UNIT 12 EDUCATION AND AWARENESS '

Structure

12.0 Learning Outcome

12.1 Introduction
12.2 Concepts of Education and Training
12.3 Significance of ducati ion: Training and ~warenessin Disaster Management
12.4 Role of the Media
12.5 Participation of Stakeholders
12.6 People's Participation in Disaster Rehabilitation and Awareness,
12.6.1 Community Consultation and Participation
12.6.2 Role of the Community in Sustaining Rehabilitation Efforts
12.7 Conclusion
12.8 Key Concepts
12.9 References and Further Reading
12;10 Activities

12.0 LEARNING OUTCOME

After reading this Unit, you will be able to:

e Examine the importance'and scope of education, awareness and training

0 Understand the pertinence of education, awareness and training in disaster m'anagement cycle; and

o Discuss the nature and extent of con~munityparticipation in sustaining rehabilitation and

. reconstruction efforts.

12.1 INTRODUCTION
The-pqticipation of the comnunity in a disaster situation depends a lot on its awareness of
handling a disaster. The term participation is being used as a bnllwork in all development
processes in the country. All UN agencies as well as NGOs are increasingly demanding that
the developmental programmes should stress on involvement and participation of recipient
communities. Public awareness has to be generated, especially to dispel the myths and beliefs
attached with the occurrence of disasters.

Education and awareness can be targeted at two levels - the departmental level and the
community level. At the departmental level, the training on how to provide disaster related
education to the personnel is a crucial issue. Awareness could be generated through lectures,
workshops, seminars, training and debates etc. This can be undertaken by different organisations
that conduct training at their own level e.g., Disaster Management Institute (DMI), Bhopal. At
. the conlmunity level, education, training and awareness, all put together, are the key factors to
community participation. Well-trained people will hatre more role-clarity on disaster reduction
Education and Awareness 153
and preparedness programmes. They will therefore contribute substantially towards disaster
management. This Unit attempts to discuss some of these issues.

12.2 CONCEPTS OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Education and training are means of learning, which continue throughout human life enabling
the human beings to modify their behaviour fairly rapidly, in more or less, permanent way as
a result of new perceptions, concepts and other experiences. Education and training have an
important role to play in planning and implementing disaster management strategies at both the
pre-disaster and post-disaster stages. Sustenance of disaster education is dependent on well-
formulated training and research strategies. In fact, education and training are interdependent
concepts. Disaster management covers a wide range of f~~nctions and skills, which include
planning and organising day-to-day management activities, counter-disaster operations, crises
management work, recovery functions and specific tasks related to information and
communication. Therefore, carefully structured and implemented education and training
programmes are needed for development of competence and organisation of expertise.

The role of education programmes is often differentiated from the role of twining programmes
in bringing about the required changes. While the former is supposed to focus on knowledge,
concepts, understanding and analysis, the latter is required to pay more attention on improvement
of knowledge, skills and attitudes in the trainees. In essence, both education and training overlap.
Education adds the essential 'why' dimension to the 'how' initiated by training. Training develops
an understanding of the distinctive purpose and practice with which disasters should be
approached. It imparts knowledge, skills and attitudes to cope with disasters. It also creates
commitment and improves individual and colleclive peiformance in decision-making under disaster
conditions.

The foremost goal of all educational programmes should be to target the community. No
disaster management programme can achieve its objectives unless the con~munityparticipates
in the formulation, irnple~nentationand evaluation of disaster related tasks. Adequate community
participation is the key to effective disaster management. Thus, the individual, whether singly
or more likely in teams, will have to be called upon to take more hitiative, add value and
contribute to the hitherto untouched disaster management areas. The entire approach to disaster
education and training is dependent upon volunteers, social workers, functional specialists and
the people at large.

12.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF EDUCATION, TRAINING AND

AWARENESS IN DISASTER MANAGEMENT
As we read in the previous Sections, education, training and awareness in disaster preparedness,
are the key factors to disaster management. People will be able to contribute their best only
if they understand the significance of issues involved in disaster management. Adequately
trained, aware and well-informed people could act as human resources in disaster management.
At the community level, awareness can be generated through the media, public meetings,
community awareness programmes, door-to-door campaigns, lectures, discussions, social
gatherings, community functions etc. Today, as we already read in Unit 11, we have various
means of mass media, such as the teIevision, radio, newspaper, magazines, theatre and movies
etc., that could make a positive difference in the field of disaster education. Long-term and
short-term mitigation measures could be captured and projected through the various media to
strengthen disaster preparedness.

Disasters occur at frequent intervals and because of improved communication systems gnd
 1
154 Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Recovery
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media activity, the disaster-related news is quickly disseminated all over the world. Moreover,
since population growth, urbanisation and increased poverty means high levels of vulnerability,
the role of media in a disaster situation becomes multipurpose. It should be informative,
suggestive and analytical in all the three stages of the disaster management cycle, namely pre-
disaster, during-disaster and post-disaster. In the process of rehabilitation and reconstruction,
media can be used to extract opinions and provide expert solutions on suitawe building materials,
model houses, right topography for building new houses, do s and don'ts in the construction
work etc.

It has to be recognised that there are useful links between disaster management and training
per se. More so, in the changing context, when a lot of premium is being laid on the technical
and specialised skills. Disaster management, which earlier used to be a task of emergency 11
agencies, is becoming everyone's responsibility. This includes the responsibilities of administrative
agencies, NGOs, international bodies and the general public. There is a rise in public awareness I

on disasters and the concept of accountability towards victims has received a new connotation. 1
The concepts and trends in disaster management are changing. The definition of the problem
of disaster management now concentrates on increasing the types and frequency of risks, I
technical knowledge, identification of vulnerable areas, and standardised techniques to combat I

natural and man-made disasters. We are witnessing a shift from post-disaster assistance to
pre-disaster preparedness, from readiness to mitigation, from dependency to self-reliance, from
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individual aid to restoration of community services, as well as from relief to rehabilitation. The
entire ad hoe approach to disaster management is gradually giving way to a specialised and
professional perspective of looking at the ever-changing demands of the disaster preparedness
I
system including its education and training needs. I
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The Meet of WHO in Bangkok in December 2005 aimed at: I

e Identifying gaps in addressing response, preparedness and recovery for health needs of the
affected and vulnerable populations; and

r Developing benchmarks and corresponding framework for action.

The Meet laid stress on strengthening the coininunity level preparedness and surveillance
systems (The Hinch, Dec.28, 2005). This could be effectively achieved through systematic
training programmes and educational campaigns for all the stakeholders in disaster management.
The education and training requirements of individual countries are likely to vary. In the context
of disaster management training, it is the community, NGO activists, local government
functionaries that require training. Panchayati Raj members and self-help groups also need to
be instilled with requisite skills and knowledge to carry out disaster management tasks.

The education and training needs are conditioned by several factors. These relate to the size
and geographical disposition of the country, the extent of disaster threat, the national policy
towards disasters, the nature and availability of disaster related resources, the degree of
dependence on international assistance, as well as the level of training capability. The objectives
of education and training also differ froin each target group for each disaster type.

At the time of formulation and implementation of education and training programmes, it is

advisable to identify certain contextual factors. Some of these could be the bases of organisation,
t
which applies to the current status of disaster management, the degree to which the disaster
management system is utilised in many of its functions, the experience of disaster management
if
staff; and the facilities available to implement education and training programmes. Due emphasis
i I

needs to be laid on these germane and research-based issues. I

 Education and Awareness 155
Adequate newspaper reporting of a disaster is also very crucial. The media have a great
responsibility, as we mentioned earlier and as we will see in the following Section, in creating
disaster related awareness. Community participation can be encouraged through various
approaches such as face-to-face interaction, electronic media, print mediahaterials etc. Face-
to-face interactions are an effective way of creating community awareness. In India, the use
of electronic media is becoming an important means of creating mass awareness.

The Radio and the TV, two important components of the media, could be used to prepare
special thematic programmes on various natural disasters to educate people regarding the need
for preparedness in the pre-disaster period, the nature of government help at the time of
disaster, the role of community, public use of local knowledge etc. Other methods of disaster
s related education could take the form of notices, posters, photographs, exhibitions, films,
documentaries, inscriptions on shopping bags, banners etc. Some more means of disaster
education such as display at public functions, open sport events, country fairs, folk songs,
training camps, college festivals and school annual days are also effective.

isa aster educationand training techniques must lay stress on understanding different types of
natural hazards, disaster management techniques and impediments in the way of disaster
reduction. The nature of disaster education would vary from region to region depending on the
type of disaster and its impact on people and infrastructure. There is an urgent need for a
comprehensive strategy to lessen the negative effects of disasters by resorting to management
techniques related to preparedness, prevention, mitigation and response. Disaster education and
training could play a crucial role in this direction.

12.4 -ROLE OF THE MEDIA

Mass media, as we all know by now, also play an important roIe in the dissemination of disaster
information and building up of community preparedness. The suggestive, informative and analytical
role of the media, just like the NGOs must form a key component of disaster education. It is
the most potent way of educating the co~n~nunity on disaster prevention, mitigation and
rehabilitation. The disaster education related tasks can be carried out on the basis of the dual
role of the media related to imparting information and anlysing disasters discerningly.

The effects of disasters need to be examined not only in technical and scientific terms, but also
in humanitarian, social and economic terms. The media can play an important role in this
direction. Their contribution to disaster education must take the form of pronlotion of national
consciousness on disasters and should endeavour to evoke an interest about systematic disaster
mitigation in the community and agencies involved in disaster management. The media could
also serve as a platform for sharing information between the handful of scientific community
members and the public at large, Complex scientific phenomena could be explained in an easy
language through the eyes of a common man and his daily life.

The media must try to build a creditable and accountable public image. It must try to utilise
the effective mix of traditional and modern technologies to disseminate information. Usually, the
media reports cover only the disaster event in great detail. But, when it comes to rehabilitation
and development work in the affected area, the media generally shirks from their responsibility
of giving it a due coverage. It is mere sensationalism that a majority of media is alleged to be
cashing in on, rather than providing details on the entire disaster relief, recovery and rehabilitation
work. The news coverage and circulation of inforination should not be subjective and non-
professional. It needs to be covered comprehensively,

The national media have to professionalise its functioning since the international flow of
'nformation to our country is far more quick and intense. Amateur Radio Public Service
 156 Rehabilitation, Recortstruction and Recovery

Organisatiolls and Voluntary Radio Networks are becoming an integral arm of the media
worldwide, yet such initiatives have not made a substantial inark on the Indian media scene.
New concepts such as risk communication, interactive channels, pager net etc., have established
their utility in the West, while these are still groping for an estimable place in India. These
factors have to be looked into adequately in order to bring about changes in the role of the
media. The media must take on the role of an educator to enable the people to understand the
nature and consequences of disasters in the right perspective.

The various components of the media should effectively target the right information and maximise
helpful and positive coverage. A proactive rather than a reactive role on the part of media is
called for. They have to establish'proper liaison with all relevant groups / bodies engaged in
disaster management work to put their point across. There is a need to adopt an impartial
approach with adequate emphasis on reducing vulnerability and recognising the role of social,
psychological and cultural factors in the disaster management process. Alternatively, the local
administration and government functionaries also need to regard the media as partners and
collaborators in building the disaster management capacity. A more proactive initiative on the
part of the government'could go a long way in devising the desired prevention and mitigation
strategies.

12.5 PARTICIPATION OF STAKEHOLDERS

The community should be provided all the necessary information available with administration.
The flow of inforrnation should continue even in the normal non-disaster period. The community
must work together at every step to overcome the problems, which arise i n restoring normalcy.
The details relevant to the community should be provided to them through awareness generation
and training programmes. For inslance, information could be provided to use school buildings
as disaster resistant shelters. Awareness should be generated on providing special warning
signals, checking rumours, helping the most vulnerable sections of the society, and arranging
for relief to the community.

Training at different levels is an essential part of disaster preparedness. The community, NGOs
and the government officials should be trained in various aspects of disaster management. As
the people are generally illiterate and hail from a rural background, it will be more suitable if
NGOs, along with the village panchayats, organise training programmes so that people can
take part in them actively and develop a culture of self-help in disaster related preparedness,
prevention and mitigation activities. Various types of training can be imparted to different
stakeholders in disaster preparedness. These stakeholders are:

Community: People should be trained in the field of earthquake resistant construction. Young
people should also be trained in rescue and relief such as helping the injured by providing them
first aid. The most important benefit of community awareness is that the community is able to
judge their strengths and weaknesses and identify the areas in which they really need outside
assistance. There should be specialised training modules for specific target groups. Government
officials, NGOs, CBOs, school- teachers and local leaders need specific training capsules that
inculcate knowledge, skills and attitudes to cope with disaster situations.

Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs): The NGO functionaries should be trained in the

methods of spreading public awareness amongst the people and also in the post-disaster
activities such as providing rescue and relief, identifying the target group, distributing relief aid * .
and supplies, as well as conducting damage assessment.

Governnlental Employees: The staff in the governmental sector should be trained to coordinate
Education and Awareness 157

and manage the different stages of disaster management so that they are able to work as
disaster managers at the time of natural disasters.

Pasticipation has no meaning unless the stakeholders involved in disaster management have a
,significant control over the decisions of the organisation to which they belong. Development
economists tend to define participation by the poor sections of society in terms of equitable
sharing of benefits of the projects. Yet for others, participation also acts as an instrument for
enhancement of efficiency of projects or co-production of services.

12.6 PEOPLE9SPARTICIPATION IN DISASTER

REHABILITATION AND AWARENESS
Community participation may be viewed as a process that serves one or more of the following
objectives:

s Increasing Empowerment: It should be defined as seeking to increase the control of disaster-

affected people over the resources and decisions affecting their lives in the disaster aftelmath;
and ensuring their participation in the benefits produced by the society in which they live. Any
project or development activity during the rehabilitation process is then a means of empowering
people so that they we able to initiate, as well as sustain disaster mitigation actions on their own,
and thus influence the process and outcome of development.

9 Building Beneficiary Capacity: It could be achieved by ensuring that participants are actively
involved in projects of rehabilitation that aim at social consciousness and awareness generation
through formal or informal training.

9 Enhancing Project Effectiveness: Community participation tends to enhance project

effectiveness when the involvement of beneficiaries contributes to better project formulation,
design and implemnentation,and leads to a better balance between project services and beneficiary
needs and constraints.

e Sharing Project Costs: An object of community pasticipation is the desire to share the costs of
the project with the people it serves. Thus, beneficiaries may be expected to contribute labour, or
other infrastructure resources to ~~ndertake or maintain the project.

Froin the government's point of view, participatory services may be of some beilefit as increased
participation on the part of the people can reduce the overall cost of social transfers entailed
in a project. It is thus a form of cutting costs of social programmes that allow the governments
more flexibility with respect to rehabilitation. People connected with project-based progralnines
can also provide the government with great deal of information on the social and economic
needs of the population. Organisations involved in participatory service may help the government
to identify potential leaders who assist in the rehabilitation process, or at least disseminate
information about the goals of the government programmes.

12.6.1' Community Consultation and Participation

People's participation is a fundamental requirement for the success of rehabilitation and
reconstruction efforts. Local people will have to be actively involved in decision-making and
executing reconstruction activities. The affected people in both rural and urban areas want to
participate in development progrimmes and contribute to the range of disaster management
efforts, including decisions about rebuilding, site relocation, housing, distributing services and so
on. Participation of people co~ildaccomplish several objectives in the rehabilitation and
reconstruction phase. These are:
 158 Rehnbilitatiorz, Reconstruction and Recovery

@ Increased Transparency and Accountability

Large-scale reconstruction efforts with tenders and formal bidding processes reduce opportunities
for the local people to gqt involved in reconstruction. Many government officials, NGOs, and
community members feel that large contracts reduce transparency and increase the risk of
corruption. Local people have expressed their concern on the negative impact of outside
commercial interests, which may promote costly solutions. Lack of trust in the local contractors
and builders is particularly strong at this time because people tend to blame them for poor
quality of construction and material. Informed participation of communities could contain costs,
and ensure accountability and reliability.

e Decreased Irregularities

By ensuring that funds are made available directly to the communities and the stakeholders
involved, the scope for irregularities is reduced. Thus, wherever possible, communities should
undertake their own construction efforts, on the basis of their knowledge about the support
services that are available. Village people should be involved in enlisting beneficiaries and
reviewing damage assessment reports. Material and cash transfers should be made only in
public meetings to ensure transparency. Accounts and records should be accessible to the
public and regularly updated. During the process of relief provision itself, the people should
take up responsibility for restarting schools with some material support and financial assistance
from outside. They should also take recourse to other infrastructure for meeting their immediate
needs for temporary shelter.

e. Reduction in Dependency

While relief and humanitarian assistance are important in the immediate aIterinath of a natural
disaster, they should be replaced as soon as possible with efforts to foster a greater sense of
ownership and involvement among people. Greater local participation and contributions to the
reconstruction effort could reduce social tensions and lead to more sustainable developmental
efforts.

Provision of Opportunities for Employment

Employment and income are urgent needs of the affected people. Rather than purchasing
material, expertise and labour from outside, efforts need to be made to utilise resources and
employ local people in the rebuilding activities, including work schemes such as removal of .
debris, and construction of com~nunityinfrastructure.

e Increase in Access to Services

Community participation in decisions on schools and health centre locations, and the type of
water supply and sanitation infrastructure to be built, for example, would ensure better access
and increased utilisation of services. This would make them inore effective in meeting people's
needs. Experience has shown that women's involvement in the planning of public services, as
well as housing the disaster affected does benefit families and communities a great deal.
Organisations such as the Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan and the Self-Employed Women's
Association (SEWA) assist in working with women. Such endeavours need to be encouraged.

0 Reduction of Trauma

Trauma and depression are not always visible immediately after a disaster, but may occur
weeks or months after the event. Active involvement of affected people in counselling sessions,
as well as their participation in community affairs could red~lcethe psychological problems
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Education and Awareness 159
experienced by many disaster victims. We shall discuss the importal~ceof psychological
rehabilitation of disaster victims in our subsequent Units- 14 and 15 of this Course.

12.6.2 Role of the Community in Sustaining Rehabilitation Efforts

Considering the failures of the rehabilitation and reconstruction process that followed Latur
Earthquake of 1993 and other natural disasters in the recent past, it has become imperative that
attention should be given to the critical aspect of sustainability in this process. Sustainable
rehabilitation and reconstruction is about shaping the future of the beneficiaries in such a way
that the social, environmental and economic issues are seen as interlinked. These issues need
to be solved in an integrated and amicable way. Social factors i14clude housing, water, health,
education, sanitation etc. Economic faclors pertain to employment, trade and innovation etc.,
and the environmental factors include climatic as well as the efficient use and reuse of natural
resources and energy.

There may be many definitions of colnrnunity participation, but three concepts are commonly
used in most of the development programmes. These are:
e Participation by the project authorities
e Participation as community contribution
e Participation as community decision-making

In India and other developing count~ies,there is a long history of project failures, as the goals
and methods do not fit into the needs and capacities of the target beneficiaries. There is a need
for radical changes in the attitude of programtne implementation authorities as well as funding
agencies. Some of the advantages of community participation include cost reduction, increased
efficiency, accent on self-reliance and self-dependence, higher sustainability and decreased
vulnerability along with efforts made to adjust the project to match people's parlicipation..

The main aim of community awareness programmes is to make the community more infonned,
alert, self-reliant and capable of participating in all activities and programmes of disaster
management in close collaboration with governmental and non-governmental organisations. In
disaster mitigation programmes, local people should be made aware of the following:
The vulnerability of the area to-natural disasters
e The types of risks and elements at risk due to natural disasters
e Nature of mitigation measures that should be adopted
0 Significance of a local prepasedness plan
e Availability of resources and e tent of governmental help at the time of disaster
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e The impoi-tanceand need of community pasticipation
e Value and significance of early warnings and related communication
e Importance of information-sharing

12.7 'CONCLUSION
Education, training and awareness are the most important and most effective non-structural
disaster mitigation measures. The local people should be made aware of the vulnerability levels
to different types of natural disasters in their area. They should also know the elements at risk
and expected losses that could be faced due to these disasters. People should also be in the
know ~f the existing contingency or preparedness plans for specific disasters, as well as about
 160 Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Recovery

the availability of resources through governmental and non-governmental organisations at the

time of disaster. These organisations should play the role of facilitators by providing education
and training material required for disaster preparedness and mitigation activities. There is a
need for a multidimensional approach to education, awareness and training, which concentrates
on varied training techniques and tools.

Learning is the essence of education and training. The training programmes should enhance the
ability of the target group to use the skills and information imbibed for fulfilling specific tasks
within the disaster management framework. The education and training programmes must
therefore highlight the steps to be taken to meet the special needs of the most vulnerable
categ&ies of people. The government, NGOs, CBOs, media, as well as education and training
institutes should also come forward to organise disaster education programmes throughout the
country. The initiatives for improvement have to come from the communities themselves. This
Unit examined these very significant issues.

12.8 KEY CONCEPTS

The concept: of empowerment is contextualised for marginalised people. The centrality of the
notion of empowerment is located in the dynamics of sharing, distribution and redistribution of
power, which has a basis for legitimacy. Empowerment deals with power, from the perspective
of the marginalised groups. It challenges the power structures of subordination. Redistribution
of power and e~npowermentaims at social equality on the one hand, and diselnpowerrnent of
structures, systems and institutions that perpetuate inequality on the other.
(Debal K. SinghaRoy, 2003 "State, Society and Women" in Alka Dhameja (Ed.), Corttemnporar:y
Debates in Public Adnzinistmtion, Prentice-I-Iall of India, New Delhi.)
Sustainability
The ability to provide for the needs of the world's cul-lent population without damaging the ;bility
of future generations to provide for themselves. When a process is sustainable, it can be carried
out over and over without negative environnlental effects or high costs to anyone involved.

12.9 REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING

Carter, W. Nick, 1991, Disaster Ma~zagemerzt: A Disaster Manager's Handbook, Asian
Development Bank, Manila.
I

Prakash, Indu, 1994, Disaster Malzngement, Rashtriya Prakashan, New Delhi: ,

Sahni, Pardeep, Alka Dhameja and Urna Medury (Eds,), 2001, Disaster Mitigation:
Experiences and Rej7ectiotzs, Prentice-Hall of India, New Delhi.
Sahni, Pardeep and Madhavi Ariyabslndu (Eds.), 2003, Disaster Risk Re~lcictionin Soutlz
Asia, Prentice-Hall of India, New Delhi.
Sharnla, Vjnod K (Ed.), 1995, Disaster Mariagement, IIPA, New Delhi.

12.110 ACTIVITIES 1
1
1) Enlist the different steps that could be taken to inculcate cormnunity awareness on disasters. I
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2) Make a c11at-t of activities or nlethods that could be adopted to disseminate knowledge on coping I
strategies in disaster aflermath. 1
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