Community Impact of RedR Sphere Training

Capt. Hirantha Senarathna, District Coordinator of the District Disaster Management Centre in Galle, talks to us about the impact attending a RedR Sphere Minimum Standards Workshop has had on the community.  

Which RedR training course(s) did you undertake, when and where?
I attended the Sphere Awareness workshop in Galle and participated in the Sphere Awareness workshop in Matara.

What were you doing before attending the course?
After the tsunami I was attached to the District Disaster Management Centre (DMC) as Assistant District Coordinator. Before attending the course I was involved in preparing divisional and district disaster management plans and establishing coordination and camp management committees. I also organised training for staff and committee members, assisted the District Coordinator and delivered evacuation drills to the schools.

Why did you decide to take this course?
We have faced increasing difficulties since the tsunami hit in 2004. We didn’t have any experience or knowledge of that kind of disaster and couldn’t provide assistance or relief. Therefore I decided to learn more about Sphere standards through a RedR workshop and pass this knowledge on to my staff. 

Can you tell us about some of the practical uses of this training?
We have established two kinds of community committee: the Coordination Committee and the Camp Management Committee. Those committees are working closely with the DMC. They have been set up to respond to post-disaster issues and to coordinate and monitor with relevant actors those who are providing services to the community. The Camp Management Committee is responsible for providing adequate and necessary services, including: shelter, water, food, sanitation facilities and Infrastructure facilities.

We have already established 171 committees in six divisions (Bentota, Balapitiya, Ambalangoda, Hikkaduwa, Galle fore gravest & Habaraduwa) and we are delivering training for them. Before the Sphere training we provided training on first aid, disaster management, life saving etc. but after the RedR training we started to disseminate knowledge on Sphere standards to the community. Now we have trained 25 committees on Sphere standards. We have also 18 trained members to monitor the process. 

What has been the impact on the community that you have worked with, as a result of your participation on the course?
When we first started our mission in September 2005, we were working ‘blind’ because we didn’t know how to address the community and how to deliver humanitarian assistance. But now we have knowledge, experience and proper standards to provide services to the community.

The community is also slowly changing its attitude because now they have greater awareness of the humanitarian approach. For example, when we were conducting an evacuation exercise with committees in Hikkaduwa, some committees used Sphere standards in the exercise. In the exercise they mentioned minimum standards of living conditions, water supply, toilet facilities and food distribution. They pointed out that when we evacuate and provide assistance to the people we have to consider the minimum level of services. That is a clear indicator of our training. The committees have knowledge of and interest in this topic and even when they are working in the north and east they will use this knowledge to provide assistance to the community.
 
What are you doing now, and where would you like to be in the future?
I am planning to train other committees in the district and to do a model practical exercise with committees in the community. I’d also like to provide more training to the community committees and do at least two pilot projects with them.

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