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Archive - Archive 2004 - July 2013

Local Red Cross to help communities identify vulnerabilities |05 May 2010

Local Red Cross to help communities identify vulnerabilities

One of the workshop sessions in progress

The training has been organised by the Red Cross Society of Seychelles (RCSS) and is being led by international consultant for disaster risk reduction Gabrielle Savi and Miko Thomas from the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Taking place at the Maison Football at Roche Caiman, the workshop opened last Saturday, and those taking part include RCSS staff and volunteers, representatives from the Ministry of Community Development, the Department of Risk and Disaster Management, the Ministry of Environment and from Praslin and La Digue.

The training, which has both practical and theoretical sessions, will allow those taking part to gain the necessary tools and knowledge to eventually implement Vulnerability Capacity Asessments (VCAs) in the most vulnerable communities in Seychelles.

One of the main aims of the training is to also develop an action plan to conduct VCA activities in the RCSS and in communities,
For the practical sessions, two communities in Plaisance and Roche Caiman have been identified. The group will interact with the residents and help them identify risks and vulnerabilities and also the available resources to resolve them.

Then, hazards will be analysed and ranked according to priority before preparing the action plan.

“The residents will be the ones to develop and own the action plan, while we’ll have a more guiding role in the process,” said Mr Thomas.

He added that VCA is not a new process in the humanitarian field, and that it costs less money to invest in preparing and empowering a community against risks and disasters as opposed to having a disaster response when one happens.

“The VCA is a participatory investigative process designed to assess the risks people face in their locality, their vulnerability and the capacities they possess to cope with hazards, reduce their vulnerability or recover from it.

One of our aims is to ensure people are ready for eventualities such as hazards and strengthen their resilience if it happens,” said the RCSS dissemination communications coordinator Marie-May Bastienne.

“It will also enable them to work with various organisations in their communities as well as in the country and also promote the spirit of teamwork.”

She said that the response from the two communities have been very encouraging so far.
The workshop will close on Friday with the development of the action plan.

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