ABM News
Small boat after Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar (Burma). Photo copyright CPM/ABM
From bridge-building to targeting the most needy communities, it is the local people who are best placed to respond most quickly when disaster hits. Copyright CPM/ABM
Coming Ready or not
One year ago, Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar (Burma). Over 100, 000 people lost their lives during and in the days after the Cyclone.
Brad Chapman (ABM Emergencies and Disaster Management Project Officer) was there and wrote:
‘When I arrived in Yangon in the week following cyclone Nargis, assistance and personnel were pouring in from all parts of the world. The United Nations had established an operations centre in the ballroom of a local hotel and representatives of international NGOs attempted to come to terms with the significant gaps in what was known about the communities affected by the cyclone.
'Down the road, and off the radar of the main international relief effort, the offices of ABM's Partner hummed with activity as they organised and distributed relief to needy communities the international contingent considered ‘unreachable’.
'Priests, doctors, housewives, all volunteers who had dropped everything to assist people they knew would be suffering more than they were, exuded a sense of determined purpose as they used their local knowledge to ensure the poorest and the neediest were prioritised.
'I am in no way trying to suggest that the international relief effort was unnecessary or ill-executed. But the real heroes in disasters are always the local people who have prepared for the worst, based on their extensive knowledge of their own environment, and are always the first to respond.
In smaller disasters that don't attract media and donor attention they will often be the only ones who can—and will—help. Our primary task must be to help with that preparation.’
As the climate changes, weather related disasters are on the increase. As always, those who experience the worst of disasters are the poorest and most vulnerable communities.
The effect on these communities is often catastrophic.
The experience of trauma leads people away from their homes and into the dangerous and uncertain pursuit of a ‘refuge’ from the storm.
In many cases, the impact on poor communities is exacerbated by a lack of preparation. Often this is not a matter of negligence—it’s more a case of having inadequate resources and training in how best to prepare.
In recent years ABM has been called on to assist in an increasing number of emergency situations and has begun to work with our Partners to ensure that we have a strategic Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan (EPRP) in place in each country so that, when disaster hits, the response is able to get to the poorest and most vulnerable as quickly as possible.
For ABM, management of disasters and emergencies now begins well before these events actually occur.
Often local churches are the first – and only – place that people can turn to for help. In some parts of the world it can take days for government and international assistance to arrive – if at all.
ABM is building systems that allow us to respond quickly to emergencies; transferring relief funds and deploying specialist personnel as they are requested by our Partners.
ABM and our Partners are always grateful for the generous and heartfelt response of prayer and donations. However, this support often fails to reach our Partners in the critical first days of an emergency response and it can be subject to the variability of media attention.
To overcome these obstacles, ABM has established a central ‘Rapid Emergency Response Fund’ which enables us to respond immediately to sudden-onset emergencies.
ABM and our Partners have staff and projects in many countries. As we learn together how best to respond, we are led by the call to fulfil God’s promise of ‘abundant life’ (John 10:10). We can’t control the weather, but together with our Partners and with the prayers and generosity of the Anglican Church in Australia, we can help the most poor and vulnerable communities prepare for disasters in a way that will reduce suffering to a minimum.
Donations to ABM’s Disaster Appeal will help the world’s most vulnerable people protect themselves. Call 1300 302 663 or donate online by clicking on the ‘donate now’ links or contact Steve Daughtry Communications Officer