The village of ‘Lahereer Khamar’ is located in the Union of Shreepur at Sundarganj Sub-district under Gaibandha district. This village is close to the mighty river Teesta. During the rainy season, this village is always at high risk of flooding. It is difficult to reach the village, and it is also filled with ill-built houses and poor sanitation. During flood season, water from neighbouring villages flow over this village to the river Teesta, which sometimes leads to water logging. People of this village do not receive early flood warning and they don’t have much knowledge on flood preparedness.

Kajal Rekha is one of the residents of Lahereer Khamar village. She is the youngest of 5 sisters and 4 brothers. Unfortunately Kajal Rekha lost both her parents before she finished her schooling. She left school and married, but after one and half years of marriage she had a bad fall, and severely injured her back. Despite local treatment at a nearby hospital, she became dependant on others for her daily living activities. During this time, Kajal Rekha’s husband married another woman and started living separately.

Kajal Rekha became a burden in her brother’s family. Her brother built a separate room for her in the corner of the verandah with a few pieces of tin. Gana Unnyan Kendra (GUK) provided her a wheelchair in 2008. But due to the inaccessible house and environment, the wheelchair did not help her much to increase her mobility.

She suffered the most during times of floods. Their house was built much below the flood level so that flood water got into their house, submerging their floors and toilet. While other people went to the dam, she was not able to due to the inaccessible and unhygienic environment, lack of personal security, proper sanitation and access to clean water in the shelter. She had to stay in the house by taking shelter on a makeshift platform made of bamboo. She was always left out from the relief distribution activities because of her mobility limitation as well as lack of information about the agencies engaged with relief and rehabilitation activities.

Kajal Rekha learned about a local CBR in 2010, and began to participate in its different activities. She was selected as the Vice-Chairperson of the Ward Disaster Management Committee (WDMC) formed under the project. Now, she talks about flood preparedness with her neighbours during their friendly conversations. With the help of the programme, she raised her home and received proper sanitation and a source of safe drinking water. Kajal Rekha hopes that her neighbours will take shelter in her house during the time of floods. She also received training on animal husbandry, poultry, homestead gardening, cage fish culture and tailoring to make her more independent. She received a small grant to start livelihood activities and bought a tailoring machine with that support. Now, the neighbours come to her to make their dresses. In addition, she is rearing 3 lambs and 10 chickens, which contributes to her monthly income.

Some challenges still remain. The village infrastructure is still not accessible, but Kajal Rekha can move around at her house easily using her wheelchair. At present she requires very little support from others for her daily living activities.

All the training she received enriched her enormously and helped to increase her confidence in flood preparedness and supporting others before, during and after floods. She has been actively involved with the activities of the WDMC. She has already spoken with the ward, sub-district and district disaster management committee meetings to advocate for the vulnerability issues of people with disabilities during floods. Her income-generating activities have also given her an increased opportunity to interact with community people. Ultimately all these have helped to increase her acceptance in the family and community.

Footnote:

This story was retrieved and edited from the Project Experience publication from www.cbm.org and the Disability Inclusive Network DRR.

In Bangladesh’s southern district of Chittagong, cyclone shelters have provided emergency shelter for decades. Yet, people with disabilities hardly ever used them due to their limited accessibility. This has changed after some upgrades advised by people with disabilities. During the 2013 Mahasen cyclone, people with disabilities sought shelter and found facilities suitable to their needs.

Throughout community risk assessments (CRA) in early 2011, communities in Chittagong’s Sitakunda sub-district identified a key problem with existing cyclone shelters: access roads, water points, toilets, and power switches were unsuitable for most people with disabilities.

Because of these issues, people with disabilities and their families had been reluctant to evacuate and did so at the last minute or not at all, leaving them at substantial risk from cyclones. Therefore, they devised Risk Reduction Action Plans (RRAP) that sought to improve shelter conditions and utilization.

From planning to action

Supported by Handicap International, communities got together with DPOs and key government actors and formed Cyclone Shelter Management Committees (CSMC). DPOs selected representatives in these committees; at least 10% of CSMC members are people with disabilities. The CSMC visited accessible cyclone shelters in other areas and explained the need for upgrading to the local government.

Together, they oversaw the renovation process, which included construction of ramps, accessible toilets and water points. Handicap International also trained CSMC members on disability inclusive DRM. They now meet every month to coordinate awareness-raising and preparedness efforts. The committee ensures that equipment is stockpiled and ready to use in the shelters, and that volunteers are adequately trained.

Better shelter use, greater inclusion

The investments into accessibility have yielded results rapidly: as cyclone Mahasen approached Sitakunda, people evacuated physically impaired relatives early. Tanjina Akter, mother of 16-year old and wheelchair-bound Sharmin, says: “During the last major cyclone in 2007, I waited until the last moment to see if I could avoid carrying Sharmin to the shelter – it was so difficult! This time, I took her to the shelter in her wheelchair – it was much easier.”

Aside from the better access, the process had another positive outcome: people with disabilities spoke for themselves, and the communities around the four upgraded cyclone shelters changed their attitudes towards people with disabilities, treating them with greater respect.

Success factors

Shafiqul Islam, Handicap International’s DRM coordinator, sees several key factors behind the project’s success: as it was based on the needs of people with disabilities as expressed by them, the local CSMCs drove the process, and local administrators got ‘on board’ following advocacy efforts. Developing close working relationships with key counterparts, such as the members of the Union Parishad and communities was vital – as Shafiqul says, “informal meetings beside workshops and planning meetings helped to develop mutual trust.” 

Finally, the existing working relationships of HI’s local partner Young Power in Social Action (YPSA) with the communities were a favourable pre-condition.

Lessons learnt

When replicating accessibility-related work in other contexts, Shafiqul suggests that three groups must be firmly embedded into the planning process: 

“First, people with disabilities themselves and their families must be part, as nobody else can define their actual needs.

Second, key government partners need to be involved – they need to give permission for upgrading and be convinced of the benefits. 

Third, the overall community should contribute by establishing the CSMC – without the community, the investments are not sustainable.”

Insights

• Nobody can define the needs of people with disabilities better than they (and their caregivers) themselves – their participation is a key to success in greater accessibility.
• Government actors as well as the wider communities need to be involved in planning and implementation, both to obtain approvals and to ensure adequate maintenance. Inclusive Cyclone Shelter Management Committees are appropriate set-ups in this regard.

Footnote:

This story was retrieved and edited from the Empowerment and Participation publication from Handicap International and the Disability Inclusive Network DRR.

In the Indonesian province of Yogyakarta, six organizations have joined forces to advocate for new regulations on inclusive disaster risk management. Ari Kurniawan, a senior trainer with the CSO Ciqal, is at the forefront of these efforts.

In early 2006, a strong earthquake struck the city of Yogyakarta and neighbouring areas. Five thousand people died. Thousands more were disabled as a result. In order to ensure that the needs and capacities of people with disabilities would be integrated into disaster risk management, several organizations have joined forces.

“Together we can”

Following Indonesia’s ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in 2011, six of them (Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund and Handicap International as well as local CSOs Ciqal, SIDRAP, BPCI, Gerkatin and Pertuni) joined a task force to draft a provincial regulation on disability inclusion.

The regulation was signed in 2012 and will take effect in 2015, following a period of awareness-raising and preparation. While contributing to this process, the coalition of organizations has also engaged with various departments at the district level (for example, social affairs, public works, education). As a result, four out of seven districts in the province have created complementary district-level regulations. 

The subject of policy making

Ari Kurniawan, master trainer of local CSO Ciqal, says that despite Indonesia’s ratification of the UNCRPD and other recent successes, Indonesia still has a lot of ‘homework’ to accommodate the rights of people with disabilities – in particular the rights to equal access to social and physical services. Mr. Subroto, the head of the social rehabilitation section of Yogyakarta’s provincial department for social affairs, agrees. In terms of disaster risk reduction, he adds that many public servants still have limited understanding of the needs of people with disabilities, while his government also lacked an adequate database of people with disabilities. “Because of these factors, the needs of people with disabilities during disasters are often ignored, which in turn makes them more vulnerable”, Subroto says. 

The translation of the rather general provincial regulation into more detailed frameworks on disability inclusion was very important. Both Kurniawan and Subroto see progress: “The more we meet”, says Subroto, “the less we use terminologies that are degrading to people with disabilities and the more we become aware about specific rights and needs.” 

Subroto recognizes: “When drafting a policy, one should know who will be affected by that policy. If it is people with disabilities, they should be involved in the draft making; if they are not involved, the policies will not meet their needs.”

Mainstreaming disability inclusion into disaster risk management (DRM) 

In terms of disaster response, Kurniawan sees a change of practices. His NGO Ciqal – supported by Handicap International – advocates for other NGOs to mainstream disability and the inclusion of vulnerable people. As a master trainer in disability inclusive DRM, Kurniawan has trained many participants, including government officials and NGO staff in Indonesia and Timor Leste. With time, he has seen greater sensitivity.

He recalls: “When the earthquake struck Yogyakarta in 2006, not much attention was given to people with disabilities. During the 2012 eruption of nearby Mt. Merapi volcano however, the emergency response was more appropriate to the needs of people with disabilities.” Now shelters were equipped with ramps, accessible toilets for disabled people set up, and trauma-healing activities provided to children at evacuation camps.

“In the past, it was almost impossible for people who use wheelchairs to go to the city hall”, Kurniawan says. “But with our regular meeting at city hall, now they have built a ramp so the building is accessible. It is a small change but it means a lot for us.” In the recent election, the election committee also provided braille ballot papers for people who have vision impairments, while some election sites had been equipped with ramps. “I am happy to see these positive general changes”, relays Kurniawan.

With regard to DRM, he is also glad to see that the provincial regulation is signed – yet, “it will probably take the government another two years to implement it. In fact, disability issues are not the sexiest among government priorities. In the end, this regulation will only be meaningful if the government allocates funding to support people with disabilities.” The job for him and his colleagues at the multi-stakeholder task force is far from over – and they will continue to strive for making disability inclusion a practical reality.

Lessons learnt on the long road of advocacy

Kurniawan shares four aspects that he learned in recent years: 

“First, it takes time and strong will on the long road of advocacy. The more we speak about it the more the government listens to us.” 

Second, he thinks that the formation of coalitions of like-minded organizations is crucial – “together we can”, Kurniawan says.

Third, he believes that the support from international actors plays a role – with ASB and Handicap International in the process, “both communities and government staff tend to pay more attention.” 

Finally, he urges that all channels should be used for advocacy. “Speak at mosques and churches, at social events. Visit schools, go to the villages and explain the issue.” 

Kurniawan is confident that this advocacy effort can be replicated in other provinces. “The key to success”, he says, “is the ability of stakeholders to work together.” Rather than using harsh criticism of the government’s lack of support towards people with disabilities, he believes in soft diplomacy. “You have to understand your counterpart’s viewpoint.”

Footnote:

This story was retrieved and edited from the Empowerment and Participation publication from Handicap International and the Disability Inclusive Network DRR.