Collaborative surge between Christian Aid and Save the Children during Cyclone Vardah

Transcription

1 Collaborative surge between Christian Aid and Save the Children during Cyclone Vardah Cyclone Vardah. Picture: Times of India.

2 Context and background On December 12 th 2016, tropical Cyclone Vardah hit the densely populated coast of Tamil Nadu, India, creating landslides and floods that caused death and destruction in the state s capital city, Chennai. Humanitarian disasters such as Vardah are globally becoming more frequent and more complex. Aid organisations therefore face increasing demands to swiftly scale up (and down) their human resources in response. However, in order to continue doing their life-saving work with limited resources, humanitarian agencies must collaborate with each other to provide the most effective and efficient response possible. Cyclone Vardah. Picture: Watchers. The Transforming Surge Capacity project aims to improve this capacity of humanitarian agencies to scale up resources for emergency response getting the right people to the right places, doing the right things in the shortest time possible. The project has been piloting and building evidence on new, collaborative, and locally focused approaches to surge. It is one of the projects of the Disasters and Emergencies Preparedness Programme (DEPP), which the Start Network has been implementing over the past three years. The seven project partners in the Asia region (ActionAid, CARE, Christian Aid, Islamic Relief, Muslim Aid, Plan International and Save the Children) have recently set up a shared regional roster that allows different agencies to pool their surge capacity in a disaster. Tested during the life span of the project, Go Team Asia is a groundbreaking mechanism that ensures 1

3 members of any participating agency can be deployed to hotspot countries in Asia to support relief efforts there. This allows agencies to draw on their peers capacity in times of need, and strengthens civil society collaboration in disasters. When floods hit Tamil Nadu in December 2016, Christian Aid drew on Go Team Asia for assistance in its disaster response. Madan Prasad Gyawali, a Logistics and Supply Chain Specialist working for Save the Children in Nepal, was deployed to India to provide support. Good practice Madan supports Christian Aid s response and builds local partners capacity Christian Aid was at the forefront of the response to Cyclone Vardah, working closely with its local partner NGO SASY (Social Awareness Society for Youths) in a response funded by the Start Fund. However, many members of the local partner organisations on the ground, as well as their families, were directly affected by the cyclone, hampering their capacity to provide relief. In particular, effective supply chains were needed to ensure Christian Aid s partners could channel life-saving support into affected areas. Faced with pressing needs on the ground, the Christian Aid team decided to use Go Team Asia to fill the gap for supply chain management expertise. They contacted Go Team Asia s Roster Coordinator to source qualified staff from within partner organisations. Ram Kishan, the Regional Emergency Manager at Christian Aid noted: In response to Cyclone Vardah in Tamil Nadu, we realised there was a gap in our capacity for logistics and supply chain, and we wanted to ensure this capacity was on ground as soon as possible. We were also conscious of the required capacity level, hence decided to contact the Regional Roster Coordinator to request a deployment. We approached the regional roster with the view of receiving the required staff support in a timely, effective, and cost-effective manner. Madan, Logistics and Supply Chain Specialist for Save the Children in Nepal, was quickly identified as the best candidate for the job. With 12 years of experience setting up supply chains mechanisms in Syria, Turkey, and Thailand, he perfectly fitted Christian Aid s logistics needs. He received detailed Terms of Reference from Christian Aid, including background information on Cyclone Vardah and on the communities he would be working with. He was then put in touch with his future colleagues on the ground. Once Christian Aid and Save the Children had signed the pre-agreed terms and conditions for deployments from the roster, Madan was deployed to the field in time for the distribution. 2

4 Madan Prasad Gyawali, from Save the Children Nepal, assists in Christian Aid India s response to Cyclone Vardah in January In the original Terms of Reference, Christian Aid anticipated that Madan s support would be required for four weeks, as his tasks included both distribution management and capacity building of local partners. However, Madan was only available to deploy for a two-week period. Despite having only half the time to complete the required work, he finished all tasks of the entire process for supply chain management within two weeks, comments his line-manager on the ground, Shivani Rana, Emergency and Programme Officer at Christian Aid India. Upon his arrival in Tamil Nadu, Madan organised an hour-long orientation with Christian Aid s team and partners, where he shared step-by-step guides to relief logistics, formats required for stock release, and other documentation. He also put in place a token system, which was used for the rest of the relief distribution. The fact that he shared guidelines and accompanied local partners during logistic processes contributed to building their capacity beyond the duration of his deployment. [His deployment] really filled a capacity gap in the team, says Shivani, who notes the technical support made a positive difference to Christian Aid s distribution and supply chain systems. Madan trained our local partners on post-distribution monitoring surveys and built their capacity in stock and supply chain management very effectively. Shivani was particularly pleased with the speed at which Madan integrated in his new position, understood his role within his host organisation and engaged with the local partners. Good, fast and clear communication between involved agencies and the Go Team Asia Roster Coordinator was also reported by Christian Aid as being key to this inter-agency deployment s rapidity and efficiency. Such a collaborative deployment both added value to Christian Aid s own teams and strengthened the capacity of its local partners on the ground. 3

5 Reflections from the roster member and the deploying organisation Madan Prasad Gyawali, Logistics and Supply Chain Specialist at Save the Children Nepal. Madan reports being pleased with the opportunity he was given to work directly with local partners in Tamil Nadu. He says he was able to use his existing skills, but also to develop new ones, specifically in relation to community mobilisation during the distribution process: Distribution of relief supplies through local partners, and especially collaboration with the community leader and volunteers, was a new experience for me. It helped me strengthen my level of confidence to manage the distribution while following the Core Humanitarian Standards. Deploying at short notice to another country and another organisation, and successfully completing his assignment, further strengthened Madan s confidence in his skills as a humanitarian responder. This experience added value to my personal emergency response skills, as well as to the member organisations in the region, he says. Working effectively in unfamiliar contexts, and in collaboration with others, is part of the training Madan received when joining Go Team Asia. Other training components include gender awareness and inclusion-based approaches. Madan also reported incorporating cross-sectoral approaches into his work in India. Despite difficulties such as being the only field representative on the ground, problems reaching his line manager due to connectivity issues, and language barriers, Madan highlighted that working hand in hand with local partners proved key to overcoming these obstacles. This knowledge will in turn benefit his home organisation Save the Children, as Madan says he intends to put his learning to use during his next deployment. Save the Children reported being satisfied with its staff s increased capacity as a direct result of using the Go Team Asia roster, and reported that this deployment had been a valuable opportunity given to a valuable member of staff. Save the Children s focal point for Go Team Asia also highlighted how the clarity of Madan s Terms of Reference, and continuous support from the Go Team Asia Roster Coordinator, contributed to the success of the process. They added that strong senior and line management support for the deployment within Save the Children was essential in making this experience a success. 4

6 Lessons learned Hamad Latif, the Regional Roster Coordinator for the Transforming Surge Capacity project, also shared his reflections from this deployment. As it was the first placement made from Go Team Asia, it provided the partner organisations with some useful lessons. As an example, a week elapsed between the deployment request and Madan s journey to Tamil Nadu; this turnaround can be shortened in the future by having policies and predeployment packs ready for roster members from other agencies. Madan s deployment not only enabled Go Team Asia to test the documentation prepared for deployments, but also to think of new ways of using the roster, says Hamad. This deployment made us realise that the roster can be used not just for emergency response, but also for preparedness and capacity building; something that was agreed on by our project partners at a meeting last month. Go Team Asia s first deployment was a significant step towards inter-agency collaboration in surge. Two agencies with different approaches to disaster response joined their capacities to ensure effective relief in times of crisis. Save the Children contributed its logistics skills, while Christian Aid ensured these skills were disseminated across its network of local partners. Most importantly, through this deployment, disaster-affected communities benefitted from a quick response that combined both technical knowledge and a partnership-based approach. As such, this deployment provides an example of how humanitarian can collaborate to improve relief to the people most affected by disasters. For additional information on the regional shared roster, please click here or contact Hamad Latif, Regional Roster Coordinator: hamad.latif@plan-international.org. 5