June 23, 2011
Myanmar (Burma)
Caritas Czech Republic is assisting Burmese communities to prepare for the frequent natural disasters that occur in the region.
At the beginning of 2011, Caritas Czech Republic in cooperation with Karuna (Burmese Caritas organization), started a project called Community Based Disaster Risk reduction. The aim of this project is to assist members of local communities in Burma to prepare for the frequent occurence of natural disasters. Diverse natural disasters plague the whole of Burma every year. In the middle of the monsoon period massive rainstorms regularly cause flooding. Coastal regions are often exposed to cyclones, tropical storms or storm surges due to tsunamis.
At the beginning of the project, members of local communities will participate in mapping risks and dangers for their villages. In the next phase, they will prepare crisis plans for each village. These crisis plans will be part of the diocesan and national strategy and will be based on the results of risk assessment. The members of local communities will be provided with relevant training based on the particular needs of each village.
The threat of natural disasters in Burma is high, not only due to climatic conditions but also due to the limited awareness of prevention techniques, unsuitable strategies and poor (or non-existent) planning on the part of local communities. Therefore, the aim of the project is to increase the participation of members of local communities in various activities. Representatives of local communities will be assigned to working and operating groups. These activities and groups include setting up emergency food stores and seed banks and adapting community response strategies of communities from newly created emergency plans for the selected regions. In the event of a natural disaster the community members will be better able to respond to crisis situations. For example, they will understand the procedures for identifying the needs of disabled people, providing medical care, food distribution and humanitarian packages, providing temporary shelter and organizing work for disaster relief.
Areas that are the most prone to natural disasters have been chosen for this project. These areas will have had prior positive experience with development cooperation, a limited number of local organizations in the area and lots of families in the community who will benefit from the project. These areas include: the seaside resort of Pathein (Phyan Gone and Talote Gone), the area of the former capital of Yangon (Thandate a Nyaung Lain Gone), the Taungnu mountain area (Shwe Dazung), the inner area of Mandalay (Sin Phyu) and the low mountain area of Lashio (Mang Pang).
At the end of the project Karuna´s staff will become part of official Burmese structures that are involved in the management of humanitarian disasters. At least five dioceses will operate independently and more than 2,000 families will be trained in recognising the risks and dangers of natural disasters and will know how to respond to them.
Implementation period: 01/2011–12/2013
Partners: Karuna
Sources of funding: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Caritas Czech Republic
