Americas Zone Reference Centres Annual Report 2012

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Americas ZoneReerence CentreAnnual Report 2012


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Reerence Centre or

Community Resilience

CRRECInternational Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Costa Rican Red Cross

Address: Barrio Naciones Unidas, Casa #1559

Postal Address: Ave. 36 - Calle 15 #083. San Jos

San Jos - Catedral. 10104 - Costa Rica

Tel: (506) 2226-4092 / 2528-0200

Fax (506) 2226-6634/ 2528-0205

Contacts: [email protected]

Host National Society:


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International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societie

Americas Zone /Reference Center for Community Resilience

Annual Report 2012

Mission

The Reerence Center or Community Resilience is a tool o

the Federations Secretariat to support the American Na-

tional Societies which is based in a National Society and

which works towards reducing vulnerability through the

development o methodologies, tools and harmonization

processes, thanks to the contribution, knowledge and ex-

periences o the dierent Red Crosses o the Zone.

Vision

Turn the Reerence Center or Community Resilience into a technical unit highly ecient and eective in the

development o methodologies, tools, processes or disasters reduction and or the exchange o experi-

ences and good practices to the service o the Red Cross National Societies worldwide.

Promoting CommunityResilience in the National

Societies

Work Tables at a Protected School / CRREC 2012


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Annual Report 2012

Work Methodologies

VCA Methodology

Social Micro Projects

Basic Training Aptitudes

Protected School

Early Alert Sytem

Internships

Consultancy

Additional activities

Who are we?

The CRREC (acronym or Centro de Reerencia para la Resilencia Communitaria Reerence Center o

Community Resilience) is a center specialized in the investigation, systematization, validation and analysis

o methodoligies or community education. Mainly in topics related with prevention, preparation, mitigation

and early alert. In this context, the center is a tool o the International Federation o Red Cross to the ser-

vice o the National Societies and other parties involved in the topic o Reducing Risks at the community

level and to benet the inhabitants o vulnerable communities in countries in America.

What is the CRREC target population?

It is addressed mainly to serve the International Federation o Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies,

Non-Governmental Organizations, government organizations and others.

The products obtained are the result o the work and eort o the volunteers on the National Societies

through technical practicum, harmonization or preparation o teaching materials or good practices at the

local level and adapting them to the continental context, oering in this was theoretical-practical tools thatcan be used collectively.

At the same time, work is being done in the continuous education o acilitators rom the National Societies

that are a continental RED which makes possible the understanding o the present and uture demand o

education processes, consultancy missions, and training modules development, among other activities.


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Annual Report 2012

CRREC Personnel

Coordination

Jos Ziga-Valencia

Technical Administrative Assistant

Beatriz Bonilla-Morales

Technical Support

Volunteers and personnel o the International Federation Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Sec-

retariat o the Federation. Red Cross International Committee, Participant National Societies, UNICEF

Non-governmental Organizations (GOs), Government Organizations (GOs), and others.


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Annual Report 2012

Activities by Work MethodologyA. Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (VCA) Methodology

The vulnerability and capacity assess-

ment is an investigation that uses severalparticipative tools to understand the level

o exposure o the local population and

its resistance capacity to natural phe-

nomena. This methodology is an integral

part (but not the only one) or disasters

preparedness and it can contribute to

the creation o community readiness pro-

grams in case o disasters in rural and ur-

ban areas.

As part o the process, the VCA acilitatespeople to identiy and to understand priority risks, even though they are not natural phenomena.

In this context, the VCA has become a tool that allows dening local priorities and proposing actions to

contribute to disasters reduction; as well as to ormulate and develop programs in each o the priority ar-

eas.

During 2012, work was done to incorporate the risk ocus in urban contexts to the VCA methodology

For 2013 the purpose is to have a version o the methodology adapted to the risk in urban contexts and

means o living.

Also, during this period work was developed in the CD or the VCA systematization, which is available inthree languages: Spanish, English and Creole.

It is important to point out that the Haiti Red Cross oered its support through the ECHO Project, executed

together with the International Federation o Red Cross.

B. Social Micro Projects

Social micro projects promote the development o standardized community projects or all National Societ-

ies, using a simple tool that ullls the minimum requirements established by the International Federation o

Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. They use the experiences lived by the participants and acilitators

which are related with the applications o models to identiy, ormulate, execute and assess community

micro projects. The purpose is to promote a process o collective knowledge construction which will im-

prove the abilities o each o the participants.

The result o the ormation process in the dierent National Societies is the ollowing:


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Annual Report 2012

C. Basic Training Aptitudes

This tool was created due to the need to orm acilitators who can ace dierent scenarios during the work-

shops. It allows the personnel who work in the training area to strengthen their abilities and skills to design

and implement courses or workshops about dierent topics and with dierent participants.

During 2012 training was given to National Societies as well as to Non-Governmental Organizations who

have lately expressed interest in the training oered by the Reerence Center.

It is important to mention that some o the training sessions required French translation

Basic Training Aptitudes

National Society Participants

Haiti Red Cross 22

Haiti Red Cross 24Nicaraguan Red Cross 28

Total 74

D. Protected School

Protected School is a tool which acilitates to National Societies and other parties to develop a risk reduc-

tion plan in the educational centers. The methodology used includes theoretical presentations o each o

the topics by 2 acilitators o the technical equipment o the Project, as well as one representative o the

CRREC. Practical exercises were developed using as a reerence the inormation o the schools in thecommunity o the area.

The nal product o the training is shared with the representatives o the schools where the diagnoses were

applied. This inormation promotes the search o practical solutions or the educational centers.

It is important to mention that during 2012 this tool was updated. The dierence between the action plan

and the response strategy in the educational center was claried. This action plan is the element that di-

erentiates the Protected School rom other tools that have other organizations and institutions that work

with the topic o risk reduction and response to disasters.

Protected School


Honduran Red Cross 22

Nicaraguan Red Cross 28

Total 50


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Annual Report 2012

E. Early Warning Systems:

This tool acilitates the development o an early alert system in case o a food. It will require the minimum

o technology and it could be managed directly by the community. In a simple way it explains the hy-

drological analysis, the design o the monitoring system and o the fow prediction, the pluviometric and

hydrometric monitoring, fows prediction and early alert or local communities near minor river basins.

The manual oers enough inormation to be considered as part o training workshops which together with

the initial support o an expert in hydrology will provide communities the opportunity to design, build, instal

and monitor the measuring instruments (pluviometers and rivers scales). The success o the development

o this early alert system or foods is based on the participation o all the community members. They wil

be the ones implementing the necessary steps described in the manual to operate the system.

Early Warning System


Honduran Red Cross 26Honduran Red Cross 28

Total 54


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Annual Report 2012

F. Internships

This is a service the Reerence Center oers to the National Societies, projects partners and organizations

and institutions that work on topics related with Community Resilience. It involves the participation o one

person or several people in the CRREC activities organized in dierent countries.

Objectives:

Promote the exchange o experiences among the dierent parties. This will allow the development o col

lective knowledge through participation and network job.

Types:

Training: the intern or interns come to CRREC to receive some type o education or inormation which is

oered by the personnel at the center.

Facilitation: the intern or interns are part o Centers acilitation team. Depending on the prole, it can be a

acilitator or a co-acilitator o the activity or workshop.

Tools or materials preparation: people involved are part o a process which allows them to contribute with

the composition, design, revision or adaptation o any material or tool or the CRREC or or any other party

Internships


Finnish Red Cross 2

IPR Technical Internship 2

Haiti Red Cross 6


Total 12


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Annual Report 2012

G. Consultancy

This implies support, ollow-up and accompaniment o activities related with the work areas o the CRREC

within the context o programs and projects executed by National Societies, organizations and institutions

It also allows the development o methodologies, tools and instruments that promote community educa-

tion and resilience increase at the most vulnerable zones.

Objective:

Help the dierent parties execute activities by strengthening mainly the methodological and technical as-

pects.

Oer accompaniment to programs and projects or the implementation o innovative methodologies and

tools which will acilitate the involvement o the dierent parties.

Description:

CRREC oers consultancy services in several topics related with: modules o the series It is Better to

Prevent, Vulnerability and Capacity Analysis, Risk in Urban Contexts, Lie Media, Early Alert Systems

Community Resilience, among others.

Consultancies can include the preparation o digital tools, such as: interactive or systematization CDs

audio or video messages, and games, among others. Methodological tools such as: modules, guides

lesson plans, and posters, among others. The consultancy is established in common agreement with the

parties involved. The reerence terms are established and they include: objectives, results, activities, time

and costs.

During 2012, CRREC oered several consultancies to National Societies such as: Nicaraguan, Honduran

and Costa Rican Red Cross. There were also some consultancies oered to NGOs, or instance: CARE

International Plan and OXFAM.

H. Additional Activities:

Additional to the processes developed as part

o its work lines, CRREC participated in other

activities.

Participation in the Project First Response

Initiative-IPR/FRI:

CRREC has oered support and technical sup-

port to the activities o the IPR project. The our

countries that are executing the project have re-

quested them. The most relevant activities are:


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Annual Report 2012

ParticipationinthemeetingsoftheRegionalTechnicalCommitteeoftheIPRProject:during thesecond year o the Project implementation, two meetings o the Regional Technical Committee were

held (February, June). In this activity, CRREC had a role o support and o consultancy in the communi-

ty area. Basically, the main idea was to incorporate the community training to the activities developed

by the Project.

Planninganddevelopmentoftechnicalmeetingstoprepareforsimulationexercises:the Projecthas been implemented under the concept o initial base line, intermediate and nal assessment. Un-

der this scheme, simulation exercises have been implemented to observe the activation o nationaresponse mechanisms o the National Societies.

To execute these exercises there have been technical meetings to design, implement, assess and mon-

itor the tools to be used in them, which include: disasters scenarios, events scripts, bulletins, interviews

guides, assessment guides in the alert and response phases, indicators, verication sources, guide notes

or the evaluators, and the integration o a multidisciplinary team rom dierent countries composed by:

representatives rom the Colombian Red Cross, Peruvian Red Cross, Salvadorian Red Cross, Guatemalan

Red Cross, Federation Secretariat (volunteering, logistics, health PADRU), CREC, PIRAC, coordinators

and technicians o the IPR project o the: Nicaraguan Red Cross, Honduran Red Cross, Dominican Red

Cross and Haiti Red Cross.

TechnicalSupport:The Reerence Center has oered technical support in the work lines o its compe-tency: Vulnerabilities and Capacities Methodology Analysis, Social Micro Projects, Protected School

Temporary Shelters, Early Alert Systems and Basic Training Aptitudes.

Workshop Global Consciousness o Public Education to Reduce Disasters,

San Jos - Costa Rica:

Standardize the inormation is an objective o disasters reduction in education. Key messages are neces-

sary to promote coherent actions or the general public. The purpose o the workshop is to oer a whole

and representative group o the existing messages with the cooperation o diverse parties, about disastersrisks.

This is a start point or the Federation which will acilitate the development o templates or standard mes

sages that can be adapted and applied at a national and community level, in cooperation with nationa

authorities and other interested parties. CRREC hosted the event, contributed with the logistics and the

methodological development o the event. Also there was coordination with the Zone Oce to transmit

the event live, using the DESAPRENDER platorm. It is important to mention that the Reerence Center

together with the Costa Rican Red Cross made sure that the media was present at the event.

Continental Team Meeting o the Disaster Risk Management Program, Panama:

Regularly, the work team o the Zone Program or Disaster Risk Management o the America Federation

meets twice a year with the ollowing purposes:

The rst meeting o the year was held in February and it ocused mainly in the establishment o planning

mechanisms and in the coordination o the 2012 activities.


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Annual Report 2012

The second meeting was held in August and the purpose was to ollow up, to adjust to planning and to the

projected coordination or the year, to present the new strategic guidelines and structure o the Americas

Zone Oce and to share the achievements and challenges with the participating National Societies and

the CICR.

In both meetings the participation was as member o the continent team o the Disaster Risk Management

Program.

Reerence Centers Meeting, Barbados:

This work session was held in March to develop an integral strategy or Public sensitization, education

and communication about risk management or Latin America and the Caribbean, analyze the existing

tools in the Centers, understand its complementarity, assess collaboration strategic opportunities and

articulate the 2012 Operational Plan o the Centers and o Desaprender.

Global Meeting o the Reerence Centers, Geneva, Switzerland:

It was held in May in the headquarters o the Federation in Geneva, Switzerland. The purpose o the

meeting was the exchange o experiences, lessons learned and to explore how to jointly increase the work

impact o the dierent Centers to benet the National Societies and the communities

XIX Red Cross Inter American Conerence, Montrouis, Haiti:

This Conerence was held March 13 16, Haiti. During this meeting the Inter American Action Setting

2012 2016 (MAI) was established, which is something like an Action Plan or America to achieve the

objectives o the 2020 Strategy o the Movement. Also the Montrouis Declaration was approved, which

includes the commitments o the National Societies o America and which was the result o the discussion

at the dierent work tables.


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Reerence Centre or Institutional

Disaster Preparedness

CREPDInternational Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Salvadorian Red Cross

Address: 17 Calle Poniente y Avenida Henry Dunant, Centro de Gobierno,

San Salvador, El Salvador, Central America.

Phone: + 503 2239-4986

Teleax: + 503 2534-9575

Contact: [email protected]

Host National Soc
https://twitter.com/crepdelsalvadorhttps://www.facebook.com/pages/Centro-de-Referencia-en-Preparaci%C3%B3n-Institucional-para-Desastres/483503008335725


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Americas Zone /Reference Centre for Institutional Disaster Preparedness

Annual Report 2012

The CREPD [Reerence Centre or Institutional Disaster Preparedness] is a specialized Centre dedicated

to the research, systematization, validation and analysis o methodologies or Disaster Management, in

collaboration with National Societies.

MissionThe Reerence Centre or Institutional Disaster Preparedness, here-

inater reerred to as CREPD, with ocial headquarters in the Salva-

dorian National Red Cross Society, is an IFRC Secretariats tool which

acilitates support or the Americas Zone Oce (AZO) in strengthen-

ing National Society preparation, response and vulnerability reduction

capabilities, acilitating the development o methodologies, tools and

harmonization processes, by applying technical knowledge and best

practices rom dierent Red Crosses the continent.

Vision

To be a highly ecient technical unit or the development

o methodologies, tools, processes or National Society

institutional preparedness in disaster management, ex-

change o experiences and good practices, especially on

issues related to the strengthening o National Interven-

tion Teams (NIT), improving internal and external coordi-

nation through the development o standard proceduresapplied in Emergency Operations Centres, appropriate

to the reality o National Societies, ormulating response

and contingency plans that respond to the countrys vul-

nerability, institutional capacity and validation exercises.

2005-2012

Strengthening the Capacities

of the National Societies

Worktables - Haitian Red Cross Operating Procedures /CREPD 2012


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Annual Report 2012

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Lines o Work

National Intervention Teams (NIT): General, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion, Health in Emer

gencies, Epidemic Control, Psychological Support, Humanitarian Logistics.

Response and Contingency Plans.

Standard Operational Procedures SOPs

Organization and Operation o Emergency Operations Centres

Emergency Assessments

Simulations and drills

Who does the CREPD serve?

The CREPD serves mainly National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Nongovernment and Govern-

ment Organizations, among others.

The products obtained are the result o the work and eort by National Society volunteers who, through

technical internships and design, harmonize or prepare teaching materials that are backed by good prac-

tices at the local level, and adapt them to the continental context, thus providing theoretical and practicatools to be used collectively.

At the same time, the training o acilitators rom National Societies, who make up the continental NET-

WORK, is carried out. This makes it possible to meet current and uture demand or training processes

advisory missions, and developing training modules, among other activities.

Emergency Logistics Course - Salvadorian Red Cross / CREPD 2012


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Annual Report 2012

Sta

General Coordination

Miguel Adalberto Vega Medina

Technical Ofcers

Lic. Jos Edgardo Barahona Mira

Dr. Raael Antonio Garca Murillo

Administrative Assistant

Lic. Blanca Miriam Bautista de Grande

Technical Support

Volunteers and sta rom National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, IFRCs Secretariat, Internationa

Committee o the Red Cross, Participating National Societies, USAID/OFDALAC, Nongovernment and

Government Organizations, among others.


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Activities by Line of WorkA. National Intervention Teams NIT

STRATEGICAIM1:SAVELIVES,PROTECTLIVELIHOODS,ANDSTRENGTHENRECOVERYFROMDISASTERSANDCRISES:ALLNATIONALSOCIETIESHAVETHEBASICRESPONSIBILITYTOSTRENGTHENLOCALANDNATIONAL

RESPONSECAPABILITIES,SINCETHEYARECLOSESTTOTHECOMMUNITIESTHATAREEXPOSEDTODISASTERRISKANDCRISES.

National Intervention Teams ocused on disasters are composed o volunteers with multi-disciplinary train-

ing, who come rom subsidiaries and rom the main headquarters. They are trained in various elds o

Disaster Management, and can travel to areas within their territory aected by a disaster in less than 48

hours. To date, they have become an essential tool or disaster management, as well as a valuable human

resource in the organization Regional Intervention Teams and Regional Response Units, among other tools

within the IFRC System.

The NIT training process begins with the General Course. Participants then may choose to specialize in

dierent areas on health, water management and logistics. This process has been adopted by 16 Nationa

Societies in Central-South America and the Caribbean, with more than 1,000 volunteers trained. Training

not only includes the initial course, National Societies are responsible or continuing the process through

the organization, operation and renewal o teams, and incorporating them into their daily work, among oth-

er activities. It has been ound that the National Intervention Teams in the Americas have been diminished

by the high rate o volunteer dropout experienced in National Societies, thus making it necessary to incor-

porate a continuous process that ensures their renewal and permanence. Samples rom the National In

tervention Teams active work can be examined on the Disaster Management Inormation System (DMIS)

Volunteers trained 2012-General CourseNational Society Participants


Chilean Red Cross 16

Salvadorian Red Cross 24

Total 64

Earthquake o Magnitude 7.2 Guatemala.Status: Update Related report number: 2

Sources: National Society National Disaster Secretariat

Action taken by National Society Red Cross:

The Guatemalan Red Cross, through its National Intervention Teams working in local Delegations, com-

pose the Incident Command Systems, as well as Departmental and Municipal Coordinators for Disaster

Reduction.

Example: Taken rom DMIS Report Summary, 08 Nov 12


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Annual Report 2012

B. National Intervention Teams - Health

STRATEGICAIM1:SAVELIVES,PROTECTLIVELIHOODS,ANDSTRENGTHENRECOVERYFROMDISASTERSANDCRISES:RESTOREESSENTIALSERVICES,PROTECTHEALTH,PROVIDEPSYCHOSOCIALSUPPORT,RESTORELIVE-LIHOODSANDIMPROVEFOODSECURITY.

The vision o development built into the health training modules ocuses on ullling our mandate. Available

special elds are: Health in Emergencies (HE), Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion (WASH), EpidemicControl or Volunteers (ECV), and Psychological Support.

During 2012, the Psychological Support training module was proposed and provided at the National So-

ciety level. This new training was conducted thanks to the technical support o National Societies and the

IFRC Secretariat, and was sponsored by the Chilean Red Cross. Development o the Food Security train-

ing module is also expected, which shall be integrated into the Livelihoods module.

The result o National Society participation in trainings is as ollows:

Health in EmergenciesNational Society Participants

Costa Rican Red Cross 15

Total 15

Water, Sanitation and HygienePromotion


Chilean Red Cross 18


Dominican Red Cross 52

Total 96

Health in Emergencies / Epidemic

Control



Guatemalan Red Cross 30Total 56

Health in Emergencies / Psychological

Support


Bolivian Red Cross 20

Guatemalan Red Cross 27

Ecuadorian Red Cross 13

Total 60

CONTRIBUTIONINMEETINGTHEINTER-AMERICANFRAMEWORKFORACTION-ITEM2:RECOVERYFROMDISAS-TERSANDCRISES:STRENGTHENINGREDCROSSTRAININGANDPSYCHOSOCIALSUPPORTCAPABILITIES,EN-SURINGTHEAVAILABILITYOFTHESESERVICESTOCOMMUNITIESAFFECTEDBYDISASTERSANDCRISESWHICHHAVEBEENTHEFIRSTTORESPOND.

Chilean Red Cross Psychological Support Course / CREPD


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Annual Report 2012

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C. Organization and Operation o Emergency Operations

Centres-EOC:

CONTRIBUTIONINMEETINGTHEINTER-AMERICANFRAMEWORKFORACTION-ITEM1:PREPAREDNESSANDRE-SPONSETODISASTERSANDCRISES:THEREARECLEARANDEFFECTIVEMECHANISMSTOENSURETHATIFRCANDREDCROSSMOVEMENTACTIONSINEMERGENCIESAREPROPERLYCOORDINATEDANDARTICULATEDWITHOTHERHUMANITARIANACTORS.

Since the devastating eects o Hurricanes Mitch and George in 1998, National Civil Protection or Civi

Deense Systems have changed the way in which they view disasters, thus giving birth to a new tool

which had been slowly taking shape and which is currently being widely used by Institutions and Systems

charged with managing disasters these are the Emergency Operations Centres: a very useul tool that

has evolved not only in its doctrine, but also in how it is applied. It is designed to be applied in situations o

slow or rapid development, in rural and urban environments; thus, many National Societies have adopted

it by dierent names.

Emergency Operations Centres

National Society ParticipantsCosta Rican Red Cross 22

Plan El Salvador 22



Salvadorian Red Cross22

22

Total 144

The Centre provided advice in the management and control o

emergency operations, applied as an integral part o National So-

cieties National Disaster Preparedness and Response Mecha-

nisms, integrating National Teams and emergency planning. The

Emergency Operations Centres should be viewed as a manage-

ment, monitoring and control tool that cannot be isolated rom

Planning and Organization.

Activities conducted in the National Societies were sponsored by

LARRA, Finnish Red Cross, DIPECHO VIII, First Response Initia-

tive (FRI) and Plan El Salvador.

Honduran Red Cross National Monitoring Centre /CREPD 2012


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Annual Report 2012

D. Response and Contingency Plans

CONTRIBUTIONINMEETINGTHEINTER-AMERICANFRAMEWORKFORACTION-ITEM3:OURDISASTERMANAGE-MENTSYSTEM:UPDATEOFCONTINGENCYANDCRISISRESPONSEPLANSBASEDONINTEGRATEDSECTORANDSERVICEAPPROACHES,STRESSINGONPROTECTIONANDLIVELIHOODGENERATIONMEASURESASKEYISSUESFORIMPROVINGTHEQUALITYOFEARLYRECOVERY.

Response planning is a constant and ongoing task or National Red CrossSocieties, as well as or organizations working on Disaster Risk Reduction,

considering the variability o the territorial context in which these organizations

carry out their humanitarian work. It is necessary to constantly update Re-

sponse and Contingency Plans.

Advice on updating response and contingency plans was provided to the ol-

lowing National Societies: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Haiti,

Honduras, and the Lutheran Federation.

The response planning process consists o several stages, which include re-

sponse plans, contingency plans and standardized operating procedures.

An exchange o technicians between the Nicaraguan and Honduran Red Cross was conducted to take

advantage o these activities, as a part o the First Responders Initiative IPR/FRI project. Details on the

participation in these processes are provided next:

As a result, National Societies ormulated their Response Plan, with an integrated sector and service ap

proach.

Response and Contingency Plans




Salvadorian Red Cross Municipal Civil Protection Committees,

San Vicente, department o El Salvador

21

Haitian Red Cross 38


Lutheran Federation SV 24

Total 153

Honduran Red Cross ResponsePlan update Worktables

/ CREPD 2012

Example taken DMIS Report Summary, 24 May 12Floods

Status: Related report number: 3

Sources: National Society Honduran Red Cross

Action taken by National Society Red Cross:

Following the events, the Honduran Red Cross maintains its entire response system active, as well as the

Contingency Plans, having so far conducted the following activities:

-Monitoring of the situation in different Honduran Red Cross councils through the CNM and EMC

-Activating the Honduran Red Cross Psychosocial Support Team.


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Operating Procedures are the tool that articulates a National

Societys Disaster Response Mechanism with the Emergency

Operations Centres, or this reason, it is essential that these

tools are included when developing a Response Plan.

Sessions were conducted to develop procedures or Nation-al Societies in Honduras, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic,

Haiti and El Salvador. This activity allowed or an exchange o

technical knowledge between volunteers rom National Soci-

eties in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, who participated

conversely in the processes that each NS perormed within

the ramework o the First Response Initiative IPR/FRI proj-

ect. As a result, National Societies developed their Standard-

ized Operating Procedures Manual.

F. Simulations and drills

Simulation and drill exercises are tools that help to address the

need to systematize the suitable training methods in dierent

special elds, because they allow or the establishment o an

experimental environment, recreating certain scenarios that in-

duce among participants the maniestation o behaviors in ac-

cordance to circumstances that may occur in the real world.

Within the ramework o the First Response Initiative IPR/FRIproject, the Centre conducted the second simulation exercise

in the Honduras, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic and Haiti

National Societies, with the purpose o assessing the opera-

tional status o their National Disaster Preparedness and Re-

sponse Mechanisms. The results were able to guide National

Societies in the development o their Risk Management pro-

grammes.

In carrying out the exercises, the CREPD involved a technical

team composed by specialists in logistics, disaster manage-

ment, volunteering and health, coming rom National Societiesand the Secretariat. They were responsible or developing the

tools and assessing the exercises within the dierent National

Societies; each exercise lasted or ve days. Also along this

line o work, capacity building courses were developed in the

ollowing National Societies.

Haitian Red Cross response mechanismsimulation / CREPD 2012

Simulations and drills



Salvadorian Red Cross,Municipal Civil Protec-

tion Committees, La

Unin, department o El

Salvador

21

Bolivian Red Cross 21

Total 69

E. Standardized Operating Procedures


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G. Humanitarian Logistics

FORESEENEFFECTSFROMENABLINGACTION1:BUILDSTRONGNATIONALREDCROSSANDREDCRESCENTSO-CIETIES:EXTENDEDANDSUSTAINABLENATIONALSOCIETYCAPABILITIESATTHELOCALANDNATIONALSCALE.

Emergency logistics


Guatemalan Red Cross 20



Total 59

Salvadorian Red Cross Logistics Course /CREPD 2012

H. Workshops or Instructors

Workshops or instructors were the basis or the creation and

maintenance o the continental NETWORK; these, just like

the NIT, have been negatively aected by the high volunteer

turnover in National Societies, as well as by ewer workshops

in 2010 and 2011 due to resource reduction.

The vision o process and innovation allowed the CREPD to

establish, in 2012, a partnership with several National Soci-eties (Paraguay, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Guatema-

la, El Salvador and Chile) to invigorate strengthening o the

National Society-based NETWORK. The instructor training

process is refected as ollows: 2007: One workshop, 2008: Two workshops, 2009: Six workshops, 2010

One workshop, 2011: Two workshops, 2012: Five workshops. The trained resources allow the Centre to

eciently meet demand or services, which are requested primarily by National Societies. Details on the

mobilization o the NETWORK are provided below.

Continental Humanitarian Logistics WorkshopEl Salvador / CREPD 2012

Logistics is an essential system in emergency manage-

ment. In recent years it has become a real necessity

within National Societies, who in times o disasters mustorganize and manage the mobilization o large quantities

o supplies and humanitarian aid, as well as the vehicle

feet, among other needs. For this reason, since 2008

the CREPD has contributed with dierent stakeholders

to develop the Logistics training module, completing

such activities in 2011.

These actions opened the possibilitiy to impart this new

specialization course to National Society National Inter-

vention Teams in 2012.

The Guatemalan (DFID), Salvadorian (DIPECHO VII) and

Nicaraguan (IPR/FRI) Red Cross have expanded the ca-

pabilities o the National disaster Intervention Teams.


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Instructor workshop by special feld

National Society Special feld Participants

CREPD-Paraguayan Red Cross General NIT 13

CREPD-Nicaraguan, Chilean, Guatemalan, Salva-

dorian Red Cross

Humanitarian Logistics 16

Total 29

Taller para instructores tres especialidades

National Society Special feld Participantes

CREPD-Nicaraguan Red Cross. General NIT, Health, Plans 18

CREPD- Dominican Red Cross. OFCOE, Health, NIT 13

Total 31

I. Development and/or updating o training modules

CONTRIBUTION INMEETINGTHE INTER-AMERICANFRAMEWORKFORACTION- ITEM3:OURDISASTERMAN-AGEMENTSYSTEM:EXPANDCOOPERATIONWITHINTHEMOVEMENT,PEERSUPPORTANDMUTUALLEARNINGSTRENGTHENNATIONALREDCROSSSOCIETYDISASTERANDCRISISMANAGEMENTCAPABILITIESTHROUGHBETTERHARMONIZATIONANDSTANDARDIZATIONOFTRAINING,METHODOLOGIESANDTOOLS.

The updating and preparation o materials or new services are complementary, but vitally important, tasks

to provide better services to the Centres users, as well as to constantly update the variety o productsoered based on National Societies needs. The ollowing activities pertaining to the revision o the training

modules were carried out in 2012:

With support rom the Health Programme in Antigua, Guatemala, the technical review o the Nationa

Intervention Teams training modules in Health in emergencies and water, sanitation and hygiene pro-

motion was veried.

At the request o the Pan American Disaster Response Unit (PADRU), the rst day or curriculum devel-

opment in Regional Intervention Teams or Emergency Health was supported.


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Annual Report 2012

J. Missions and Exchanges in the continental instructors

NETWORK

ENABLINGACTION1:BUILDSTRONGNATIONALREDCROSSANDREDCRESCENTSOCIETIES:NATIONALSOCIET-IESVALUEACULTUREOFLEARNINGANDAREACTIVELYINVOLVEDINTHEIFRCSACTIVITIES,INORDERTOSHARETHEIRKNOWLEDGE,EXPERIENCEANDRESOURCESWITHOTHERNATIONALSOCIETIES.

The process o human talent development includes several stages, which range rom basic training tospecialization using knowledge and skills acquired in disaster situations. In this process, persons certied

as instructors are subject to a number o training internships where they put into practice what they have

learned, under the supervision and evaluation o the CREPD. Resource mobilization is carried out with the

purpose o:

Generating an exchange o experiences with other National Society instructors, who conduct capaci-

ty-building or training activities to support the organization and development o the courses;

Allow newly certied instructors to start their training in real adult capacity-building situations;

Monitor perormance, which includes assessments o content, methodology and ethical-proessiona

behavior; and Update contents based on new knowledge.

In 2012, the exchange program that the Centre promotes since 2005 was not sponsored. National Soci-

eties, convinced o the importance o this activity, included the mobilization o instructors rom other Na-

tional Societies and CREPD sta, as well as the sponsoring o new instructor training workshops, in their

planning.

Despite the limitations, the result was: 41 mobilizations carried out at dierent NSs in the continent, sup-

port o 73 local instructors in dierent countries, and 48 advisory-training missions rom the CREPD o-

cials, which regulates process perormance and quality.

The continental acilitator networks exchange program is based on cooperation and solidarity between

National Societies, in response to Strategy 2020 and the Inter-American Framework or Action.

As an added value, it enables the exchange o experiences, homogenization o mechanisms, disaste

management strategies; it osters cooperation, and above all, strengthens National Societies in light o

their Civil Protection Systems, as auxiliaries to the public authorities in humanitarian aairs.

CONTRIBUCINALCUMPLIMIENTODELMARCODEACCININTERAMERICANO-TEMA1:PREPARACINYRE-SPUESTAADESASTRESYCRISIS:FOMENTARUNMAYORINTERCAMBIOYAPRENDIZAJEENTRELASSOCIEDADESNACIONALESDELACRUZROJAATRAVSDELACOLABORACINCONLASINICIATIVASDELAFICRYELSEC-RETARIADO,SEALANDOLOSPUNTOSFUERTES,LASCAPACIDADESYLASBUENASPRCTICASENLAPREPA -

RACINYRESPUESTAPARADESASTRESYCRISISENAMRICA.


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K. Complementary activities

In addition to the processes developed as a part o their lines o work, the CREPD participated in other

activities complementary to its mission.

Implementation o the First Response Initiative Project-IPR/FRI:

The CREPD has provided backing and technical support to the FRI project activities, as has been requiredby the our countries implementing the project. The most important activities are:

ParticipationintheFRIProjectsRegionalTechnicalCommitteemeetings:Two Regional TechnicaCommittee meetings were held in the second year o project implementation (February, June). In this

activities, the CREPD played an advisory role in National Society operational planning, and provided

guidance on issues related to Disaster Risk Reduction, with emphasis on Emergency Planning, re-

sponse organization, general training o National Intervention Teams, and in the special elds o: Water

Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion, Health in Emergencies, Humanitarian Logistics, Organization and

Operation o Emergency Operations Centres, and simulations and drills.

Planninganddevelopmentoftech-nical meetings in preparation forsimulation exercises: The projecthas been implemented under the

concept o initial baseline, and inter-

im and nal assessment. Simulation

exercises have been implemented

under this scheme, in order to ob-

serve the activation o the National

Societies national response mech-

anisms.

To carry out these exercises, technical workshops were held on the design, implementation, assess-

ment, and monitoring o the tools to be used in the aorementioned exercises, this included: disaster

scenarios, script o events, newsletters, interview guides, assessment guides or the warning and re-

sponse stages, indicators, verication sources, guidance notes or evaluators, and the ormation o a

multidisciplinary technical team rom dierent countries. This team was made up by: representatives

rom the Colombian Red Cross, Peruvian Red Cross, Salvadorian Red Cross, Guatemalan Red Cross

IFRC Secretariat (volunteering, logistics, health, PADRU), CREC, PIRAC, and FRI projects coordinators

and technicians rom: Nicaraguan Red Cross, Honduran Red Cross, Dominican Red Cross and Haitian

Red Cross.

Technicalsupport:The Reerence Centre has provided technical support in the lines o work withinits competence: Response and Contingency Plans, Emergency Operations Centres, Standardized

Operating Procedures, and Health. It thereby aims to contribute to the ormation o National Society

human talent.


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30

Workshop Global Awareness in Public Education or Disaster Reduction, San Jos,

Costa Rica:

The standardization o inormation is considered a di-

saster reduction target in education. Key messages

are necessary to promote coherent actions among

the general public. The purpose o the workshop is

to provide a comprehensive and representative serieso existing messages, with the collaboration o diverse

stakeholders, on disaster risk.

This is a starting point or the IFRC, which will allow it

to start developing templates or standardized messag-

es, which are then to be adapted and implemented at

the national and community level, in collaboration with national authorities and other stakeholders. The

CREPD participated in this activity as a representative o the benchmark team in Disaster Risk Reduction

or the Americas Zone, and given the experience within various National Societies.

Follow-up meeting to update the Regional Response Plan or the Americas, Panama City:

This meeting was organized to methodologically guide the design process o the Regional Response Plan

in order to strengthen coordination and joint operation between National Societies, the IFRC Secretariat,

Participating National Societies, ICRC and other actors. At this second meeting, the response mechanism

and its coordination with the newly created Regional Response Units were complemented. The nal prod-

uct was the document which will then be disseminated by PADRU.

Temporary Shelter Course, Mexico:

Activity carried out at the Mexican Red Cross Centre or Capacity-Building and Training, under coordination o the parties responsible or the IFRCs SHELTER programme. The CREPD participated as an ob-

server, with the purpose o systematizing the training process and analyzing the possibility o long-term de-

sign, the training module, and other tools or managing temporary shelters by National Intervention Teams

Course on Flood Rescue Techniques, Honduras:

In order to strengthen the Centres work with the National Societies

Training School, the Binational course Flood Rescue Techniques

was held. The course was aimed at Honduran and Nicaraguan

Red Cross volunteers. This activity was coordinated with the Sal-

vadorian Red Cross School o Aquatic Saety. As a result, the rst

National Society brigades in this special eld were trained. They

were then incorporated into the First Responder Initiative Project

IPR/FRI by their respective NSs.


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Annual Report 2012

Meeting o the Disaster Risk Management Programmes Continental Team, Panama::

The IFRCs Disaster Risk Management programme working team or the Americas Zone meets regularly

twice a year or the ollowing purposes:

The years rst meeting, held in the month o February, was aimed primarily at establishing the planning and

coordinating mechanisms or 2012s activities;

The second meeting, held in the month o August, had the purpose o monitoring and adjusting to the

planning and coordination projected or the year, presenting new strategic and structural guidelines rom

the Americas Zone Oce, and sharing achievements and challenges with Participating National Societies

and the ICRC.

The CREPD participated in both meetings as a member o the Disaster Risk Management Programmes

continental team.

Reerence Centres Meeting, Barbados:

This working session was held in March with the purpose o creating the comprehensive strategy Public

awareness, education and communication in risk management or Latin America and the Caribbean

analyzing the Centres existing tools, understanding their complementary nature, evaluating strategic op-

portunities or collaboration, and articulating the Centres y DesAprenders 2012 Operational Plan.

An initial proposal was made or adapting CREPDs Practical handbook or conducting Simulations and

Drills to the Caribbean context. It included activities such as: translating the guide and training module

conducting three validation courses in the Caribbean, and later, with support rom USAID/OFDALAC, con

ducting an instructors training workshop. Originally, internships were programmed to begin in Novembe

2012, but due to unoreseen circumstances they were rescheduled or 2013.

Global Meeting o Reerence Centres, Geneva, Switzerland:

In May, the CREPD participated in the Global Meeting held at the IFRC headquarters in Geneva, Switzer

land. The purpose o the meeting was to exchange experiences and lessons learned, and explore how

we can together increase the impact o the work done by dierent the Centres, or the benet o Nationa

Societies and communities.

Meeting o Regional Response Units-RRU, Panama City:

The RRUs will be established as a response tool in the Americas, coordinated by the IFRC Zone Oce

and composed o members rom the regions National Societies. These units will belong to the Nationa

Societies and be mobilized as specialized and standardized units. The meeting had the purpose o revising

the existing terms o reerence, as well as the procedures or activating the RRUs, and also dening the

technical standards.

The CREPD played an important role, as the set o training curricula or RRUs will be extracted rom

the Centres existing training modules: Health in Emergencies, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion

among others.


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This activity also involved National Societies rom Ecuador, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica

Mexico, Guatemala, the United States, and Canada.

Fourth Central American Disaster Risk Reduction Management Leaders Conerence,

San Salvador, El Salvador:

The Conerences aim was Strengthening the exchange o experiences, inormation and suggestions or

the harmonization o procedures in managing emergencies and disasters in the Central American regionwith national, regional, and international actors.

Some o the results were: Dissemination o the new concept o the FA-HUM exercise, dissemination o

response preparedness activities among stakeholders present, reporting on the current state o: CCAH/

CCAHI/CATAI, National Response Plan, Management o the Emergency Operations Centre, Emergency

and Disaster Management in 2011, and lessons learned, among others.

The CREPD participated to contribute, based on its experience, in most o the issues that are within its

technical competence, and as an operational arm o the International Federation o Red Cross and Red

Crescent Societies.

Meeting o OFDA partners and ocal points, San Salvador, El Salvador:

The purpose o the meeting was: to share inormation about the work done by USAID/OFDA as part o the

training and technical assistance processes that are being promoted since 1992 in Latin America and the

Caribbean, and particularly their evolution in El Salvador. Also, to provide inormation on the role played by

USAID/OFDA in response and additional relie actions, and to share interests in supporting initiatives that

reduce disaster risks, with a ocus on Integrated Disaster Risk Management.

It is important to mention the association between the CREPD and OFDA, since the latter collaborates in

the CREPD instructor certication process. This is a relationship that has been maintained since the establishment o the Centre, but has not been made ocial by the IFRC Secretariat.

E-Learning Workshop and Experts Meeting, Panama City:

The purpose o the workshop was to contribute to strengthen

volunteer and Red Cross personnel capacity and skills through

e-learning and the use o technologies in education. The meeting

also served to disseminate the Centres accomplishments and its

medium term challenges. One o the main challenges is to migrate

the existing training modules to the e-learning ormat, using the

IFRCs Distance Learning Platorm, which will provide access to

more users.

Additionally, an experts meeting was held with the participation o

technicians rom National Societies, with the purpose o develop-

ing an e-learning methodology applied to the National intervention Teams General training Course, to

increase service coverage and expansion. This activity will be continued in 2013.


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Annual Report 2012

Creation Facebook page, emails, Twitter:

Promotes product development through innovation, generates preerence and reerence, builds loyalty

and deepens relationships, creates a network o ollowers, promotes products or services, announces up-

coming events, maintains contact with users, allows communication with its networks, obtains eedback

identies new needs, tastes or preerences, analyzes the competition. These are some o the reasons why

the CREPD joined the so-called social networks, identiying them as an opportunity to be present in the

digital media, and to communicate about the dierent work areas.

At the same time, and with technical support rom the Honduran Red Cross Department o Inormation

Technology, new email accounts were created or CREPD ocials, since using ocial accounts portrays

a better image to internal and external users in the Red Cross Movement. This is an initiative that was on

hold or several years, but has just now materialized.

The creation o a virtual tool that oers our users the opportunity to urther their learning, download mate-

rials and advertise our products to achieve the Centres sustainability is being studied.

Workshop or the restructuring o the Honduran Red Cross Disaster Management Ofce-OPADE

Tegucigalpa, Honduras:

As part o the First Response Initiative Project, and through the simulation exercises coordinated by the

CREPD, the Honduran Red Cross began the process o updating its administrative-operational structure

as well as its disaster management tools, within the National Society. Thereore, a workshop was held

to promote the approach towards a new Disaster Risk Management Oce model. For this activity, the

CREPD actively participated in working groups and technical meetings, promoted and run by a Nationa

Society monitoring team. This activity will continue in 2013.

Technical review o the National Intervention Team training modules on Health and Water, San-

itation and Hygiene Promotion in Emergencies , Guatemala:

Under the auspice o the International Federation o Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, through the

Health Technical Unit or the Americas Zone Oce, the CREPD participated in the review o two o its

Health Training Modules.

The purpose was to bring together National Society ocal points in the elds o Health and Water, Sanita-

tion and Hygiene Promotion, to review and adapt the National Intervention Team (NIT) training modules

with a ocus on current trends in the Americas

The process was led by the CREPD, implementing interactive methodologies such as: working groups and

presentations, and systematizing the results later on. Currently, the training modules are being updated

based on the recommendations that came up in the review workshop. This activity will continue in 2013

General Course on Regional Disaster Intervention Teams, Colombia:

In the context o sustained cooperation with the Pan American Disaster Response Unit (PADRU), technica

support was provided in 2012 or the development o training processes or Regional Intervention Teams


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Annual Report 2012

34

(RIT). This support included advice on: design, implementation, assessment, and coordination with the

NIT process, as well as monitoring the update and diversication o regional training curricula.

Similar activities have been conducted in previous years, with the aim o strengthening the IFRCs response

system training processes in the Americas. Work has been done providing technical support or Genera

RITs, IT Telecom, and recently, Health in emergencies.

Technical meeting or developing the Regional Disaster Intervention Teams (ERI-RIT) trainingmodule, Health in Emergencies special feld, Panama City:

As part o the technical support provided to the Pan American Disaster Response Unit, the rst internship

or updating the RIT training module took place in Panama City.

The CREPD has the expertise required to design these tools. Among the results obtained we can include

identication o training needs, denition o perormance, training objectives, denition o participants pro-

le, and NIT/RIT coordination on Health in emergencies.

The process includes at least three phases, o which only the rst one has been carried out. The remaining

ones are expected to be developed in the coming year. For this intervention, an economic proposal was

submitted beore PADRU to help with the Centres sustainability.

Training o Trainers Workshop on psychosocial support:

With support rom the IFRCs Psychosocial Support Reerence Centre in Denmark, the Training o Trainers

Workshop on Psychosocial Support was held in Panama City. It

was aimed at National Society specialists rom: Panama, Guate-

mala, Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, Guyana, IFRC Lima, Granada,

Honduras, IFRC Haiti, Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico, Argentina,

Venezuela, Belize, CREPD, Costa Rica and Paraguay.

Since 2011, the CREPD promotes the ormation o National Inter-

vention Teams on Psychosocial Support in Emergencies, which

in 2012 were implemented in ve countries in the Americas. This

activity adds to the quality o the services provided by the CREPD,

while allowing or the integration o National Society knowledge

and experience into the Psychosocial Support Reerence Centres eorts.

Assessment o the District Evacuation Drill Bogot, Colombia:

In previous years, the CREPD has participated in this assessment process, invited by Civil Protection Sys-

tems or other entities. This year, at the request o the Emergency

Prevention and Attention Fund (FOPAE), and o district entities

rom the City o Bogot/Colombia, an exercise was organized to

assess the unctions o the Drill Coordination Centre (CCS) and

the Emergency Operations Centre (COE) during the District Evac-

uation Drill. Based on the Red Cross National and International

experience, the activity produced a series o recommendations to


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Annual Report 2012

enhance this District-wide exercise. The results obtained will help to improve training deciencies, as wel

as aect the perormance and quality o the Systems response.

Board Exercise No 2 on Humanitarian Assistance / Disaster Response. Inter-American Deense

Board (IADB), Washington, USA:

The aim o this meeting was to identiy possible improvements in the IADBs internal coordination with

regards to its relationship with other actors, by motivating participants to examine the existing processesprocedures, structures and doctrines, and allowing or the development o a plan tailored to the IADBs

needs, thus acilitating compliance with the tasks required by the OAS.

One o the most important activities was to provide inormation on IADB actions to ocials, representatives

rom OAS organisms, similar organizations and NGOs, involved in natural disaster humanitarian aid.

Technical Support to Haitian Red Cross:

Within the ramework o the First Response Initiative Project, the Centre presented beore the Nationa

Society a participatory process that included:

Updating o the National Response Plan, based on its operations manual.

Coordination o existing and new contingency plans with regards to the National Response Plan.

Updating and development o Standardized Operating Procedures.

Technical assistance was provided between July and December, with support rom a consultant who is

part o the Centres Continental NETWORK. The methodology employed was participatory, allowing Na-

tional Society sta and volunteers to work together in dierent activities and group dynamics.

Four day-long technical sessions were conducted, with the ollowing results:

Perormance diagnosis o the National Societys response mechanism,

Updating o the Emergency Response Plan.

Updating and harmonization o Regional Contingency Plans.

Drating the Standardized Operating Procedures Manuals rst drat.

Planned or 2013: validating plans and procedures through a binational drill on the Dominican border, and

adapting CREPD training modules to be used by the Haitian Red Cross Training Center.


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Training Sessions on the Management o Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion at the

community level:

The Centres sta participated in the training session led by mem-

bers o communities beneted by the project Disaster Risk Reduc-

tion in vulnerable communities within the municipalities o Coate-

peque and El Congo, El Salvador, conducted by the Salvadorian

Red Cross and sponsored by AECID and the Spanish Red Cross.The NIT Training Module was employed or this activity, as well

as the course material entitled Net Cal at Yec, which in Nahuatl

means The house o healthy water. The added value was the

knowledge about a new tool that will permit the training o people

with low levels o schooling.

STRATEGICAIM1:SAVELIVES,PROTECTLIVELIHOODS,ANDSTRENGTHENRECOVERYFROMDISASTERSAND

CRISES:ADISASTERORCRISISCANBEASUDDENEMERGENCYORMAYHAVEASLOWEVOLUTION. INBOTHCASES,ITISOURBASICDUTYTOBEWELLPREPAREDTOUSEALLEFFECTIVEMEANSTOOFFERHELP,ACCORD-INGTOTHEDIFFERENTNEEDSMEN,WOMENANDCHILDREN,WHEREVERANDWHENEVERNECESSARY.


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The Red Cross Caribbean

Disaster Risk Management

Reerence Centre

CADRIMInternational Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent Societies

Barbados Red Cross

Barbados Red Cross Society

Warrens, St. Michael, Barbados

Ofce: +1246 417 1530

Fax: +1246 417 1540

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.caribbeanredcross.org

Host National Society:
http://www.linkedin.com/company/red-cross-caribbean-disaster-risk-management-resource-centerhttp://twitter.com/cadrim1http://www.facebook.com/CADRIM.IFRC


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Americas Zone /Caribbean Disaster Risk Management Reference Centre

Annual Report 2012

38

Mission

To develop and share contextual tools and methodologies to create saer and more resilient communities

in the Caribbean.

Vision

To become a centre o excellence in the eld o disaster risk management through the development, ad-

aptation and sharing o knowledge and pioneering innovative research at regional, national and local levels

Working areas

1. Development and Adaption o ToolsThe Centre adapts existing tools as well as develops new tools based on needs identied. The Centre

translates, modies and tests relevant tools presently in use within the Federation and other CBDRR or-

ganisations. Through a process o eedback rom Red Cross Societies and other organizations utilizing

this resource, existing tools are periodically reviewed and modied to ensure they evolve with changes in

context and practice. In addition, the Centre creates new tools and methodologies as opportunities and

needs arise. Climate change and issues o gender and diversity are key cross-cutting themes that are

considered in the development o the materials.

2. Internships and Technical Exchanges

The Centre coordinated internships and technical exchanges with partners such as National Societies

research institutions or similar entities, in order to update, develop, pilot, promote, test and share meth-odologies and tools. These exchange visits and internships are organized with clear goals and objectives

to maximize the learning experience among people in the Caribbean and with other places with similar

contexts. These approaches allow all the regions societies to contribute with the development, testing and

up-dating o tools and methodologies related to disaster risk reduction in a highly participatory manner.

3. Development and maintenance o Trainers Database

CADRIM gathers and maintains inormation rom Red Cross volunteers and sta to inorm a regional train-

ers registry o persons skilled in various training methodologies. Trainers are used to pilot and develop/

adapt materials through a learning-by-doing approach. Through this process, materials are built though

through input rom National Societies across the region and refect a consensus in terms o tools, method-

ologies and overall eectiveness.

4. Knowledge Management

The Center tries to improve knowledge management primarily in the area o community resilience and

risk reduction via updating and maintaining a web library o high quality resource materials in English on

community based disaster risk reduction relevant to the Caribbean. The library is designed or the usage

o Caribbean Red Cross National Societies and other organisations with similar portolios or persons with

an interest in this eld. This inventory builds on and links to existing online resources and platorms.


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Annual Report 2012

Who are we?

The Caribbean Disaster Risk Management Reerence Centre (CAD-

RIM) is an entity o the International Federation o the Red Cross and

Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and hosted by the Barbados Red

Cross National Society. This recently ounded (2010) Reerence Cen-

tre aims to reduce risk, especially to the most vulnerable, in the Ca-

ribbean region through innovative and relevant activities and actions

at the community and institutional levels. The permanent sta and

regular interns, with the technical support o the Red Cross Carib-

bean Disaster Management Network or Red Cross networks, IFRC

oces and partners, are producing contextual tools, methodologies

and coordinating trainings to promote actions consistent with key global and regional Strategies and

Frameworks such as the Hyogo Framework or Action, Strategy 2020, the Comprehensive Disaster Man

agement (CDM) Strategy or the Caribbean and the IFRC Caribbean Disaster Management 5 Year Strate

gic Framework, which highlights capacity building in disaster management as a priority in the region.

Who do we want to support?

CADRIM supports all those in need with methodologies ultimately aimed at benetting the most vulnera-

ble within the Caribbean. This support can be provided directly to communities or the requesting group

or indirectly via training to Caribbean Red Cross National Societies, as well as urther adapting tools and

delivering trainings to other institutions, humanitarian/development organisations or those in other sectors

Thus, the Centres reach includes engagement with governmental agencies, NGOs and private secto

organisations.

Sta o the Center o Reerence

The Reerence Centre is currently staed with three persons. They are as ollows: Coordinator

1 Technical Ocer

1 Administrative/Finance Ocer (part-time)

DM Network Representatives

From let: Reynette Royer (Coordinator), Melanie Cameron (Admin/Finance Ofcer), Tracey Edwards (Technical Ofcer)and Rendal Edwards (Intern-January to March 2013 St. Vincent and the Grenadines Red Cross Society)


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Annual Report 2012

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Activities within each area of work

(undertaken in 2012)

A. Development and Adaption o ToolsStrategic Targeting Methodology

The development o guidelines and tools or a Strategic Targeting Methodolo-

gy (STM) or Community-based Disaster Risk Reduction (CBDRR) interventions

was instigated by the IFRC because o the challenges experienced by National

Societies when trying to select communities without them. A consultant was

identied to undertake this work which sought To develop a targeting method-

ology which will be used to transparently and consistently select the most vulner-

able communities in a country by any stakeholder (Government, NGO, RCRC)

throughout the (Caribbean) region. The work began in October 2012, with thetechnical lead rom a consultant, and was completed in February 2013 based on

the Terms o Reerence which guided the consultancy.

The stages o development o the Strategic Targeting Methodology (STM) were as ollows:

Interviews with key inormants and review o documents.

Launch meeting in Barbados with regional and national participants: initial guidance was sought on

what an improved targeting tool should look like and detailed comments were collated on the existing

Community Selection Tool (CST) developed by the IFRC Caribbean region.

Revision to the scope o work (outputs): it was suggested by the consultants and agreed by the IFRC

that the STM improvements required review and revision o the whole approach to CBDRR targeting

which hitherto covered only the community selection step. In short, the STM should include the ollow-ing processes:

assessing and comparing disaster risk across the entire country to identiy priority parishes.

assessing and comparing disaster risk within prioritized parishes and compiling a short-list o the

most vulnerable communities or hazard-prone areas

assessing, comparing and ranking disaster risk within the short-listed communities

selecting communities or the CBDRR project (or or other purpose).

Visit to Guyana:

one-to-one meetings with the Head o the National Disaster Organization (NDO) the Civil Deence

Commission (CDC) and other national stakeholders to examine availability and accessibility o

inormation required or mapping and analysis o disaster risk within Guyana.

visit to one region to meet the chair o the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) (also chair o the

disaster management committee) to examine availability and accessibility o inormation required o

disaster risk mapping and analysis within the Region.

Community Disaster Risk Assessment Questionnaire (C-DRA-Q) redesigned.


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Annual Report 2012

Visit to Grenada (coinciding with the second Country Prole consultancy visit):

C-DRA-Q reviewed by National stakeholders in Grenada

One-to-one meetings with the NDO (the National Disaster Management Agency - NADMA) repre-

sentative to examine availability and accessibility o inormation required or mapping and analysis

o disaster risk within Grenada

Visit to one community to meet members o a Community Disaster Response Team (CDRT) and the

Disaster Coordinator or the district.

Attendance at the Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) conerence in Jamaica: exploration

o availability and accessibility o disaster risk inormation and global Geographic Inormation Systems

(GIS) mapping and modelling systems/platorms. Review o experiences in DRR concerning gender,

young people, civil society etc.

.

Visit to Jamaica:

Attendance at the review meeting or Hurricane Sandy

Workshop to review the revised Community Disaster Risk Assessment Questionnaire by nationa

DM stakeholders, and to explore availability and accessibility o inormation or national disaster risk

mapping and analysis.

Field testing o the revised Community Disaster Risk Assessment Questionnaire

One-to-one meetings with the NDO (Oce o Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Managemen

(ODPEM) and other stakeholders.

Final drat produced o the C-DRA-Q

Development o Community Disaster Risk Assessment Workbook (C-DRA-W) to store, consolidate

and analyse relative disaster risk within assessed communities and guidelines or data entry / analysis

A Steering Committee to monitor this methodology was established in December 2012 and the rst

meeting held in February 2013. Six meeting participants were in attached and included representatives

rom CDEMA, American Red Cross, Canadian Red Cross, Caribbean Disaster Management NetworkIFRC/CADRIM and the lead consultant.

In2013, IFRC and CDEMA will discuss most appropriate and eective way to launch the tool region-ally, including a training plan/schedule. CADRIM is coordinating the nalisation o the tool with Canadian

Red Cross, CCRDR Project implementing National Societies, DM Network Representative and IFRC oca

points.

Climate Change Adaptation (3CA) toolkit

CADRIM has conducted another review o the CDEMA toolkit, rst adapted in 2011

by CADRIM to complement the VCA process, as well as similar guides rom otherorganizations. In addition, CADRIM personnel participated in climate change-relat-

ed trainings in Jamaica, Hungary and Barbados, allowing or the toolkit to be pro-

moted amongst regional stakeholders as well as incorporating additional content.

Based on this, a new approach to improve the content o the toolkit has been de-

veloped which incorporated GIS and GPS. The nal product also includes climate

change awareness, assessment and assimilation/adoption tools. Feedback rom

the previous pilots has been incorporated into the toolkit and the acilitators hand-


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book that is currently being nalised. Pilots have been conducted

in Suriname and Antigua in November 2012 and Jamaica in Jan-

uary 2013, through the Improving Climate Change Resilience o

Caribbean Communities (DFID) project currently being rolled out

in these countries. The ourth and nal pilot will be carried out in

Barbados in April 2013. Three pilots have been covered through

the Improving Climate Change Resilience o Caribbean Commu

nities (DFID) project unding and 1 through the CCRDR ProjectWith the exception o the rst three pilots, the CCRDR project has

covered all o the costs related to the development o this tool. A

comprehensive review o the evaluation rom the pilots is being

incorporated into the tool and the guide which are scheduled or

nalization in June 2013.

3CA Training in Antigua and Barbuda

CCA Training in Guyana

Pilot Country Participants

Grenada Red Cross (version 1) 327*

Guyana Red Cross (version 1) 67

Suriname Red Cross (version 2) 21

Antigua and Barbuda Red Cross (version 2) 69

*includes CCA awareness activities in 8 communities.

Response and Contingency Planning Guide

Through an internship, CADRIM conducted a review o the existing guide and

template adapted in year 1 by the Centre, taking into consideration the new

IFRC Contingency Planning Guide, leading to concrete recommendations or

improvement o the Caribbean guide. Feedback on the previous version was

received and recommendations rom National Societies in the region through

an interactive session during the Pre-Hurricane Meeting, a one-day workshop

and telephone interviews have been captured. Improvements, amongst others,

include new templates or contingency plans and Memorandums o Under-

standing (MoUs), updated content with reerences to cash based program-

ming, business continuity and simulations, and an adapted training package.

Pilots were conducted in October and November 2012 in Suriname and Barba-

dos respectively. The nal review is underway and will be nalised in May 2013.

Pilot Country ParticipantsBarbados Red Cross 8

Suriname Red Cross 15


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Annual Report 2012

Simulations and Drills Training Manual

Through an internship unded by the IFRC Americas Zone Oce, both the

Spanish and the English version o an existing simulations guide were re-

viewed. This resulted in a complementary and additional internship rom the

St. Vincent and the Grenadines Red Cross to examine the relevance and

user-riendly nature o this and other similar guides and propose an adapted

version or the Caribbean. A pilot training was held in March 2013 in collab-oration with the CRRO and also built on substantive eedback rom the DM

Network during a CADRIM Technical Advisory Group Meeting.

Volunteers in Emergencies Toolkit

This toolkit aims to strengthen the capacity o National Societies to manage volunteers beore, during

and ater times o emergency. It builds upon the Volunteer Management toolkit produced by the Caribbe-

an Organizational Development Network in 2006 and volunteer management and development trainings

conducted over the last three years. Work on the toolkit has been co-unded by DG ECHO through the

placement o a volunteer rom the European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps (EVHAC) in the CRROThorough desk research was conducted and the drat version o the manual was presented. National Soci

eties were inormed about the process and consulted during the annual Pre-Hurricane Meeting in May, and

our National Societies participated in revising the toolkit through a workshop and tested it in a simulation in

Trinidad in July 2012. Feedback rom these meetings, the workshop and simulation has been incorporated

into the toolkit. The Canadian Red Cross and CIDA will support the nal costs related nal review, printing

and dissemination through the CCRDR Project.

Pilot Country Participants

Regional Training (2 persons rom 7 National Societies and 4 rom Trinidad and Tobago

Red Cross host National Society)

18

Sae House Methodology

This methodology has been developed by he French Red Cross though CAD-

RIM and was nanced through the Caribbean DIPECHO 8 project and the

implementation is led by the French Red Cross. The methodology aims to

provide Red Cross volunteers with the necessary knowledge to train commu-

nity members on how to make their houses saer. Suggested actions include

guidance on building oundations, installation o hurricane straps and other

structural reinorcement, as well as guidance on how to build food barriers

to protect homes. So ar the tool has been piloted in Barbados, Grenada andSuriname. In 2013, through the Improving Climate Change Resilience o Ca-

ribbean Communities (DFID) project, the methodology will be urther validat-

ed and roll out in Jamaica and CCRDR Project unds will be used to support

the printing and promotion o this tool.


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Pilot Country Participants Houses

Reinorced

Grenada Red Cross 142 48

Suriname Red Cross 6 3

Barbados Red Cross 12 5

Dominica Red Cross 55 56

Jamaica Red Cross 44 39

Saint Lucia Red Cross 2 0

B. Internships and Technical Exchanges

INTERNSHIPS / Sta on Loan

Pilot Country Quantity Focus Area

Suriname Red Cross 1 Learning

IFRC Geneva 1 Response and Contingency

Guide

French Red Cross 1 Saer Houses Methodology

IFRC Americas Zone Oce 1 Technical support: tool

adaptation

TECHNICAL EXCHANGES

Jamaica Red Cross Society to Guyana Red Cross 1 Vulnerability and Capacity

Assessment Training

CADRIM Interns and Sta - From let to right: Melissa Allemant,Bo Hurkmans, Tracey Edwards, Reynette Royer, Melanie Cameron,Omar Joel-Overman.


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Annual Report 2012

C. Development and maintenance o Trainers Registry

In 2012, an online and an ofine system has been set up, inviting Red Cross volunteers and sta to input

their training experience. The survey can be accessed online through this link or visiting https://www.sur-

veymonkey.com/s/crcs_training_registry. Correspondence has been sent out to all 13 Directors Genera

o the National Societies supported by the Caribbean Regional Representation Oce, as well as some

overse

Documents

Americas Zone Reference Centres Annual Report 2012