Effective CBDRM involves a change in mind-sets

1. Effective CBDRM involves a change in mind-sets

The CBDRM process involves making significant changes to the mind-sets of disaster-affected popula tions and to the established ways of working of organizations that support them. This includes changing mind-sets of NGOs and government officials regarding their routines and the way they view and relate to disaster-affected people. Disaster-affected people are not helpless passive victims but active and creative survivors (Anderson & Woodrow, 1989). Instead of viewing them as unprepared, uneducated and unaware of disaster risks, aid providers like NGOs and government agencies should acknowledge local people’s capacities, experiences and coping strategies to deal with adversity.

Although local people developed mechanisms to cope with disasters and protect the most vulnerable within their communities, they may attribute disasters to nature and the will of God, or as God’s punishment because of violating traditional or religious practices. These beliefs result in a passive attitude of local people who accept their faith as something normal which can’t be changed. These beliefs and attitudes are not simply a reflection of people’s individual thoughts or their environment, but rather are constructed and embedded in social processes (Hilhorst, 2004). These passive mind-sets can change when “social arrangements that are ordinarily perceived as just and immutable must come to seem unjust and mutable ” (Snow, 2004: 383).To make a change in people’s mind-sets possible, commu nity risk assessments are instrumental for changing mind-sets when conducted as a conscientization process (Freire, 1970).

A risk assessment consists of a hazard, vulnerability and capacity assessment. A ‘Hazard assessment’ collects data on the behavior of past hazards and tries to project the risks in the future like the conse quences of climate change. ‘Vulnerability assessments can be used instrumentally, as an analytical tool to change people’s mind-sets and understanding. In the pro cess of conscientization, ‘vulnerability’ is used to make people understand their current conditions and the reasons behind. ‘Vulnerability’ is an analyti cal tool to unravel institutional arrangements and power relations, rather than a real-time descript ion of local people’s situation that will disempower and label people as poor, landless, disabled, widow, women, children or elderly. Once people are aware of why they are vulnerable and that unjust conditions are changeable when government acts as a responsi ble actor, the risk assessment shifts the language towards people’s capacities, emphasizing their ‘agency’. ‘Agency’ includes people’s organisa tional and motiva tional resources - terms used by Anderson and Woodrow (1989) in their Capacity and Vulnerability Assessment framework. Likewise, capacities can refer to ‘politi cal resources’ which includes abilities to actively look for connections with power holders outside their social networks, to organize and mobilize effective agency through a chain of agents and community networks. In many ways a disaster is a good entry-point, since people are strongly motivated to do something to increase their resilience (Haverkort et al, 2011).

In order to change the mind-sets of NGO and government, different strategies are required like capacity building and training, but also by installing feed-back mechanisms to solicit opinions from In order to change the mind-sets of NGO and government, different strategies are required like capacity building and training, but also by installing feed-back mechanisms to solicit opinions from

6 and 7).

A different and effective strategy to change people’s mind-sets is including DRR in school curriculum . Based on reviewing CBDRR literature, this strategy is particularly effective in countries prone to earth quakes/tsunami like Indonesia, Philippines, Japan and Nepal. Schools are widely accepted platforms for development and reform initiatives (Helvetas, 2009). By imparting DRR knowledge and skills, schools prepare children to cope with future disasters and to help the community plan and implement disaster preparedness activities. Schools play a very important role in dissemination among communities: in particular children and youth can lead awareness campaigns. It is important to partner with education authorities to have DRR incorporated in school curriculum.