Cambodian Red Cross - assisting the vulnerable though the provision of health services, disaster management and promotion of humanitarian values.

BACKGROUND

Cambodia is one of the most severely disaster affected countries in the region with the primary natural disasters causing flood and drought.

Cambodia is highly susceptible to annual flooding during the rainy season along the two main watersheds: the Tonle Sap and Mekong rivers. Sever flooding hit the country in 1961, 1966, 1978, 1984, 1991, 1996, 2000 and 2001. In 2002, a combination of drought and flood caused serious impact on the country, especially affecting food security and livelihoods.

The Cambodian Red Cross has a major role to play in the recovery of the country. The emphasis of assistance is slowly evolving from relief to rehabilitation, from disaster response to disaster preparedness anf from emergency assistance to development and capacity building.

The CRC’s role in disaster preparedness is in its grass roots program – the Community Based Disaster Preparedness (CBDP). This program was established in September 1998 and is in line with the Cambodian Government’s development aspirations. Through low-cost ‘micro--projects’, CBPD has significantly reduced vulnerability at the village level.

Mitigation and preparedness strategies are part of the core elements in the overall CBDP process. A preparedness training curriculum, as a component of the CBDP program, was developed through a participatory process at the village level to identify and address community issues. Training and mitigation solutions (micro-projects) are implemented in target communities using a combination of local community resources and modes donor funding.

OBJECTIVES
Process of community participation, empowerment and finding solutions to prepare for and respond to natural disasters.

IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS

Map of village identifying problem areas,
drawn by the communities

Implementation of the CBDP program starts with the identification of villages which are generally prone to flooding and drought. Hazard, Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (HVCA) are carried out by the community to identify the problems. The results of the HVCA becomes the basis for community action planning whereby the community prioritize their solutions to the problem.

The community action places are then reviewed by the DMD. Those approved are implemented with the community taking the lead role in the implementation, management and maintenance. Complimentary to this process is the implementation of early warning project activities supported by the Mekong River Commission.

Monitoring and evaluation of the projects are done together with the community to enrich the participatory process and promote community ownership of the project.