1. Fostering a Culture of Safety LOCALISING THE HYOGO FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION : INTEGRATED COMMUNITY BASED DRR THROUGH SCHOOL AND HOSPITAL SAFETY The 5 priorities of the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and a local priority with a strong institutional basis for implementation. Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and a local priority with a strong institutional basis for implementation. Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning. Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning. Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels. Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels. Reduce the underlying risk factors. Reduce the underlying risk factors. Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels. Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels.

2. Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) is a global blueprint for implementing disaster risk reduction (DRR) and build resilience of nations and communities to disasters; aiming to reduce disaster induced loss of life, social, economic and environmental resources of the community and nations by 2015. India, due to its vulnerable geographical location has been a constant witness to disasters like floods, earthquakes, cyclones and droughts. So far, the HFA priority action has not shown significant results at the national, state and local level in India due to the absence of its practical implementation on the grass root level. Understanding the impending need and priority for DRR (Disaster Risk Reduction), SEEDS India and Emmanuel Hospital Association (EHA) initiated a pilot program in the state of Uttarakhand, in India. The project is supported by ECHO and partnered with Christian Aid.

3. School and Hospitals serve as the nerve centers in a rural community. Integrating DRR through these nerve centers and fostering a culture of preparedness at a community level is the main objective of the project. It also aims to work on advocacy and capacity building to aid the scaling up of the initiative. This program worked on two levels. At the National, State and District level, government officials, NDMA (National Disaster Management Authority), UNDP, NGO’s and other major stakeholders have been involved as they are the front line players in the policy and decision making. The implementation of HFA priorities at the grass root level on the other hand has been through two major links in the community, i.e. hospitals and the schools. Volunteers from the community have also been trained alongside, thus evolving an integrated approach to Disaster Risk Reduction. The project is implemented across the district of Dehradun in 2 blocks covering 10 villages, 10 schools and 2 hospitals.

4. The state of Uttarakhand in northern India is located on the Indo-Australian tectonic plane and falls in seismic zone IV and V, a very high damage risk zone. A mountainous terrain on the southern slope of Himalayas, Uttarakhand is quite vulnerable due to its typography. Floods, landslides, earthquakes, forest fires, cloudbursts and avalanches are some of the identifiable disasters of this area. Due to unplanned settlement, weak economic infrastructure and poor housing construction, loss of life and damage can escalate multifold in case of a disaster. The photo essay is the visual documentation of the various facets of the project, highlighting a part of the process at implementation level, identified gaps and the good practices and lessons learnt from this project that can be replicated and can serve as a model for schools, hospitals and community.

5. need for a DRR policy and subsequent training ... “We require proper drafted DRR policy at the State level, trained teams at the district and block level, early warning system and a mechanism to deal with mishaps and disasters which so far is missing in our system.” “The DRR training imparted by SEEDS India in the ten schools has boosted confidence in the children. During the time of disaster it is crucial that one does not panic. Now, not only are they equipped to face the disaster but are also able to prevent further casualty that usually happens during such times.” Geeta Nautiyal, District Education Officer, Dehradun, and a GOLFRE (Global Open Learning Forum on Risk Education) participant Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and a local priority with a strong institutional basis for implementation. Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and a local priority with a strong institutional basis for implementation. Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning. Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning. Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels. Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels. Reduce the underlying risk factors. Reduce the underlying risk factors. Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels. Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels.

6. A National workshop on "Safe Schools and Hospitals: Developing Indicators for Practices" was organized on February 9, 2010 at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. The workshop focussed on the need for indicators of DRR practices and ways to integrate schools and hospitals for further community based DRR initiatives. The workshop was supported by National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and organized jointly by SEEDS India and Emmanuel Hospital Association (EHA), in partnership with Christian Aid, UK with the support from European Commission Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO).

7. A web portal, www.safecommunities.info is designed under the project to serve as a useful resource for schools and hospitals interested in taking DRR measures and checking their safety quotient. It is useful for DRR practitioners, schools and hospitals to assess risk on the spot. A significant step to initiate DRR culture and provide a common sharing platform.

8. need for building awareness ... “This year we are facing landslides, mudslides, cloud burst, that people had never even heard about in this area. Due to climate change, there are many other disasters that we may face. At this point it is very important to make the children aware of the disasters and once they are aware, all the techniques of saving them will come automatically.” “There is a whole Disaster Management department in Dehradun but they never ever thought of going to schools and making children aware of the disasters that can happen here.” Abha Saili, Principal, Mussorie Girls Inter College, Mussorie Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and a local priority with a strong institutional basis for implementation. Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and a local priority with a strong institutional basis for implementation. Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning. Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning. Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels. Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels. Reduce the underlying risk factors. Reduce the underlying risk factors. Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels. Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels.

9. Students of Mussorie Girls Inter College cheering after the successful completion of the mock drill, July 2010. Safety Awareness Posters are one of the effective ways to create awareness. These posters have been designed to educate the children on identifying various (natural and human induced) hazards and ways to safeguard one self.

10. A student practicing Duck, Cover and Hold during the mock drill organized in Mussorie Girls Inter College, Mussorie. A major component of the school safety program is to strengthen emergency preparedness through mock drills in schools. Practicing drills for safety and evacuation is expected to improve the efficiency and success during the time of a real event. The schools have responded well to these drills and intend to repeat them once in three months.

11. First Aid team members of Mussorie Girls Inter College, applying bandage to a casualty. First Aid training has certainly infused them with confidence and gifted them a life saving skill. SEEDS has provided training to the Task Force members. Search and Rescue, First Aid and Fire Safety Task Force teams have been formed in the schools. Each team has a special role to play during the time of a disaster. Defining the roles helps in avoiding chaos, saving time and speeding up of the recovery process. The Task Force members are also the future trainers who will train the new students in the school. DRR training in the school is also an effective way to disseminate and share information with the community.

12. A community member from Search and Rescue Team marking a classroom during the Mock Drill in Mussorie Girls Inter College. It’s a way to convey to other team members that the class room has already been searched for casualties.

13. Mamta Joshi from Khandikhal village in Tehri district is sharing her experience of GOLFRE training. SEEDS have been a part of Global Open Learning Forum on Risk Reduction (GOLFRE). Volunteers and Teachers have been introduced to the training programme. A new approach to creating leaders and trainers in the field of DRR who can further disseminate the knowledge and scale up the process of awareness. Disaster management is relatively a new subject and initiating an interest in Disaster Risk Reduction can be successfully met by introducing GOLFRE courses in the schools as an optional subject. The children will not only be educated, but they can also plan a career in DRR.

14. The DRR initiative has helped the schools to Identify and manage hazards , prepare and respond to emergencies and mitigate the effect of disasters on the schools. A School Disaster Management Plan has been formed. There is a Disaster Management Committee that comprises of teachers, representation from Fire Department and Hospital. Regular meetings should be held to make this a sustainable program.

15. Neena Kalyani from Government Inter college, Barotiwalla, Dehradun is a First Aid Task force member. After having been sensitized during her interaction with SEEDS , she now feels that her school is not safe. The school structure is quite old and cannot save them during an earthquake. She has also been able to identify the threat of water, flooding her school from the nearby canal during heavy monsoons. The DRR training has created awareness in her and given her a new perspective to look at her surroundings from a safety perspective.

16. Children at Anugrah, Herbertpur, Dehradun Anugrah, a school for children with special needs, Herbertpur, benefited immensely from the project. During crisis, children who are mentally challenged are the most vulnerable members of the society. It is a challenge for the care givers to translate ways and methods that can be understood easily. They are perhaps the lowest denominator of the society and can be left or forgotten easily. The care givers of Anugrah received training from SEEDS which has helped them identify the risks and vulnerabilities of the school. Non structural Mitigation activities have been carried out in the school, for example, wheel chairs are now properly secured to the wall with a latch when not in use; computers are secured to the table; store rooms are made clutter free etc.

17. A learning activity for children in Anugrah, Herbertpur. So far, Anugrah has focused on building the capacity of their staff and training the volunteers from the community. The program has helped them develop strong ties with ASHA and Anganwadi workers who are already working with the community, thus creating a holistic approach for effective DRR. Fifteen months of association with SEEDS team has triggered the need for getting specialised training to introduce and share DRR methods with the children - a future goal for Anugrah, and a small step in fostering a safety culture for themselves and the children.

18. need for awareness around structural mitigation ... “Awareness will always improve our preparedness. The program forced us to look into the issue that we never took seriously before. The issue of not only protecting the life of the patients, the staff but also realising the fact that hospitals are supposed to be one structure which should be able to withstand a disaster. “ “ After the program we have now noticed that most of the Mission hospitals in the rural areas are old and have a poor building structure. We require more input for the structural mitigation work for our hospitals” “After the SEEDS intervention, we have become aware that we cannot work as an individual entity. We have responsibility towards the school and the community and as a hospital it is our prime responsibility to take the lead.” Dr. Daniel, Medical Director, Herbertpur, Dehradun Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and a local priority with a strong institutional basis for implementation. Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and a local priority with a strong institutional basis for implementation. Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning. Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning. Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels. Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels. Reduce the underlying risk factors. Reduce the underlying risk factors. Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels. Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels.

19. Patients in the Male ward of Herbertpur Hospital, Dehradun Serving as lifelines in a community, it is important to reinforce the structural and non structural resilience of a hospital for its smooth functioning during the time of a disaster. The price to pay for the failure of a health care facility during the time of disaster is far more than the cost of making them safe and resilient.

20. Patients in the Landour Community Hospital, Mussorie. The narrow corridor and wooden benches on either side can be a hindrance in the safe evacuation of the patients and hospital staff in case of an accident or a disaster, resulting in further causality.

21. Landour Community Hospital is built on the hills and is vulnerable to earthquake and landslides. The current structure and design of the hospital is not disaster resistant. For example, there are only two exits in Landour Community Hospital. Also the narrow entrance could prevent a smooth evacuation of the patients and hospital staff.

22. need for connecting with people at various levels ... “Identification of most of the vulnerabilities in the hospital has happened because of the GOLFRE course. Before this, we never seriously considered the eventualities associated with.” “DRR has acted as a bridge between different projects run by community health and has helped tie up relationships with each other.” Jubin Verghes, Program Manager, Anugrah (a school for specially challenged children), Herbertpur and a GOLFRE participant and Task Force Member (Evacuation) Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and a local priority with a strong institutional basis for implementation. Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and a local priority with a strong institutional basis for implementation. Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning. Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning. Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels. Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels. Reduce the underlying risk factors. Reduce the underlying risk factors. Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels. Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels.

25. need for mass education . . . “Government needs to promote the use indigenous material for housing and combine it with a modern technology to build earth quake resistant houses.” “Disaster management should be introduced as a subject in schools, not only studied as a course but in a way that it can be practically implemented during the time of a disaster. Also, mass education is the key for a success in Disaster Risk Reduction.” Jot Singh Gunsola, MLA, Mussorie Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and a local priority with a strong institutional basis for implementation. Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and a local priority with a strong institutional basis for implementation. Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning. Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning. Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels. Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels. Reduce the underlying risk factors. Reduce the underlying risk factors. Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels. Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels.

26. Yezdani Rahman, program manager SEEDS demonstrates methods of carrying the casualties during Search and Rescue in Herbertpur Hospital. Capacity building by identifying and training the volunteers has also been a major focus of the project. Women from the communities have showed interest and actively participated in the trainings and workshops held by SEEDS and EHA. The volunteers from the community, comprising of youth, housewives, ASHA and Anganwadi workers have created Task Forces in their designated areas which can now identify hazards and risks, develop an evacuation plan and play the role of advocating and sensitizing the community. There are 15 volunteers in one area and their responsibility is further divided to Awareness, Advocacy and Action.

27. Hendry Kounklian along with Asha worker Razia Sultana, South Road, Mussorie Hendry Kounklian, age thirty seven, came to Mussorie thirteen years ago. A certificate holder in Physical education course, he worked as a teacher in the Primary School in Lahduri village. Now working as a social mobilizer for one year in DPECHO project, his teaching skills have certainly helped him in reaching out to the people. He participated in the Awareness workshop conducted by SEEDS and that is how his first lesson on learning about disasters commenced. It has been a challenge for Hendry as the communities are located in the areas that are not easily accessible and disaster advocacy is not a primary agenda for rural community.

28. Yezdani Rahman, project manager SEEDS, and Hendry facilitating a worshop on First Aid Training in Landour Community Hospital, Mussorie. A GOLFREY participant, Hendry has now graduated from a teacher to a trainer where he conducts training exercises with the community to help them in resource mapping, identifying and mobilize Task Force Members. Although the project is coming to an end, for Hendry it is a fresh start towards a safe future.

29. Kiran Singh working along with the School Search and Rescue team to rescue a child in a mock drill conducted in Mussorie Girls Inter College. Thirty two year old Kiran Singh lives in Mussorie and has been an active volunteer throughout the program. She is trained in both First Aid and Search & Rescue. A house wife, a mother of two and an Asha worker, Kiran Singh can also be seen as a model volunteer and a responsible citizen, being able to carry out all the roles effectively in her everyday life. Her mother in law is quite supportive and she some times discusses ‘the learnings and experiences’ of the program with her father in law who is a contractor.

30. Razia Sultana, age 24, lost her husband after 4 months of marriage. She is an ASHA Worker and was initiated into the program through other ASHA Workers whom she met in Mussorie Civil Health Centre. She is also a member of Task force team and is trained in Fire Safety. Life has not exactly been a bed of roses but she is determined to make it work for her. She plans to appear for Board exams the coming year. She, along with her 5 year old daughter Azami, now lives with her mother in South Road, Mussorie.

31. issue of sustainability . . . “The only problem we are facing right now is that while state and district authorities are sensitized, the people at the grass root level, block level and even further down are not sensitized enough and that is a major gap while. To institutionalize this whole process is a major challenge for us.” “While piloting such projects, one major issue is the sustainability. Having completed this mock drill in Dehradun, how much can it motivate the schools and hospitals to do it again and again. This is where the district administration and the state level authorities will have to play a major role.” “We now want to focus on training more CBO’s and NGO’s, especially the local level networks. From this time onwards we are thinking of ways to generate more volunteers, provide them with refresher training from time to time so that they can sensitize more people and outreach to a larger community.” Shivangi Chavda,National Program Implementation Head, SEEDS India Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and a local priority with a strong institutional basis for implementation. Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and a local priority with a strong institutional basis for implementation. Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning. Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning. Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels. Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels. Reduce the underlying risk factors. Reduce the underlying risk factors. Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels. Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels.

32. Uttarakhand is the first State in India to demonstrate a model of integrated approach to Disaster Management. Three mock drills were simultaneously held in Herbertpur, on Aug 17 2010 where the community had a major role to play. Government Inter College and Herbertpur Hospital followed the Mock Drill procedures helping the victims and taking them to their respective First Aid Camps. Community on the other hand, took a lead and after giving First Aid, carried the casualties to the hospital. If this program is implemented in real time then it will ease out many of the operations of the hospital during the time of emergency. It will also speed up the process of recovery. Schools on the other hand can also act as shelters during such times - a fine example of integrated Community based DRR. Top - Rescue from the first floor of the building with a rope (chair knot). Bottom - The Medical team of the hospital checking the blood pressure of an injured patient in Herbertpur Hospital.

33. This is a pilot project and now schools and hospitals need to prioritize and take initiative to conduct regular mock drills, hold meetings , constantly update themselves on hazards and life saving skills, train new teachers, children and the hospital staff and slowly try to inculcate a culture of DRR in their every day lives. Community also needs to address to this problem. It is always easy for schools and hospitals if a program is run by an external agency taking care of all the logistics of the program. This is where the district administration and State level authorities will have to play a major role in keeping the program sustainable. The community members carrying the patient to the hospital in a stretcher made from blanket and bamboo sticks.

34. Targeted Audience Advocacy for 5, 300 govt., officials, policy level stakeholders, civil society members / DRR practitioners. Awareness activities to prepare 12, 350 students, teachers and school administration. 280 members of the local community, volunteers and field practitioners from local NGO’s and CBO’s involved. Training for 200 doctors, nurses and community health workers. Advocacy and partnership with governments, internal and Organisational Civil Society groups on HFA.