activities that will mitigate the effects of emergencies
including capacity-building, communication about people’s rights and promoting early
warning systems. AAN’s emergencies strategy primarily aims ‘to reduce poor people’s
vulnerability by empowering them to build their resilience and develop their capacity to
cope’.
3.1.1 Key Strategies of AAN on Emergency and Disaster Management
• Building the understanding of AAN staff, partners, rights holder groups and
Nepali citizens about the link between poverty and emergencies and disasters
• Improving the ability of vulnerable communities to cope with disasters through
community-based disaster preparedness strategies
• Establishing and capacity building of alliances and networks for effective disaster
preparedness and response
• Building the capacity of partners to conduct hazard mapping and vulnerabilities
assessment of disaster prone areas and advocating for necessary mitigation
measures
• Providing immediate relief and rehabilitation to the most needy poor people in
disaster and post-disaster situation.
• Advocating for the formation of appropriate policies by the government to ensure
the rights of the disaster victims to realise compensation and rehabilitation.
4. DIPECHO III Project
AAN implemented the DIPECHO III project from 1st March 2006 to 31st May 2007.
AAN has conceptualized the key objective of Hyogo Framework of Action [HFA] 2005-
2015 to build resilience of community against disasters. This project was funded by
ECHO under DIPECHO III Action Plan in South Asia. The total fund of
DIPECHO/AAN was Euro 290, 727, 84 and an additional Euro 48000 to strengthen
processes and financial management.
4.1 Building Community Resilience to Disaster - SAMARUP

9. AAN implemented "Building Community Resilience to Disaster (BCRD)" from March
2006 for 15 months in three districts of Nepal which were Sarlahi, Makwanpur and
Rupandehi (SAMARUP) with local partner organizations WCDF, Prerana and FSCN.
(PNGO profile in Annex1)
These three districts represent two physiographic regions, middle mountains, and, eastern
and western Terai. Makwanpur, which surrounds the then Mahabharata range in the north
along Churia hills and inner Terai, is very rugged and fragile due to its weak geology.
Sarlahi and Rupandehi in the Terai are extensions of the Indo-Gangetic plains with
Churia in the northern border.
The areas immediately south of the mountain front (Churia range) called Bhabhar zone is
prone to floods by the short-lived rivers which frequently change their course with water
levels rising very fast leading to floods in large areas during the monsoon. On the other
hand, another flood problem in the southern part of Terai arises where the dams and
embankments along many rivers constructed across the border in the south impound
monsoon flood water within the Nepalese border creating severe flood situation every
year. These areas have become harsh and regular flood prone localities in Nepal.
To collect essential information for the project, representatives of potential partner
organizations were invited to a Consultative Workshop with a request to bring baseline
data of selected districts, hazard maps, PVA, district maps, case studies and other
relevant information. Various documents produced by different organizations were
reviewed during the concept development process. AAN's broad programme experiences
and learning from other projects provided valuable insights. Learning shared by other
organizations working in the field of disaster during different forums and meetings also
significantly contributed to shape the idea of prioritising the geographical area and
activities when designing the concept.
(See the methodology and various sources of information and Annex 2 for organizations
involved in assessment in Annex 3.)
5. Key programmes and activities of BCRD
5.1 Awareness generation and advocacy
Awareness generation was undertaken to increase peoples’ knowledge and provide
adequate information on disaster and preparedness. This was particularly to enhance
people's understanding of how disasters occur and its consequences in human lives.
BCRD focused on people’s rights to survival, education, health and development.
Awareness plays a vital role in sustainable disaster response and ensures protection of life
and properties. With this notion BCRD addressed hazard mapping, research and
documentation, vulnerability assessment, situation analysis, sharing meetings and
mobilization of theatre and media for raising awareness among community people.

10. Youth to raise awareness
Youths, with their strong will and energy, were mobilized to campaign, advocate and
facilitate mitigating activities. Youth groups of Basamadi and Handikhola VDCs of
Makwanpur district proved that they can be agents of change in society. They have
become catalysts for community building resilience to disaster for disaster risk reduction.
Ram Prasad Poudel, YMC treasurer of Basamadi says, "We formed the youth committee
to be more actively engaged on disaster risk reduction activities because youth have the
resilience to act during any circumstances." The YMC of Basamadi has 13 members
amongst whom 5 are girls. Similarly, the YMC of Handikhola has 19 members with a
majority of girl members. They have been mobilising youths in the rest of the VDCs.
They have acquired knowledge and skills on DRR. YMC of Basamadi have organized
district level Folk Song Competition focusing on disaster awareness campaigning and
advocacy. On the final day of the folk song competition about 4000 people gathered in
the open space of local school premises. This program was aired live by the local FM
radio station. "It was a really encouraging moment for us,” says Ramchandra Poudel,
treasurer of Basamadi YMC, "there was real participation of thousands of people
gathered at one place listening to disaster risk reduction songs.”
The youths of these two VDCs are becoming proactive towards addressing disaster
issues. "Prior to DIPECHO/AAN project we were not aware about disaster issues and we
were largely fatalistic. Now we have realised there are many consequences of disaster.
The important thing we learnt is community people can mitigate and reduce the risks of
disaster in many circumstances. If we are aware and able to develop coping strategies
and mechanisms we can save our lives and livelihoods,” says Shree Krishna Dhakal,
president of Handikhola YMC.
Gayatri, a young girl, member of Handikhola YMC says, "Only muscle power is not
enough to tackle disaster, we need skills and knowledge. We did not have the skills and
knowledge in previous years, which BCRD has now given us leading to a sense of
security.” The youths of these VDCs have collected dry food and crops to help flood
affected communities in other parts of Nepal in the western region. Youth coordinator of
Handikhola YMC Prakash Thapa says, "now we are ready to mobilize youth volunteers
anywhere in the country and these volunteers are competent on first aid training, search
and rescue.”
5.2 Capacity building
The capacity building component of the project has contributed to enabling people to
cope with disasters while small-scale mitigation activities reduce the loss of lives and
properties, thereby reducing the chances of falling into an irrecoverable condition. The
capacity building component has helped harness the positive attitudes of people towards
disaster preparedness and mitigation creating resilience. This has enabled a culture of
prevention and protection. While working towards capacity building enhancing the
capacities of communities and supporting their institutions so that they could plan and

11. implement activities for disaster response was a key element. The activities under
capacity building mainly included trainings on CBDP, TOT, SAR, PVA, First Aid
nurtured DMCs, YMCs, Women's groups, Teachers, Students and other stakeholders.
Capacity Building Training: Effective Tools for DRR
After the formation of DMC in Twangra village of Handikhola VDC in Makwanpur
district DIPECHO/AAN conducted PVA training where 35 people from the VDC
participated. With this PVA training, the community identified the intensity of the
problems caused by disaster. The foremost problem was land-cutting due to floods. This
threatened people’s livelihoods entrapping poor people further into poverty. After
conducting PVA the community decided to make check-dams in the river, raise
awareness, organise advocacy programmes to cope during emergencies caused by floods
and build safe shelter for those who have been displaced due to floods during monsoons.
Communities of this village were trained on CBDP, First Aid and SAR through which
they have gained confidence to address issues and problems related with disaster
mitigation. "PVA trainings provided us the knowledge about identifying the nature of
disaster, how and why it occurs, and ways for control, reduction and mitigation,” says
Madhav Gautam, President of DMC.
Manju Karki, a 27 year-old woman DMC member of Twangra VDC says, "With CBDP,
SAR, PVA and First Aid trainings we realized our roles to move forward on raising
awareness on and mitigate disaster. Even our small efforts can play a big role in disaster
reduction.” In the same village, community people have built a safe shelter for flood
affected displaced families. DIPECHO/AAN provided the seed money of Rs. 142,735 to
build this safe shelter; the shelter is now worth almost 700,000 NRS. Shanti Community
Forest Users Group provided the wood worth Rs. 400,000 to construct this site.
5.3 Reducing river-cutting and protection of livelihood
Small scale mitigation can prevent people and properties from falling victims to disasters
and demonstrate practical measures useful to other communities living in similar
conditions and positions. The success can also contribute to influence national policies to
make local level small community groups and their organizations, which, if assisted, can
be instrumental in disaster preparedness. Small scale mitigation activities conducted by
BCRD greatly contributed to minimizing the effects of disaster. BCRD provided
technical and financial support to identify and implement small-scale mitigation activities
such as embankments, culverts, repair and maintenance of infrastructure to reduce the
effects of emergency disasters. These low cost measures are taken by communities once
they are exposed to appropriate and replicable measures. This also included selection and
use of safe route for evacuation and means of emergency transportation.
Move for Mitigation
We have to cross the Rapti River close to the East West highway to reach Twangra
village in Handikhola of Makwanpur District. There is a temporary wooden bridge over

12. this river which is a daily route for villagers from this VDC. During monsoons the water
level rises, submerging the bridge and leaving the entire VDC disconnected and isolated.
Flood occurrences have made life in this village miserable. Due to the cutting of fertile
land every year, villagers loose cultivable land. Male populations of Twangra Village are
forced to migrate to nearby cities and even to India (neighbouring country shares open
border with Nepal from east, west and south) to work as daily wage labourers. In
between these rivers, there are about 150 house holds.
"We see our land being cut every monsoon by floods and we fear it will destroy our
shelters and us one day," Madhav Gautam, president of DMC shares his experiences with
grief. "We have lost hope. Every monsoon we are caught with fear of the flood destroying
our homes,” says Suntali Karki, a woman from this village.
The community heard about WCDF engagement on addressing the issues and providing
support to communities through FM Radio. With this information the people approached
WCDF to support them to deal with flood related disaster. WCDF initiated awareness
raising, capacity building and small scale mitigation programs in this VDC with the
support of BCRD project. "The villagers believed disasters to be caused by divine powers
and nobody would be able to stop them,” says Madhav Gautam, "When DIPECHO/AAN
project activities started it opened our eyes to possibilities of reducing and mitigating
disasters with our own efforts.”
The villagers have now constructed a 178 meter long check dam in Twangra River.
BCRD project provided Rs. 470,000 and community people raised Rs. 227,000 to
construct this check dam. "We were able to get 18 iron nets for the check dam from
Water Induced Disaster Reduction Department and community bought another 10 iron
nets. Much of the credit goes to BCRD project that showed us the way to seek support
from government agencies as well.” says DMC president Madhav Gautam.
6. Policy advocacy for change
The beneficiaries (see Annex 4) of BCRD project are mainly poor and marginalized
people primarily women, children, people with disabilities, elderly people, dalits and
other ethnic minorities vulnerable to disaster. Therefore, Policy advocacy is an integrated
part of the BCRD project. AAN believes that people centered policy can ensure the
reduction of vulnerabilities of and risks faced by people in the most susceptible areas.
Building consensus for legitimacy
DMC of Devdaha in Rupandehi joined hands with the local government authorities.
There are 13 members in Devdaha DMC with an 11 member advisory committee. VDC
Secretary and former President are also in the advisory committee. "It is important to
engage local government authorities on disaster risk reduction programmes so that they
can lobby at district, regional and national level of government,” says Rishiram Sapkota,
DMC president of Devdaha, "At the same time it is also their (local government)
responsibility to be responsive being members of the same community.” Devdaha VDC
authorities are also showing interest in the DMC's activities and promise their support.

13. "With this participation we are hoping to build consensus of local government authorities
to address disaster risk reduction issues effectively in the community. Our primary
concern is to work with VDC so that it can release the government budget for disaster
risk reduction program and activities for the community. We now plan to register the
DMC at district level to be able to work more effectively,” accounts Rishiram Sapkota.
7. PVA process in BCRD
Through Participatory Vulnerability Analysis (PVA) communities are empowered to take
charge of their own efforts to address their vulnerability. Being aware of one's own
vulnerability is a big step, but the essence of PVA is not only for the community to
develop action plans, but to be able to constantly seek opportunities to enhance their
resilience to difficult conditions. PVA itself evolved from a workshop convened by
ActionAid in Dorset, UK in 2000. The workshop recognised the importance of
vulnerability in development and emergencies related work. It also identified that one of
the gaps was in translating the knowledge of vulnerability into practice. Specific areas
included how to build community resilience to disasters; link emergencies and
development; influence policy and most of all motivate the most vulnerable.
AAN has widely incorporated the PVA methodology while implementing DIPECHO III
project BCRD in Sarlahi, Makwanpur and Rupandehi districts. This has proven very
effective in identifying the nature and intensity of disaster at local levels along with
community understanding. PVA was conducted in 8 VDCs of the three districts.
Advantages of PVA- See Annex 5.
8. Search and Rescue Training
Search and Rescue (SAR) is a critical component for any post-disaster situation.
According to SAR experts, more than 80 percent of survivors of disaster rescued by the
community may be prompted with trained and disciplined action. However, very little
initiatives have been taken to build or enhance the capacity of the community for skilled
SAR, which can prevent major injuries, deaths and chances of higher level of disability in
post-disaster situation. With this view DIPECHO/AAN project organised week-long SAR
trainings in its project implemented districts in Sarlahi, Makwanpur and Rupandehi in the
month of April 2007. Team of experts in SAR came from Bangladesh Emergency
Support Corps (ESC).
These trainings have helped build capacity of youth groups, disaster activists and some
staffs of Nepal Red Cross Society on SAR at the community level focussing on flood
related disasters. SAR trainings focused on theoretical knowledge, practical
demonstration and exercise through lectures, multi media, demonstration, individual
practice, simulation, questionnaire and evaluation. Altogether 68 participants from three
districts attended the SAR trainings. Basic concepts on SAR training were set in rural
settings and this training was able to provide knowledge and skills for search and rescue
during flood disasters as well as during accidents in normal course of life. Similarly, with
the use of local materials available in the rural settings, SAR training highlighted the use

14. of local materials such as ropes, bamboos, Jerry can and whistle which could be easily
available. Use of pulleys for various rescue operations were also demonstrated and
practiced. With the help of these materials participants were able to build Bamboo and
Rope Ladder, Bamboo and Jerry can raft, Rope Bridge and Aerial Runway Techniques.
Ready to Rescue
Babita Das 20 years and Rubi Saha 19 years of age, from Madhesi community in Terai -
are REFLECT facilitators. They both actively participated in the 5-day First Aid training
and 5-day Community Building Disaster Preparedness Programme (CBDP) trainings
conducted by Prerana - a local NGO partnering with DIPECHO/AAN in Sarlahi district.
"We learnt how to be safe during disasters like fire, flood or earthquake. We have shared
what we learnt from the trainings with family and community members. In the past we did
not have any idea about disaster preparedness but we now have the confidence to save
lives as well ,” says Rubi.
According to Rubi and Babita the SAR volunteers learnt about constructing temporary
safe evacuation bridge and how to rescue victims trapped in top floors using pulley and
ropes. "Time consciousness is another important factor in rescue during emergencies and
in fact we realised this from this SAR training. Preparedness is very important, so we
must keep the instruments like ropes, pulleys, life jackets, torch lights etc. before
emergency comes because it comes without notice,” say Rubi and Babita.
Expectations, Achievements and Recommendations of SAR Training, See Annex 6
9. Lessons Learnt
DIPECHO/AAN project has provided effective support and resources to vulnerable
groups to cope with disaster and emergencies. The Project was committed to build
community resilience to disaster. It emphasised building the capacity of local human
resources by working in close collaboration with district level stakeholders. It promoted a
rights-based approach to work and involved key stakeholders including government,
community, education and family institutions.
BCRD's comprehensive design was successful in changing the perception and mind set of
community people who largely identified disaster as a divine creation and empowered
community people for disaster preparedness and helped create an environment for
community mobilization for disaster preparedness. The Project also facilitated the
community to build a competent network of community people and local government
authorities. It created networks of people such as students, teachers, parents, youth
groups, women groups, community leaders etc. Among the various important
interventions that BCRD carried out are training on CBDP, PVA, First Aid and SAR
which has helped communities to prepare themselves to mitigate disaster challenges.
a. Disaster Preparedness and Livelihood support can be effective tools to mobilize
communities: DIPECHO/AAN has been able to bring significant changes in the lives of
people for disaster preparedness. It has supported people in securing their livelihoods.
This unique combination of disaster preparedness and livelihood opportunities could

15. significantly enable people to life secure and dignified lives, and a good alternative to
mobilize communities through generating local economies.
b. Working together with community is effective tool to resilience to disaster: The
Project identified local human resource such as elders, community leaders which
included local government leaders at VDC, teachers, students, women and youth groups.
The strength of identifying human resource at local level made this project pro-
community people and created ownership resulting in active participation of people in the
project.
c. Community Based Trainings can address people's immediate concerns:
DIPECHO/AAN facilitated the PVA, CBDP, First Aid and SAR trainings through which
people have been empowered, sensitized, and are ready to act for DRR. The process was
participatory and there was inclusion of marginalized groups. With these trainings
community people gained skills and knowledge to reduce and mitigate disasters.
d. Mobilization of women helps sustain the program: Women were a major focal group
of the project. As women have to face multiple burdens of disasters in a family, their
engagement in the project was a must. Consequently, over the period women have
become more vocal and they have gained knowledge around disaster issues. Some of the
initiatives facilitated by women's groups have been very successful clearly indicating that
the mobilization of women helps sustaining the spirit of the program. A number of
women are active members in the youth groups and DMCs.
e. DMC- pillars of the project: DMC became the vital actor on DRR. Eight DMCs and
one sub-committee were formed under DIPECHO/AAN project. The process of
formation of DMC was people centred, inclusive and participatory. There is equal
participation of men, women, ethnic communities, dalits in the DMCs. Local men and
women and youth including those from marginalized groups were involved in making
key decisions in the disaster response.
f. PVA could be an effective participatory methodology: PVA methodology was
incorporated in DIPECHO/AAN project. PVA became the most influential methodology
as it fully gave mandate to local people to make action plans and work on those plans
immediately. In DIPECHO/AAN project areas the local people identified various types of
disasters and its intensity. There are numerous problems associated with disaster and
community have very minimum resources to deal with this. With PVA community
decided to disburse the available resource towards most vulnerable areas.
g. Youths engagement on DRR: DIPECHO/AAN recognized the mobilization of youth
as valuable resources for disaster preparedness because they often have the ability to
adapt quickly and creatively to rapidly changing situations.
10. Key achievements of BCRD project

16. • Community people of 8 VDC are aware about the risk and vulnerabilities
associated with hazards at the local level.
• They are well informed about hazards and preparedness and they have been
organized to take action. 24 community groups [DMC, youth groups, and
advisory volunteers] have been formed with significant participation of women.
• Nearly 600 persons including school teachers, DMC, youths, people with
disability and students have been trained in First Aid, CBDP, SAR and PVA.
• 21 youths were trained in street Drama methods for campaigning/advocacy and
23 streets Drama were organised on disaster preparedness in three districts.
• Local government officials (CDOs, LDOs and DNDRC) have been oriented to
disaster issues and they have largely expressed support to the project. There has
been effective partnership with local media and government. As a result poor
people’s voices are being heard at local level and national level through media,
and there has been effective engagement at the policy level.
• Visibility of the project is significant among the NGOs, INGOs, national
authorities, experts, national media etc.
• 10 community safe shelters have been built to accommodate the most vulnerable
(women, children, pregnant mother, people with disability, elderly and
marginalized people). All the shelters have easy accessibility and are flood proof,
earthquake resistant and friendly for women and religion minorities.
• 6 check dams and dykes have been constructed.
• Safe exits for school going children and other marginalized groups have been
identified.
Table 1. Beneficiaries by district and ethnicities
Districts and Target
VDCs
Social Groups/Institutions Beneficiaries
Rupandehi : 3 Dalits (Damai, Kami, Kewat), Ethnic
VDCs minorities (Tharu, Gurung, Magar) 49591
Keruwani Non-dalits ethnic majorities but living
Dev Daha in extreme poverty and vulnerability.
Makrahar
Makawanpur: 2 Dalits (Kami, Damai, Sarki etc.)
VDCs Ethnic minorities (Tamang, Newar, 31940
Handikhola Gurung, Magar etc.)
Basamadi Non-dalits ethnic majorities but living
in extreme poverty and vulnerability.
Dalits (Khatwe, Dusadh, Dom,
Sarlahi: 3 VDCs Chamar, Baitha, Kewat, Harijan and

17. Laxmipur Dhobi) Ethnic minorities (Tamang, 13548
Sundarpur Newar, Gurung, Magar,
Fulparasi Non-dalits ethnic majorities but living
in extreme poverty and vulnerability.
Total 95079
Testimonies

18. Replication of good efforts: learning from neighbours
The disaster mitigation activities are gradually being replicated in Siddhakali village of
Handikhola VDC. Learning of DRR from Twangra village, Siddhakali community
initially formed a Disaster Management Sub-Committee with support from Twangra
DMC. Siddhakali village is highly prone to flood and landslides. The village is trapped
between Chyapal and Makari River. Nearly 1000 inhabitants are dwelling in fear.
Ganga Bahadur BK, 46 years old, from dalit community migrated to this place about 3
decades ago from a hilly district with hopes of easy livelihood. "When I came here the
Makari River a very small water stream but you can see it expanding each year due to
floods destroying our land and shelters,” he says.
The people of this village have heard about awareness, capacity building and the small
mitigation programme in its neighbouring village in Twangra. "There was no one to show
us the way, but when we heard about Twangra villager's work for disaster risk reduction
we went there to seek advise and support," says Harish Chandra Poudel, President of
Siddhakali sub-DMC "We consulted with them and we are now acquainted with the
linkages with local NGO called WCDF in the district." Community people of Siddhakali
village have recognized flood as the main cause of disaster so they decided to construct a
check dam between the Makari and Chyapal River. DIPECHO/AAN provided Rs.100,
000 and the villagers collected Rs. 30,000 and provided free labour to construct the check
dam. Similarly, the DDC provided 40 wire nets for the check dam.
Small things can make a difference
Gaurigaun, is a village of about 26 households situated at the bank of Rohini River in
Devdaha VDC of Rautahat District. The populations of this village mostly comprise of
Dalits (marginalized group) who barely have land to grow crops for a living. Men and
women work as labourers and make earnings on daily basis of work. Due to abject
poverty women are highly burdened with both economic hardships and household work.
The story of struggle of this small village does not end here. Every year they live in fear
due to the floods.
One end of the “Even adults use both hands and feet to crawl across the water
village is covered path. It has affected our livelihoods and our daily lives.
surrounded by the My family is also victim to floods and we lost our small land
river and the next where we used to grow crops. Now we have this small hut but
end has low land fear it could also vanish any one of these day.” Chhumi Nepali.
and jungle. During
the monsoon the lowland gets filled with water. Due to lack of culvert on the lowland,
men and women have faced difficulties in reaching other villages or local market for
work. Similarly, children are unable to go school. Due to this problem, nearly 28
children stay away from school during the monsoons. Most of the populations of this
village are squatters who have came to this land about 12 years ago. "When we first
arrived here a decade ago the river far away, now it's almost close to our homes!" says
another woman Kumari Pariyar.

19. Now, the people of this village have built a small bridge over the lowland where heavy
water used to collect during monsoons. For this Rohini Community Forest Users group
provided wood worth Rs. 15,000 and local people raised Rs. 3450. Similarly the
households of this village
Chhumi "It was possible with the support of this
provided free labour
project which taught us and boosted our capabilities."
equivalent nearly to Rs. 9,000
to build the bridge. Mostly women were engaged to build this bridge and they carried
heavy stones from the river. The bridge was made with local efforts, resources and
technical support from DIPECHO/AAN project. The villagers are now having planned
for plantation the trees at the bank of Rohini River to protect their land and home from
the flood.
Skills to save lives
“I learnt many things about how to be safe from disaster through DIPECHO/AAN
activities. I am sharing whatever I learnt with community people especially to women."
Rupkali Darlami Magar says. Rupkali, a widow, 49 years old, could hardly spell written
words or write. Today, she is an out spoken lady advocating for disaster preparedness in
the community.
The 1993 flood displaced her family. "We moved from where we were residing for years
and working hard for a secure future for our children," she recalls. It was during Dasain
(the most important Hindu
"When I received the First Aid training, I realized
festival celebrated in Nepal) in
that I could have tried to save my husband's life
the year 2003, "One neighbour
through artificial respiration to keep him alive till we
came and told me that my
reached hospital. This is the change that I can feel in
husband drowned in a nearby
my life. Now I am convincing others about the
canal. I hurried and
importance of capacity building and skills to save
approached where he was. He
lives of victims of disaster, so that people do not
was unconscious but was
loose their loved one.” Rupkali
breathing.” Rupkali made
arrangements to take him to the nearest hospital but her husband died.
DMC an effective agency to make a difference
Rapti River has posed great risk to mainly the 5 wards of Basamadi VDC in Makwanpur
district. Villagers were worried with their situation but very few people were showing
concerns over mitigating the disaster. "We came to know about WCDF, a local
organization that is working in the field of disaster. They agreed to support us through
DIPECHO/AAN project,” says Loknath Pandey, President of DMC of Basamadi. The
DMC formed under DIPECHO/AAN decided to construct check dam on Rapti River in
ward number 5, where there are 200 households. DIPECHO/AAN provided Rs. 182,000
and community people raised 56,000 RS and provided free labour to construct 2 meter
long check dam. The DMC is becoming more proactive. Community members are
contributing their efforts by collecting funds and contributing free labours.

20. Recently, the community renovated one check dam constructed a year ago by the
government. DMC has started to raise Rs. 10 per month from every household and
making its use on disaster risk reduction activities in the village. Basamadi DMC also has
built safe shelter for flood affected families. DIPECHO/AAN has supported Rs. 142,735
where as community people have invested Rs. 650,000 worth of liabilities like land,
wood and free labour. "We will make its use during emergencies and other time use it for
conducting DMC activities," says Kamala Shilwal, female member of DMC.
Women in front
Bagkumar is a small village and the flood occurring in close by rivers has put 11
households at great risk. Through PVA community people were able to decide that the
priority was to construct the check dam first to save the land and inhabitants of
Bagkumar. The
check dam in "As male members are away from home and busy in work
Bagkumar ward outside they could not give quality time to construct the check
number 8 of dam. We decided to make the check dam in the river which is
Devdha VDC is close to our village as every year it has been cutting the land. It
completely built by has almost approached our homes,” says Laxmi Chaudhari,
women of this President of CCC.
village. The women from this village formed a Check dam Construction Committee
(CCC) under Disaster Management Committee of Devdaha. All 7 members are women.
DIPECHO/AAN agreed to provide Rs. 100,000 for constructing of the check dam. These
women instantly generated an additional Rs. 27,500 by approaching various
organizations. Sports Development Committee in Bhaluhi VDC provided 10 iron nets
and 2,000 polyvinyl shacks. Similarly, the women collected another 21 iron nets from
different organizations. The CCC then approached the VDC to free the royalties for the
stones collected from the river for constructing check dam. VDC prepared the paper
work. Then they collected 26 tractor's trolley stones. After stacking all the required
materials they proceed to construct the check dam. "We hope that this year's monsoon we
will be safe and the women's effort to make this check dam will save our village," says
Laxmi Chaudhari.
Flood affected people become resilient
Hari Darlami, 34 years old is a flood survivor from Tatera village in Rupandehi district.
He still recalls the sufferings caused by the flood. "There was a flood in the middle of the
night and all of us climbed trees to be safe. We took shelter in the trees for 10 hours and
it was a frightening experience. As we came down from the tree our shelter and
everything has been washed away by the flood,” recalls Hari Darlami. The villagers
provided his family some unused public land of 4 kaththas, which is also at great risk
from floods. There are 50 households in Tatera village of Makrahar VDC where the
villagers live in fear like Hari Darlami. Nilu Rana, member of Gyanjyoti Women's group
says, “During this short span of time half the land we left have been cut by the floods."
Tatera village is surrounded by Rohini and Kajarar River. The rivers are extremely wide
and the resources available in the village could not cope with the problem during
monsoons.

21. BCRD project with FSCN- a local NGO provided Rs. 100,000 to build check dam to
protect the village from flood. Community people provided free labour and constructed a
check dam on Rohini River. "There was no hope and alternative means till last year but
we are gradually gaining hope and confidence from BCRD project which has raised
awareness and provided capacity building skills and knowledge," says Keshav Rana,
DMC vice-president of Makrahar VDC. Community people of this village appreciated
the PVA, CBDP, First Aid and skill to weave iron nets.
"This year children will have a wonderful surprise!"
Janta Primary School in Sundarpur VDC where nearly 300 children study was established
in 1978. It has not been renovated since then. "The Government pays no attention or
responds to requests for renovating it. During monsoons the water enters in to the class
rooms," says Jaggu Ram Yadav, Headmaster of the school. The flow of debris due to the
flood has piled up on the school ground. Due to this, the ground level has ascended up
and the water flows down towards the class rooms.
Jaggu Ram Yadav, "We are happy now for the support provided by DIPECHO/AAN and
the local NGO Prerana for showing keen interest on the continuation of children’s study
disrupted by flood." At the initiation of the DMC of Sundarpur VDC, BCRD project
provided Rs. 150,000 and the School and Community people raised Rs. 22,000. With this
money they renovated the school building and constructed a compound wall to save
water and debris flow entering into the school premises.
Similarly, DIPECHO/AAN constructed a Bamboo Bridge over the river in between
Sundarpur and Laxmipur VDC where flash flood occurs every monsoon season. There is
Devdhari Higher Secondary School in Laxmipur just after crossing the river from
Sundarpur. Nearly 200 students from 3 VDCs surrounding this school come to study
crossing this river. "When floods arose students from the other side of the river could not
come to school," says Narayan Prasad Baral, a school teacher, "the flood disrupted not
only the students but too the teachers coming from across the river. We were facing this
sort of problem for about 15 years." BCRD project provided Rs. 94,034 to construct this
Bamboo Bridge and community people collected Rs. 7,600 and provided free labour to
construct this bridge. With the use of locally available resources the construction became
cost effective and easy for maintenance by local people. Mohammad Femuddin, DMC
Secretary of Sundarpur VDC says, "The Bridge will serve not only the students and
teachers but all the community people."
Safe for sheltering
The Sukhchaina ward in Laxmipur VDC of Sarlahi district is habitat for Sahani
community (an indigenous group whose ancestral profession is fishing). This village is
surrounded by Lakhandehi River in the west and Dhwangra River in the east. During
monsoons the village becomes an island. There are 44 households in this village. In
winter they suffer from severe cold waves and during summer they fall trap to rampant
fire.

22. Karmatiya Devi Shani, a 60 year old woman, lost her home due to the floods. Altogether
there are 24 members in her family. She possesses a few kaththas of land where the crops
grown are barely enough to feed the family for a bare minimum of 3 months. Young male
members of this family have migrated to India for labour work. Monsoon is a terrifying
time for them. "We see clouds up in the sky and find highlands so that flood does not
reach us," says Tetri Dvi Shah, another woman from the village "for months we spend
sleepless nights." "Disaster has made us poor and poverty makes us vulnerable," says
Krishna Dev Saha, member of DMC. "We have not received any relief from the
government. Sometimes NGO people come here and distribute relief materials but how
can it sustain us!"
DIPECHO/AAN with Prerana- a local NGO intervened in this village to make the people
here safe from the floods. Community people proposed safe shelter as the immediate
requirement for emergencies in flood. But they do not have public land to build the
shelter. So after several consultations among themselves, community people agreed to
collect the money from each house hold. They collected Rs. 54,000 and bought land.
DIPECHO/AAN provided financial supported of Rs. 332,000 to construct the safe
shelter.
Women as change makers!
Rajkali Devi Gosai, is a 45 year old woman from Sundarpur VDC of Sarlahi district. She
is a REFLECT facilitator as well as a Woman Health Volunteer in the community. She is
now the President of Disaster Management Committee (DMC) formed under
DIPECHO/AAN, which has 11 members, amongst whom 9 are women. "In our village
men do not work, they only talk and quarrel," says Rajkali Goai "so community people
chose us for the DMC and we are working efficiently on disaster risk reduction. We are
working on awareness raising and capacity building activities to strengthen the
community to response to disaster."
Rajkali believes that with the support from DIPECHO/AAN people are more aware of
and ready to speak to ensure their rights. "The trainings provided to us on disaster risk
reduction is useful to daily life," she explains. Rina Devi Baitha, a 28 years old woman
from dalit community of Phulparasi VDC of Sarlahi district, is the DMC treasurer. The
few acre of land that her family possessed was turned into sand desert by the flood. Her
husband has migrated to India to earn for the family. Rina has 3 daughters. Rina's effort
has now become a model for the community. DIPECHO/AAN with Prerana has
conducted bio-engineering trainings for the villagers. Rina Devi on her initiation planted
banana trees in the desert land and a kind of vegetable which grows on dry and sandy
soil. "I grow banana and vegetables in that unused field. I sold crops worth Rs. 10, 000
within a year. The Banana plantation also saves the land from flood,” she says happily.
Bhuli Devi Sahini, is another leading woman from Sukhchaina village of Laxmipur VDC
of Sarlahi district. There are 8 members in her family and they do not own any land for
growing crops. Fishing and working on daily wages is the profession of her husband and
sons. Her family has been repeatedly displaced by the flood. "We changed our place for
seven times and still we are living in fear of being displaced again," says Bhuli Devi "so I

23. mobilised the community people of my village to construct the safe shelter.” At 60 she
alone took the pony cart to get construction materials like cement and iron rods from the
market. She did all these voluntarily. She happily expresses, "Now villagers have faith in
my strength and they listen to what I have to say."

24. 12. ANNEXES:
Annex 1: Introduction of DIPECHO/AAN local partners
WCDF is a non profit organization formally registered with District Administrative
Office, Makwanpur Hetauda under His majesty’s Government of Nepal on 2054 (in
accordance with institution registration act 2034). It is formed by a group of women
professionals with considerable experience in the sector related to social, education,
Health, Sanitation, Environment, Support to Disaster Victims and Legal Reforms. WCDF
envisages facilitating the empowerment process of poor, women and children of the
grassroots by organizing training programs and conducting community-based initiatives
in suitable areas. WCDF intends to work as a facilitator for the acquisition of Social
security through creating Safety Nets for a healthy and safe environment to the grassroots
poor communities.
PRERANA is a non-governmental social development organization registered under
society registration act 2034 in district administration office Lalitpur in 1998. It is also
affiliated with the social Welfare Council (SWC) Nepal. PRERANA was established with
active involvement of professionals with long experience in the field of integrated
community development specifically, community organization, health and disability,
micro-finance, gender and empowerment. Since 1999, Prerana is implementing
community empowerment programme in Sarlahi district with the aim to alleviate poverty.
In Sarlahi, the programme is spread in twelve VDCs. The total population of the area is
34,380 containing 16304 female and 18076 male. Of the total 6,101 households in the
area, 77.50% are lying in poverty situation. Thus all the programmes of Prerana focus
these households to help them to improve their living condition through right-based
Approach. BCRD project have implemented in 3 VDCs of Sarlhi district.
FSCN is a non-profit making, non-government; volunteer based social development
organization established by the initiatives of a group of socially committed and dedicated
people from different walks of life and from different regions of the kingdom. Since its
inception, FSC/N has concentrated on implementing programs that address the issues of
poverty reduction, community development and women’s empowerment through income
generating programs, health and sanitation, accessible rural drinking water, saving and
credit programs for women, human rights awareness raising, involvement of the
community in local governance, environment and sustainable agriculture, advocacy and
lobbying, disaster mitigation and rehabilitation, peace and conflict prevention. Presently,
FSCN has initiated innovative right-based interventions and approaches for sustainable
management of disaster and FSCN is scaling up its approach through participatory
processes by mobilizing the disaster affected community at grass roots and Advocacy and
Policy influencing at the National level.
Annex 2: Methodology and Source of Information while implementing BCRD
project.
Annex 2

25. Methodology Sources of information
1. PVA applying the following Along with community consultations, the
methods: views of district line agencies (i.e. District
Hazard mapping Administration Office, District Forest
Vulnerability mapping Office, District Soil Conservation Office,
Venn diagram Division office of Water Induced
Power analysis Disasters, District Development
Seasonal calendar Committee, District Public Health Office,
Time-line District Livestock Service Office, District
Semi Structures Interview (SSI) Agriculture Office and District Irrigation
Focal Group Discussion Office), Nepal Red Cross Society, partner
organizations, and the leaders of
community organizations (CBOs) were
also taken into account.
Discussed with affected communities,
women, children and Dalits.
2. Consultative workshop Representatives of partner organizations
(PNGOs) and professional staff of
ActionAid Nepal
3. Consultation meetings with other Organizations like ICIMOD (International
national level stakeholders Centre for Mountain Development),
Intermediate Technology Development
Group (ITDG), CARE Nepal and
Lutheran World Federation were
consulted especially to avoid
overlapping/double funding and for better
cooperation,
4. Literature review Reports and background documents on
disaster management prepared by AAN,
its partners, government and other
stakeholders.
Annex 3: Organisations involved in assessment
Friends Service Council, Nepal (FSCN) in partnership with AAN, had conducted a PVA
of Rupandehi district and submitted a report that envelopes demographic information and
some case studies. Likewise, Prerana a NGO from Sarlahi office collected information
from the disaster prone areas in and around their implementing VDCs of their respective
districts. Both the partners are working for providing humanitarian support to the disaster
affected people through their ongoing project activities.
The vulnerability assessment prepared by Makwanpur District Development Committee
has ranked the flood and landslide on top most out of ten hazards. Handikhola and
Basamadi VDCs fall in very high hazard possible categories. The DDC has also enlisted

26. ActionAid among the key stakeholders at the central level. Women and Children
Development Forum (WCDF) further assessed the need of the area. Other main
stakeholders on assessment were the communities represented by DDCs and VDCs,
Disaster Management Forums (DMFs), Media, NGOs, Civil Society Organizations and
Community Institutions like schools, CBOs and clubs.
As Disaster Management Committees are key actors at the grassroots level, VDCs and
DDCs are the local governments that create an environment to resource sharing together
with policy support. Media is the key to educating by sharing information with the
service providers and general public as well. Apparently, community institutions like
schools and CBOs have vital role in disaster education and resource mobilization for
disaster preparedness. Similarly, development agencies like ICIMOD, Practical Action,
CARE Nepal and Lutheran World Federation were consulted to avoid duplication/double
funding and confusions to ensure a better coordination and cooperation. (From the
proposal developed by AAN for DIPECH III).
Annex 4: Advantages of PVA
• It reveals different aspects and causes of vulnerability, and at the same time offers
mechanisms for follow-up programmes.
• It increases effectiveness of emergency and development activities in the long-
term with vulnerability as an indicator by either categorising poor people into
groups according to levels of vulnerability, thereby allowing better targeting, or
being used to establish a baseline of new projects.
• It addresses cross cutting themes like HIV/AIDS, gender etc providing an in-
depth understanding of vulnerabilities which unveils the dynamics of power,
inequality and discrimination between men and women, girls and boys - the
analysis is a spring board for women's empowerment.
• It reduces differences in approaches of locals and outsiders, merging them to
create acceptability and ownership for both the community and development
facilitators.
• PVA can make future vulnerabilities predictive, based on levels of skills and
analysis, as such planning and mitigation efforts are made to offset potential
future vulnerabilities.
• PVA Analytical Steps:
Step 1: Situation Analysis of vulnerability
Step 2: Analysing cause of vulnerability
Step 3: Analysis of community action
Step 4: Drawing Action from analysis
Annex 5: Expectation from SAR training
The Participants expectation from SAR trainings were:
• To learn the process of SAR
• To learn about how to rescue during accidents
• To know how to save victims during disaster
• To understand the process of SAR in simple and easy steps

27. • To learn about SAR procedures
• To learn SAR techniques
• To understand SAR in easy way
Expectations from community and Organizations
• To implement what has been learned during SAR training
• To learn the process of SAR during incidents like flood, landslides using local
resources
• To aware community about disaster
• To teach other people what have learned about SAR
• To learn how to swim and save others
• To be mentally strong
• To be well trained and train others
Recommendation made by SAR trainers
• Physical fitness and high moral courage and skills are essential for a rescuer
• It is strongly recommended that the persons selected for the SAR operation must
be adult, i.e 18 years old
• For the personal safety of the SAR volunteers it is recommended that the
volunteers and their authority must know volunteers blood group
• For avoiding the risk of Tetanus contamination, the SAR volunteers should
vaccinated anti Tetanus Serum, which will reduce their risks during operation
and in normal life
• Knowing First Aid is a prediction for the SAR trainees and volunteers
• A TOT is strongly recommended
• In TOT curriculum need to include other SAR techniques. Fire incidents rescue
and Landslide scenarios may be included in TOT.
• More practice, refreshers need to be planned for the end users/volunteers.
• Quarterly drill recommended for the SAR volunteers incorporating the
community
• Volunteers may transfer the knowledge to the community
• Inclusion of more women and girls in the First Aid courses will enhance the end
results in the community which finally help the rescuer in emergencies
• Social maps need to be updated, community rescuers need to be included in the
process
• Discipline is vital in the SAR; volunteers/rescuers need to follow these strictly
during the operations. In motivation, awareness building and Leadership training
"DISCIPLINE" need to be addressed/discussed with importance

28. 13. References:
1. DIPECHO/AAN proposal
2. Quarterly Review Meetings (QRMs) reports)
3. ActionAid Nepal Country Strategy Report (2005-2010)
4. State of Disaster Management practice in Nepal with reference to the flood disaster
occurred in 2002, AAN/EDM report.
5. The nexus between Natural Disasters and Development: Key Policy Issues in Meeting
the Millennium Development Goals and Poverty Alleviation; Prof, Dr. Bishal Nath Uprti,
Oct 2006.
6. Development of National Strategy for Disaster Risk Management in Nepal,
information brochure prepared by Government of Nepal and United Nations
Development Program.
7. Sixth Working Draft prepared by Inter- Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Task
Force on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support.