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Vol. 4, Issue 3 December 2010
INSIDE
Emergency updates 2
Madagascar cyclone 4
ECB Project 5
Interview: Caroline Saint-Mleux 6
DRC violence 7
Spot the gender differences 8
The CARE in emergencies newsletter is published by the CARE Emergencies Group in Geneva, Switzerland. To submit ideas, articles, corrections or complaints, p l e a s e c o n t a c t e me r g e n c y c ommu n i c a [email protected]. The views in this newslet-ter are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of CARE International.
NEWSLETTER >> Issue 2, June 2012, Vol. 6
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CARE in emergencies NIGER: Faces of Hunger More than 18 million people are affected by the food crisis in the Sahel. CARE portrayed some of them.
Clockwise from left: Delou Ibrahim, 70. Her granddaughter Latifa, 8. De-lou's hands hold sorrel leaves, used as a condiment, and grains of sor-ghum at her home in Saran Maradi, Niger. Delou Ibrahim has four chil-dren and suffered the loss of nine. "I've seen several crises. The famine in 1984 was the hardest. Rains were very weak. The stems of millet came out but the spikes gave no grain - nothing," she recalls. "Two years ago at least there were people who har-vested millet, but this year the crops have been worse because of the drought." Delou's last crop only pro-vided food for about two days. She receives cash from CARE. "I get to buy cereal to feed my family." They have two daily meals, porridge in the morning and sorghum paste in the evening.
Clockwise from left: Maka Ali, 80. Her granddaughter Maria, 10. Maka's hands hold sorghum at her home in Saran Maradi, Niger. Maka Ali has been a wid-ow for twenty years. She has eight chil-dren and about twenty grandchildren. She has experienced the loss of six chil-dren. "I was alone taking care of them, so I cannot say their deaths weren't re-lated to lack of food," Maka recalls. No-body in her family can work, so she re-ceives a cash transfer from CARE. "When I receive the payment, I buy sorghum and maize," Maka explains. "Before this support, I couldn't; I was eating leaves."
CARE Niger is providing humanitarian assistance to people and communities in the regions of Diffa, Maradi, Tahoua, and Zinder. Through 2012, CARE’s emergency re-sponse in Niger aims to support 245,000 people by reducing food insecurity, strengthening livelihoods and preventing as well as treating malnutrition.
Photos and stories by Rodrigo Ordóñez, CARE’s Regional Communications Coordinator for the Sahel Food Crisis
EMERGENCIES AT A GLANCE: CARE’s emergency response and
recovery activities around the world
BY THE NUMBERS: CARE’s response in emergencies over the past six months*
CARE in emergencies - newsletter Vol. 6, Issue 2, June 2012
8: number of conflicts CARE responded to
24: number of natural disasters CARE responded to
11: number of complex/chronic crises CARE responded to
6.5 million: total number of beneficiaries CARE reached
72 million: total number of people affected by those crises
Natural disasters Afghanistan: floods, harsh winter
Bangladesh: floods, cyclones, cold wave
Brazil: mudslides, floods
Cambodia: floods
Central America: floods, mudslides
Ecuador: floods
Haiti: earthquake, cholera
India: floods, cyclone
Japan: earthquake, tsunami
Madagascar: storm, cyclone
Myanmar: cyclone
Pakistan: floods
Complex/chronic crises Chad: Darfur refugees
Chad: CAR refugees
Djibouti: drought/food crisis
Ethiopia: drought/food crisis
Gaza: conflict/blockade
Kenya: drought/food crisis
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Peru: floods
Thailand: floods
Vietnam: floods
Conflict/Post-conflict Caucasus Cote D’Ivoire
Democratic Republic Congo
Jordan Liberia
Rwanda
South Sudan Yemen
*This data includes emergency relief, rehabilitation and recovery activities.
The Sahel region of West Africa is facing a severe food and nutrition crisis for the third time in seven years. In a region that routinely endures the consequences of environmental degradation, chronic poverty and vulnerability, this year has been harsher than usual. Irregular rains, limited crops, high food prices and a drop in remittances have put people’s re-silience to the test. As of May 2012, 18.4 million people are affected in eight countries, and more than one million chil-dren are at risk of starvation. The region has also been weakened by conflict in Mali, which has displaced tens of thousands of people and created a severe humanitarian crisis in the northern areas. CARE is currently scaling up its emergency operations in Chad, Mali, and Niger, and preparing to support affected people in the long-term to make them less vulnerable to future crises. In Chad, CARE is distributing food, giving ac-cess to water and sanitation, and providing seeds and agri-
cultural tools. In Mali, CARE is providing food, seed and fod-der to affected households in the southern regions and, while seeking access to the northern areas, assisting displaced fam-ilies with food and essential household and hygiene items. In Niger, CARE is providing cash in exchange for temporary com-munity work, so families can buy food in the local markets, and assisting Malian refugees and Nigerien returnees with food and basic relief items.
Chad: Population reached by CARE: 62,130 Population affected: 3.6 million
Mali: Population reached by CARE: 15,000 Population affected: 4.6 million
Niger: Population reached by CARE: 60,353 Population affected: 6.4 million
Sahel food crisis
Kenya: Somali refugees Niger/Chad/Mali: food crisis
Somalia: drought/food crisis
South Sudan: returnees
Sudan: Darfur IDPs
Niger: People receive cash in exchange for part-time work in projects identified by
their communities. Photo: CARE Rodrigo Ordóñez Violence in Mali has displaced tens of thousands of people like this family,
which has sought security in Niger. Photo: CARE/Ibrahim Niandou
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CARE in emergencies - newsletter Vol. 6, Issue 2, June 2012
A ll of the above statements actually happened when I tried to apply for a job in the men-dominated field of security. And I accepted to get discouraged—but only for a little time or a maximum of a few days.
Like the phoenix, I rose from these encounters with an even stronger will and firmer resolve to work in the security field. There was no reason to believe that I couldn’t do it and hence, I finally got the break with the International Organi-zation for Migration when I was hired as Security Officer. Since then, I actually haven’t looked back. Though, there does pop up a little desire occasionally to go to these six different people who said what they said and tell them: “Look, I made it”. I knew a job in security is tough, very tough. I also knew it would be demanding and meant serving in inhospitable envi-ronments. But I persisted believing in the strength of human resolve, honestly. I am aware of the many odds that human beings have surmounted in the past and as the saying goes: “A dream of yesterday is a reality today.” I couldn’t put it any better than that.
BEING A STEP AHEAD My resolve to be among the best in the security industry is unflinching and I would always be looking forward to adding value both in my professional occupation and personal devel-opment. CARE is a non-political non-sectarian humanitarian organization and all that matters to us is improving the lives of poor people by helping them to overcome poverty. Today, humanitarian agencies such as CARE have to deal with emerging threats while doing their work. We can be targeted simply because of who we are and what we are perceived to represent.
By Sadaf Rahman, Safety and Security Officer, CARE Pakistan
“You cannot do it.”
“Security is not for girls; go and find yourself some office job.”
“Can you even spell security?”
“Oh, you wish to be a security manager, really?”
“Why don’t you meet me over dinner and we will see what we can do.”
“Thank you for your interest but we would rather hire a man.”
“A woman can be as good as a man” The challenges of a woman working as a security officer
Sadaf Rahman meets with CARE beneficiaries in Pakistan. Photo: CARE
A security officer has to be on her toes to always be a step ahead of those who wish us damage. Not many may know it but it is a perpetual struggle to keep our staff, our projects and premises protected. It also looks adventurous from the outset; but I as a security officer have learnt NOT to be adventurous. This, to me, is the basic definition and requirement to be in the security business. Being brave means respecting security and safety rules. I am grateful that CARE practices its belief: gender equality. I will, and am all geared up to, prove that CARE’s decision to hire me was the right one. A woman can be as good as a man in security. Today, as a CAS, a Certified Anti-Terrorism Specialist, I stand with courage and strength and face whatever comes my way. I am a woman. But I am no less than anyone else. Period!
IN BRIEF We are very pleased to share with you that the new CARE International Humanitarian and Emergency Strategy 2013-2020 has been approved by the CARE International Board in the recent CI Board meeting. The strategy document will be shared shortly with an official launch of the strategy being planned for August/September. For more information, please contact Barbara Jackson, CARE’s Humanitarian Director: [email protected]
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CARE in emergencies - newsletter Vol. 6, Issue 2, June 2012
FOLLOWS YOU
John Uniack Davis @johnuniackdavis John Uniack Davis is Country Director of CARE Madagascar, a major humanitarian and sustainable development actor in the country.
Following
1,365 TWEETS
84 FOLLOWING
399 FOLLOWERS
Giovanni: Twitter chronology of a Madagascar cyclone
11 Feb
Report: Tropical Cyclone #Giovanna sets its sights on
#Madagascar -- could prove catastrophic.
Tweets
12 Feb
If #Giovanna hits Mada at category 4, it could exceed destruction of 1994's Geralda which followed similar path.
#Madagascar Gov't has issued cyclone & flood warnings for a large swath of the East coast. There is a certain amount of uncertainty about when Cyclone
#Giovanna will make landfall in #Madagascar. Waiting for updat-ed prediction soon.
#Madagascar Gov't BNGRC & NGOs, UN agencies mobilizing for
#Giovanna response; @CARE, Medair prepare for early Tues landfall near Toamasina.
13 Feb Severe Tropical Cyclone Giovanna has developed a terrifying eye Packing winds of 145 mph, Tropical Cyclone Giovanna is just hours away from making landfall in Madagascar.
#Madagascar: Cyclone #Giovanna expected to hit between Toamasina & Vatomandry late tonight.
14 Feb
Cyclone #Giovanna -- Strong winds + rain in Tana now. No cell
contact. Our thoughts w friends + colleagues there. #Madagascar Intermittent power cuts here in Tana. Strong wind gusts already. Normally cyclones don't hit Tana this hard, but this is a big one +
coming closer to Tana than usual. #Madagascar Gov't issued bulletin not to go outside today in Tana; folks in cap-
ital not used to storm this strong. #Madagascar Lights flickering in + out, winds unabated, torrential rains here in Tana.
As soon as it's safe to fly, @CARE helicopter mission will take to
sky to assess #Giovanna damage + target relief. #Madagascar Lights have been out for a while now in Ivandry Tana. Will rest battery + get some sleep. Ciao!
#Giovanna winds intensifying here in Tana. Have advised all @CARE staff to stay put + stay safe.
We are in the eye in Tana -- spooky.
20 minute calm in Tana, now wind picking up again. Guard service rover says not much damage; some trees down.
Initial anecdotal reports for #Giovanna say less damage than expected, more in Brickaville + Vatomandry. Too early to know much.
Strong winds + horizontal rain in Tana now. Our garden more flooded than it has ever been.
First #Giovanna report from Vatomandry -- all @CARE staff safe + sound but major damage in town.
My 39 year old guard has never seen wind this strong in Tana.
Caution -- Any reports on #Giovanna destruction are anec-dotal at this point. Too early for systematic assessment.
Lots of debris in streets of Tana, some roofs off but people
seem mostly okay. #Giovanna
#Giovanna -- we want to be careful to be accurate; still collecting anecdotal info.
Just drove across Tana to my office; lots of billboards, branches, trees down, very little traffic. Unusual wind dam-age for Tana.
15 Feb
@CARE & @MedairInt evaluation teams are in the air, pre-paring to deliver humanitarian assistance
@ArupID @BBCWorld Many thanks for the coverage!
First info from @CARE Cyclone #Giovanna helico overflight assessment: Brickaville & Antsampanana -- 70% of dwellings damaged or destroyed.
The @CARE helicopter team now heads S to Vatomandry, where there's major destruction; they return to Tana tomor-
row to debrief. #Madagascar
@careintuk -- Many thanks for all of your support -- It encourages us a lot to know you are behind us!
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CARE in emergencies - newsletter Vol. 6, Issue 2, June 2012
16 Feb
The @CARE team is in 2nd day of the helicopter assessment; also
transporting @USAID The only secondary school in Brickaville is damaged beyond re-pair; 27 of 31 classrooms ruined.
17 Feb Lala Francoise & her family of 4 lost their home to Cyclone
#Giovanna. @CARE is distributing @USAID plastic sheeting
#Giovanna response: @CARE has teams on the ground in Brick-aville & Vatomandry carrying out plastic sheeting distribution, etc.
#Giovanna debrief: "Dry cyclone", not much flooding, rice largely okay but wind damage to corn cassava bananas cloves etc.
Now Tropical Storm #Giovanna looks to take a second bite of
#Madagascar -- risk of wind, heavy rain, and high rivers in South.
#Giovanna debrief: Brickaville's only hospital badly damaged; need for major assistance.
18 Feb
Phoned @CARE team leader in hard-hit Brickaville. Morale of team is high; plastic sheeting already distributed to 7000+ people.
@CARE team meets w @CatholicRelief & other actors today to coordinate actions. Congrats to CRS for good work & quick re-sponse!
Thanks to @USAID for pre-positioned plastic sheeting being dis-tributed to 20,000 people.
22 Feb Here's the challenge -- Not just a quick fix for today's suffering; but to reduce future vulnerability, build resilience. Bao Talata is a pregnant 20 year-old single mother who lost her
home in the cyclone. @CARE wants to help people like her re-build. South of Antsampanana, many collapsed homes of traditional ma-terials. But we also see a lot of rebuilding along main road.
#Giovanna East of Andasibe, over halfway to coast from Tana, many trees bent double -- incredible the power of nature!
26 Feb
There is another storm bearing down on #Madagascar, in NE. Should hit tonight as trop depression, hopefully not too strong.
24 Feb
I was struck by the contrasts in #Giovanna-affected zones: Some people can get back on their feet on their own; others need help.
@CARE's #Cyclone #Giovanna relief work targets women-headed
households & the elderly in #Madagascar
#Giovanna: Good meeting with new @CatholicRelief country rep yesterday. All actors need to coordinate well to reach max # of those in need.
Adventures in
Partnering – Tips for starting collaborative ventures
A fter over seven years of collaborative work amongst INGOs at national, regional and glob-al level on the Emergency Capacity Building (ECB) Project, a consortium of which CARE is a
member, it has become apparent that some joint activ-ities are more successful than others. So how do you choose the right thing to work on? Here, based on interviews with practitioners, we take a brief look at some of the common factors, conditions or attributes that have contributed to some of ECB’s successes. No single collaboration has had all of these elements, but the most successful have had some combination there-of. A high level of trust and strong relationships of course underpin any collaboration.
Keep it simple and achievable – any collaboration with multiple stakeholders requires an investment of staff time, which is at a premium. So keep it straightforward, at least in the early stages until you start seeing results.
Be clear about what it is you are trying to do to-
gether – a clear set of objectives and activities will help to manage expectations and provide a com-mon framework for joint work.
Produce practical and tangible results on the ground – humanitarian field practitioners tend to be high-ly results orientated and seek things that meet real, tangible needs on the ground. Developing products that meet these needs simply and effec-tively helps to ensure success.
Do something that cannot be done better alone – inter-agency work can be more labour intensive than going it alone. Successful collaboration has to have distinct advantages for coming together over doing it internally, such as drawing perspec-tives from each partner to create new collective knowledge, sharing the costs for something with mutual benefit or coming together for greater im-pact.
Align with the current goals and interests of each
partner as collaboration works better when it helps to achieve objectives that they have already priori-tised.
Find something that can fit with each agency’s ex-
isting tools – collaborative work needs to have a niche alongside internal tools, standards and ways of working in order to be successful.
Having a donor provide external pressure really
helps – a donor can be extremely useful to ensure that all partners meet their obligations well and on time. When each agency provides resources inter-nally there is less rigour to meet deadlines or come to an agreement. Continued on page 7
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CARE in emergencies - newsletter Vol. 6, Issue 2, June 2012
“Finding creative ways to add value” Interview with Caroline Saint-Mleux, Regional Emergency Coordinator for East and Central Africa
You have lots of experience in the humanitarian area, and you worked with CARE Canada’s emergency team for
four years. What is your main motivation as an aid worker? I believe my main motivation is to contribute to making a difference in the lives of people affected by disasters and conflicts. Responding to an emergency is a team effort including working with communities to reduce risks and vulner-abilities and build capacities, investing time in emergency preparedness and coordinating and implementing a humani-tarian response and recovery. CARE’s humanitarian mandate is interlinked with our development mandate and both can-not be seen separately. Contributing to a joint effort that has the potential to save lives is definitely a great motivation for me.
Caroline, you have recently started working as the Regional Emergency Coordinator for East and Central Africa.
Can you describe what your priorities in this position are? My priorities are twofold: first, supporting Country Offices in preparing and responding to emergencies. This means, for example, contributing to the development of the emergency strategy for South Sudan and Somalia, deploying to South Sudan for a few weeks, working with country offices to monitor the early warning signs of another possible drought in the Horn of Africa, preparing the Emergency Preparedness Plan process with CARE Kenya and CARE Somalia and discuss-ing remote management and monitoring protocols with various country offices in the region.
The second priority is building on lessons learned and good practices in order to ensure we continuously improve our response to emergencies. Practically speaking, it’s all about supporting the Country Offices and ensuring the learning cycle is closed by integrating the recommendations into practices, working with other CARE sectors to link develop-ment programming to emergencies (such as resilience and disaster risk reduction initiatives or conflict sensitivity ap-proaches) as well as supporting humanitarian accountability initiatives in the region to ensure continued involvement of affected populations and improved program quality.
Can you describe what a day in the office in Nairobi, where you are based, looks like? A day in the office in Nairobi is often determined by discussions with colleagues from the regional management team on common priorities and by meeting with other peer agencies. I also spend quite some time on monitoring the news, reading reports, skype conversation and answering e-mails. Remote support to Country Offices often means finding cre-ative ways of working to ensure I can add value and meet the needs they have without being physically on the ground and without adding unnecessary to their workload.
During the drought and food crisis in the Horn of Africa
you worked in the refugee camps of Dadaab for four
months. How is the situation in the Horn? I was indeed deployed to Dadaab as Emergency Team Lead-er for three months and afterwards I continued to support CARE Kenya. We are currently closely monitoring the situa-tion in the Horn of Africa. The latest forecast anticipates the main season’s rainfall is likely to be below average in the eastern Horn. This is a significant deterioration com-pared to earlier forecasts. In addition, it is important to recognize that the population has not yet recovered from last year’s drought and that people are still extremely vul-nerable to the negative effect of another possible drought. It is therefore important to raise awareness, assess what we can do based on the early signs, learn from last year’s challenges, continue monitoring the situation with all oth-er stakeholders and share information. In other words, pre-paring for the worse-case scenario – although I am hoping for the best!
Caroline Saint-Mleux, Regional Emergency Coordinator for East and Central Africa. Photo: CARE
CARE in emergencies - newsletter Vol. 6, Issue 2, June 2012
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Be transparent about each partner’s agenda – trust can be undermined when some agencies suspect an undisclosed agenda to promote a lead agency’s own tools and systems, so be open and transparent about the reasons behind collaboration.
Less expertise can make it easier to work together – where partners need to pool their expertise there is an extra incentive to work together, but when a lot of expertise is available INGOs can become tempted to argue passionately for the perfect technical solution.
Prior consensus on core content can make joint work easier - if partners have some level of prior consensus on core con-tent then a shared approach can quickly achieve results.
Collaboration needs adequate resourcing – good collaborative work takes a lot of staff time. This needs to be adequately allocated or resourced or joint working may become a significant burden rather than benefit. Resources could include providing money for activities, resourcing a broker or facilitator, or supplying inter-agency tools and approaches for joint activities.
By Angela Rouse, ECB Manager
This article has been adapted from World Vision’s series “ECB: Adventures in Partnering, Discussion #7: Picking the right thing to work on together, practitioner hints and tips”. Download the full paper in the series in English, French or Spanish. Look out for next editions of the newsletter when we will share more on ECB learning or visit the Resource Library at www.ecbproject.org.
Continued from Page 5, Adventures in Partnering
D ue to the intensified fighting witnessed since April between the national army of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and various armed groups, thousands of Congolese have recently had to flee their homes in search of security.
While nearly two million people were already displaced within the DRC, a new wave of violence in North Kivu province has led to thou-sands of additional displacements. In less than a month, almost 200,000 people in an area twice the size of Belgium have fled their homes. They are seeking refuge with host families, or in some of the camps scattered throughout the region. While the majority of people stay within the country, around 10,000 people have crossed the bor-der to neighbouring Rwanda and 9,000 have fled to Uganda. “People are traumatized and scared. One woman told CARE that during an attack on her village, five family members, including her mother-in-law, her husband and her child, have been killed,” says Aude Rigot, CARE’s North Kivu Provincial Director in DRC. “It is diffi-cult to reach people. Many of them are hiding in the forests. Road conditions are really challenging in the DRC and the security con-straints hampers aid efforts. But those who fled their homes need safe water, shelter and health care and they need it now.” CARE has recently provided cash vouchers to purchase food and essential relief items at the market to 1,224 displaced and host fami-lies in Masisi, North Kivu. “We are also planning to distribute plastic sheets to 1,500 families who sought refuge in the spontaneous set-tlements so they can build themselves shelter. In addition, CARE constructs water sources, builds emergency latrines and promotes safe hygiene practices in areas affected by conflict,” explains Rigot. “We will assist 3,000 additional families with food and livelihood assistance through vouchers and cash distribution.”
ASSISTING REFUGEES IN RWANDA In neighbouring Rwanda, CARE is assisting Congolese refugees who have fled to Rubavu District in the Western Province of Rwanda and are now sheltered at the Nkamira Transit Center. The camp, which has the capacity to hold 2,500 people, is now the temporary home of about four times that number. CARE’s initial operations included the
Democratic Republic of Congo: In search of security CARE assists displaced people with cash vouchers, shelter, water and hygiene support
provision and installation of a safe and hygienic system for the management of the solid waste generated by the thousands of refugees. In addition, CARE established basic sexual and reproductive health services to protect vulnerable people, especially women, from sexually transmitted infections, unwanted pregnancy and sexual and gender-based violence and abuse.
By Sandra Bulling, CI Communications Officer
A women, who arrived in Katoyi without any clothes, reported that
during an attack on her village five of her family members including
her mother in law, her husband and child were killed. Photo: CARE
CARE in emergencies - newsletter Vol. 6, Issue 2, June 2012
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CARE’s Emergency Group developed a poster displaying the gender differences of emer-gency affected populations. The tool is based on the Inter-Agency Standing Com-mittee (IASC) minimum gender standards. It is not meant to be a comprehensive de-scription of the gender differences in each sector but a reminder of gender minimum standards to be implemented in emergencies.
If you want to receive a poster for your
office, please send an email to:
WASH: Construct sex-segregated latrines that are adequately lit and have a lock on the door to help prevent gender- based violence.
WASH: Target hygiene programs not only to mothers but fathers and other caregivers as well.
FOOD: Ensure that women receive food aid for themselves and their children and that food packages are an appropriate size and weight for them to carry home.
SHELTER: Provide women with private spaces for breastfeed-ing or changing clothes as culturally appropriate to promote dignity and help prevent gender-based violence.
