IAG, Christian Aid, CASA organize a workshop on Floods
In order to share the learning experience of all the organizations/stakeholders involved in the relief, and rehabilitation process of recent Odisha floods of 2014 (Inter Agency Group- Odisha) IAG Odisha in collaboration with Christian Aid, CASA and ECHO organized a state level lesson learnt Workshop on “Odisha floods” on 2nd march 2015 at hotel Excellency.
It was attended by a wide array of individuals including INGO’s, UN Agencies and the participants from various Grass-root level NGOs. The meeting was presided over by Sri.Ram Kishan, Regional Emergency Manager -South Asia of Christian Aid, and Sri Nirmal Singh, Head of Emergency, CASA, Dr. Ambika Prasad Nanda, State Head Odisha and Jharkhnd-UNDP, Sri Akshaya Biswal, Regional Manager, Oxfam India, were present as the Guest of Honors.
The main objective of the workshop was to bring together internal and external stakeholders’ perspectives along and to collate information and share knowledge/experiences/lessons about the impacts of the Odisha floods and to suggest future strategies for short and long term planning, preparedness, response, rehabilitation and reconstruction.
During the inaugural session Dr.Dipankar ChyauPatnaik of Christian Aid welcomed the participants and while defining the objective of the event expressed that the insights & unique experience gained during the post flood relief and rehabilitation efforts/lesson learnt/key challenges etc. can be usefully applied to build a disaster resilient Odisha and proper response mechanism in near future. During the session, Shri. RamKishan made a brief presentation on the different humanitarian interventions and works undertaken by Christian Aid and expressed his view on learning from the past experience and how it has helped to get momentum and success in handling the recent disaster and planning for better strategy.
Dr. Ambika Nanda urged that we are concerned with the big disasters but no one is concerned about the smaller ‘every day disasters’ which occur and affect people frequently, and therefore suggested that the civil society members to come together, reflect and build a larger partnership. By addressing the present members, Mr.Akshaya Biswal opined that the issues coming out in LLW and GO-NGO coordination can be taken up by the IAG in its meetings and can be further incorporated in the advocacy agenda.
The event helped in identifying the key issues relating to GO-NGO coordination, preparedness of civil society during pre-disaster situation and also helped in identifying and highlighting best practices and strategies at the community level particularly during the floods.
Suggestions and recommendations were made by the participants including strengthening of IAG Odisha, Documenting the integrated works of GO& NGO in disaster management, Coordination from state level to district Level, in Disaster Management plan etc. The meeting was coordinated and ended with a vote of thanks by Mr. Manoranjan Behera, Coordinator of IAG Odisha.