REPORT ON TIER ONE WORKSHOPS

VOLUNTEERING

DISASTER RESPONSE NETWORK (Tehsil Balakot, District Mansehra, NWFP)

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Table of Contents Background................................................................................................. 2 Summary of Tier One Workshops ................................................................ 3 Faculty Profiles ........................................................................................... 4 The Training Process................................................................................... 7 Training Outputs ......................................................................................... 9 Participants’ Feedback ...............................................................................13 Trainers’ Recommendations .......................................................................13 Annexure ...................................................................................................15

Annex 1.1: Pre Training Assessment Form.....................................................15 Annex 1.2: Training Evaluation Form ............................................................16 Annex 2.1: Risk Assessment Tools: Assessing Capacity of people’s organizations 17 Annex 2.2: Capacity/Resource Mapping ........................................................18 Annex 2.3: Hazard/Risk Mapping .................................................................19 Annex 2.4: Historical Profile ........................................................................20 Annex 2.5: Seasonal Calendar .....................................................................21 Annex 2.6: Transect Walk ...........................................................................22

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Background In the year 2007, LEAD Pakistan had piloted a project on volunteerism in six Union Councils (UCs) of Balakot Tehsil, District Mansehra. Through the pilot project, 150 volunteers and six Local Support Organizations (LSOs) were provided trainings on volunteerism and volunteer network management. Besides this, a volunteers network was also established comprising of trained volunteers and LSOs. The network was named Disaster Response Network-Balakot (DRN-Balakot). Recently, LEAD has successfully negotiated with OXFAM Novib phase-II i.e. extension project of the Pilot Project on Volunteerism. The overall goal of the project is to create a Balakot Tehsil based sustainable network of disaster risk preparedness, mitigation and prevention. In longer term the project is expect to result in substantial reductions in losses from disasters (in terms of lives, property, economy and environment) and greater and sustainable development achievements, including reduction in vulnerability of communities and infrastructure. To the above end, the project includes a number of activities and interventions, capacity building being one of them. Under Phase II, LEAD Pakistan is organising a series of trainings in three tiers. Under Tier One, an additional 250 volunteers are to be trained in basic volunteering and risk assessment concepts and tools. Tier 2 will include trainings for 150 old and 250 new volunteers around three themes: First Aid, Search and Rescue and Developing Union Council Level Action Plans on Disaster Preparedness and Management. Three mutually exclusive batches of 133 participants each will participate in workshop under each of the above three themes. Finally, in Tier 3, selected volunteers from all union councils are to undergo a training to integrate union council level action plans into a tehsil level plan, understand the local and provincial governance structure, and acquire leadership, networking and partnership building skills. The capacity building initiative is to be supplemented with provision of search and rescue and first aid tool kits across the target union councils.

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Summary of Tier One Workshops The three day training workshops on Volunteering held in the earthquake affected areas of tehsil Balakot lay emphasis on introducing the basics of disaster preparedness, disaster management and participatory risk assessment and their link with volunteering. They also aimed at establishing the process and dynamics of networking, providing the basics of planning in order to prepare a plan for a Disaster Management Committee. The workshops equipped the participants with the

knowledge, motivation and skills to effectively volunteer and network for disaster risk assessment, preparedness and management in the local context. The training workshops were held for a total of 250 participants at three locations: Balakot City, Talhatta and Malkandi1. For this purpose, participants from all 12 union councils (UCs) of Tehsil Balakot were identified. These trainings were provided in 13 batches with an average of 20 participants in every batch. In

Balakot City, trainings were held for participants from five UCs including Garlat, Balakot, Ghanool, Hungrai and Satbani. In Talhatta, participants from four UCs including Gari Habibullah, Talhatta, Karnol and Shohal Maidan were provided trainings. In Malkandi, trainings were conducted for participants belonging to Ghanool, Kawai, Mohandri and Kaghan UCs.

1Three workshops were held in Dubrian and 13 in Dhandan Jareed

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Faculty Profiles

Anbreen Ajaib has an M.Sc degree in Organizational Psychology, Quaid-e-Azam University. She is currently working as Human Resource & Training Manager at Bedari as well as a consultant trainer at New Directions. She has diverse experience with a variety of NGOs and has also remained a member of the visiting faculty for Iqra University and University of Arid Agriculture. She has also contributed a chapter on “Violence against Girls in Education” for a book on “Eliminating Violence against girls in school” by University of Sussex, UK. Her area of expertise includes

Arshed Bhatti, holds Masters in Development Management from the London School of Economics (LSE) and an MPhil from Quaid-e-Azam University Islamabad. With more than fifteen years’ experience in civil service, non-profit sector and media, Bhatti is one the most sought-after consultants today. He has worked as Director Governance with British Council Pakistan and as Senior Programme Officer with Action Aid. Bhatti is founder of the famous café’ in Islamabad, Civil Junction, which serves as a centre of cultural and political activities for the capital’s youth. Saleem Malik has an M.Sc in Development and Project Planning from the University of Bradford, England, M. Sc. Statistics from the University of Punjab Lahore and a Diploma in Children, Youth and Development form the Institute of Social Studies (ISS) Den Hague, The Netherlands. He has worked with various organizations including Plan International, Action Aid International, Family Planning Association of Pakistan, International Water Management Institute, Lahore and Bedari, Islamabad. He has vast experience of conducting training all over Pakistan on contemporary programme and management themes. The alumni ranges from the semi literate women, men and children at grassroots level to the senior level managers in public and private (non profit) sector. Yusuf Khan has an M.Sc degree in International Relations and an M.Phil degree in Development Studies. He is currently working as Director General, Standards and Certification and Director, Planning and Policy Development for NAVTEC. His professional experience includes working for several national, international, donor as well as government organizations including UNDP, ADB, IUCN and Government of NWFP in different capacities. He is fluent in a variety of languages including Urdu, English, Pashto, Punjabi, German, French and Spanish.

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Detail of Tier One Training on Volunteerism (TWO Modules)

Cluster 1 Batches Garlat Balakot Ghanool Hungrai Satbani Total Date Venue Trainers

1 (I) 20 M Nill Nill Nill Nill 20

30, 31 May & 01 June Balakot

M. Saleem Malik

4 (IV) Nill 6 M Nill 9 M Nill 15 02, 03, 04 June Balakot

Mr. Arshad Bhatti

7 (VII) 10 M Nill 6 M Nill 4 M 20 05, 06, 07 June Balakot

M. Saleem Malik

10 (X) 4 F 5 F 5 F 4 F 4 F 22 08, 09,10 June Balakot

Ms. Anbreen Ajaib

11 (XI) Nill Nill Nill 20 M Nill 20 08, 09,10 June Balakot

M. Saleem Malik

34 11 11 33 8 97 Cluster 2

Batches Talhatta Gari Habibullah Karnol

Shohall Mazullah Total Date Venue Trainers

2 (II) 5 F 4 F 7 F 4 F 20

30, 31 May & 01 June Talhatta

Ms. Anbreen Ajaib

5 (V) 3 M 4 M 6 M 4 M 17 02, 03, 04 June Talhatta

Ms. Anbreen Ajaib

8 (VIII) Nill Nill 20 M Nill 20 05, 06, 07 June Talhatta Mr. Yousaf

8 8 33 8 57 Cluster 3 Batches Ghanool Kawai Mohandri Kaghan Total Date Venue Trainers

3 (III) 22 M Nill Nill Nill 22

30, 31 May & 01 June Dubrian

Mr. Arshad Bhatti

6 (VI) Nill Nill 22 M Nill 20 02, 03, 04 June Malkandi

M. Saleem Malik

9 (IX) Nill 18 M Nill Nill 18 11, 12, 13 June Malkandi

M. Saleem Malik

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13 (XIII) Nill 4 F 5 F 3 F 12

05, 06, 07 June

Dhandan Jareed

Ms. Anbreen Ajaib

12 (XII) Nill 11 M 8 M 5 M 24 08, 09,10 June Malkandi Mr. Yousaf

22 33 33 8 96 Total Volunteers: 250 * 18 M= 18 Male * 5 F= 5 Female

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The Training Process The training covered the concepts of volunteering, disaster management and networking and introduced the participants to risk assessment tools. Specific training objectives were:

1) Understand and internalize the importance of volunteering in the context of disaster preparedness and management

2) Learn the basics of disaster management and participatory risk assessment

3) Get hands-on experience in using participatory risk assessment tools

4) Understand the process and dynamics of networking

5) Learn the basics of planning and use that knowledge to prepare a plan for

Disaster Management Committee

6) Have the knowledge, motivation and skills to volunteer and network effectively for disaster risk assessment, preparedness and management in the local context

Day 1 began with an overview of the basic concepts of “Disaster Risk Management” including Hazard and its types, Vulnerability, Disaster, Risk, Disaster Risk Reduction, Preparedness, Prevention, Disaster Risk Management and Recovery. An introduction to the term Volunteering, its significance in any society or area, its advantages as well as drawbacks was also given. Day 2 set its focus on a detailed session on “Risk Assessment”, its purpose, characteristics and different tools that can be used for risk assessment. Commonly used tools for “Participatory Risk Assessment” were also discussed including Transect Walk, Hazard Mapping, Risk Mapping, Historical Profile, Capacity Assessment and Seasonal Calendar. Following a discussion on the tools, participants worked in groups using different risk assessment tools. They first drew up village maps and then identified hazards faced by local communities on the map. Following this, the participants made a priority list of potential hazards identified. They also drew up seasonal calendars in groups. The exercise it was explained was a precursor to more extensive, real life work to be done by the network in days and months to come. On Day 3, a session on “Networking”, its forms and the connection between volunteerism and networking was illustrated. Participants were told that this connection, if realized, could help cater to a wider range of people demanding for volunteering services by identifying people willing to volunteer and people demanding volunteering services. Establishment of a formal network would help in

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forming relationships with partners in a more formal manner. The last session discussed various steps of “Planning for Disaster Management Committee” followed by a group activity. Participants were asked to develop a plan for forming a committee for disaster risk reduction using a given framework. Participants were

divided into small groups. Each group had to develop their own plan according to the given framework. The framework included setting up of a mission, long term objectives, structure and functions, priority areas of action, required and available resources, potential sources of funds and potential partners for their Committee. Each group presented their plans in plenary. The representatives of each group were then asked to collate the plans developed by each group and come up with a unified plan.

Every participant got an opportunity to express themselves (by way of asking questions; making a counter-comment, reflection & feedback). Those participants with leadership potential and ambition were given opportunity to lead small teams in the group work and also to make presentations. At the end of the workshop the participants were asked to fill in post training evaluation forms in order to assess the outcome of the workshop. The participants were enthusiastic, intelligent and exhibited a spirit of teamwork. They were well aware and interested in learning. The trainees who had suffered the consequences of the earthquake continue to feel its effects in various ways. A substantial majority had suffered the loss of close relatives. Their experiences and insight helped to enrich the entire exercise and bring it out of its power-point form into an exercise which is closer to reality. There was some hesitation and nervousness on the part of participants at the beginning of the training; however it disappeared within the first half day of the training.

There was a common myth among participants that these disasters were the consequence of our bad deeds and a warning from God. This was also apparent in their group work. For example, during their preparation plan for the mitigation of disasters, they planned the opening of a religious school (Madrassa) so that children get religious education and adopt Islamic way of life. In this way, they would be protected from all kind of hazards.

‘The sequence of the various sessions was logical and culminated into exercises that prepared the trainees for carrying out participatory risk assessment and management in their communities after completing their training’. --Yusuf Khan, Resource Person

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Participant feedback “LEAD should arrange such trainings in future to motivate people and to attract them towards volunteering and to tell them it’s advantages so that when such occasions happen, they should be able to protect themselves. This training will be helpful in the future.”

Gender based difficulties for Volunteering For females:

1. Restrictions on mobility of females 2. Daily household work does not allow them to concentrate

on other activities, such as volunteer work 3. Restrictions from family, including parents, husband or

in-laws 4. Lack of education and awareness on the importance of

volunteerism For males:

1. Time constraints 2. Financial constraints 3. Lack of co-operative colleagues and acquaintances 4. Lack of resources (e.g. transport facilities) 5. Lack of co-operation from government institutions 6. Lack of spirit of volunteerism 7. Lack of education and awareness on the importance of

volunteerism Training Venues: Dhandan Jared, Talhatta, Balakot

One noteworthy observation was that a majority of the people were expecting to learn to cope with disasters such as earthquakes after they have occurred. They were not expecting getting training on how to prepare for such disasters before they take place. In addition to the volunteerism component of the training, one of the participants in the group introduced the other participants with certain additional concepts and tools. One shared a paper he had written for NVM on volunteerism; the format of PC-1 was discussed; the structure & working of Local Government; the concept & tool of CCB and CBO, and that fact that as volunteers, they were part of Civil Defense setup was brought up.

Training Outputs The workshop resulted in an immediate expansion in knowledge, in-depth understanding and increase in confidence & motivation of the participants. This was not only observed but also reported by the candidates in feedback that was gathered both formally and informally. The participants reported increase in knowledge, addition in motivation and expansion of practical possibilities.

The training evaluation consisted of participants’ feedback through pre training, post training and overall training

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evaluation forms. The pre training form2 consisted of a basic set of questions to determine the general know how of the participants prior to the training. These included questions asking participants to rate their knowledge and understanding about different volunteerism and disaster related terms on a scale of 1 to 5 (where 1 represented poor rating and 5 represented excellent rating). After the training, participants were asked to fill a post training questionnaire which consisted of the same set of questions which they were asked before the training. This feedback was crucial in determining the success of the workshop. In addition to the pre and post assessment forms, participants were also asked to give their comments about the overall training by means of a Training Evaluation Form3. This form addressed issues related to the overall training including the training structure, trainers’ style, training content and logistical arrangements of the training. The form asked participants to rate their feedback on a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 stood for highly disagree and 5 stood for highly agree. A preliminary analysis of the pre and post training assessment forms show a positive feedback from the workshop participants. For this purpose, three samples have been taken from each UC, i.e. Balakot, Talhatta and Malkandi. Each sample consists of 20 forms of one workshop held in each UC. Balakot

Balakot

76

5543

67

100 95 96 98

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Understandingof volunteering

Know ledge ofRisk

AssessmentTools

Know ledgeabout

netw orking

Capacity to leaddisaster riskassessment

w ork

Perc

enta

ge

Pre Training Score

Post Training Score

The figure above shows that 43 percent of the workshop participants in Balakot had an understanding of the term “Volunteering” before the training. After getting training, it increased to a 100percent. Only 55percent of the participants were aware of Risk Assessment Tools before the training, whereas after the training, the awareness increased to 95percent. Similarly, it can be seen that before the training, 43percent participants had knowledge about “Networking”. Their knowledge enhanced significantly after the training, as can be seen that 96 percent participants learnt more about “Networking” after the workshop. Lastly, the graph shows that

2 Refer to Pre Training Evaluation Form in Annex 1.1 3 Refer to Training Evaluation Form in Annex 1.2

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67percent of the participants had the capacity to lead disaster risk assessment work in their village/UC, whereas after the training, 98percent participants felt that they would be able to do so. Talhatta

Talhatta

36 2838

61

9283

93 93

0

20

40

60

80

100

Understandingof volunteering

Know ledge ofRisk

AssessmentTools

Know ledgeabout

netw orking

Capacity to leaddisaster riskassessment

w ork

Perc

enta

ge

Pre-Training Score

Post-Training Score

The figure above is a representation of the trainees’ response after attending the 3 day workshop in Talhatta. The statistics show that the participants found a positive change in themselves after attending the training. The figure shows that before the training, 36 percent of the participants had an understanding of the term “Volunteering”, 28 percent had knowledge of risk assessment tools, 38 percent had knowledge of “Networking” and 61 percent had the capacity to lead disaster risk assessment work in their village/UC. Post training scores show an impressive change towards improvement in the knowledge of participants. It can be seen that after the training, 92 percent participants developed an understanding of the term “Volunteering”, 83 percent enhanced their knowledge about risk assessment tools, 93percent enhanced their knowledge about “Networking” and 93 percent participants felt that they could lead disaster risk assessment work in their village/UC after receiving the training.

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Malkandi

Malkandi

57

3227

46

9589

95 91

0102030405060708090

100

Understandingof

volunteering

Know ledge ofRisk

AssessmentTools

Know ledgeabout

netw orking

Capacity tolead disaster

riskassessment

w ork

Perc

enta

ge

Pre-Training Score

Post-Training Score

The above figure shows the pre and post training assessment for a workshop held in UC Malkandi. As is evident, 57 percent participants had an understanding of the term “Volunteering” before the training in contrast to 95percent participants after the training. Similarly, 32 percent participants possessed knowledge about risk assessment tools compared to 89percent participants after the training, 27 percent participants had knowledge about “Networking” in contrast to 95 percent after the training and 46 percent participants had the capacity to lead disaster risk assessment work in their village/UC before the training, compared to 91percent participants after the training.

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Participant feedback “Most females in our village are illiterate, therefore it would’ve been more appropriate if the training material provided to us was in Urdu. Also, our trainer was a very competent and well mannered lady.”

Participant feedback “I would suggest that the training program should further continue with more focus on practical application of the training in our localities.”

Participants’ Feedback Positive feedback about the overall training and its delivery can be seen from the training evaluation forms of workshops held at different locations. An overall analysis of participants’ feedback shows that on the whole, the workshop participants were satisfied with the style of their trainers and their command over the subject matter of the training. They were also content with the amount of time allocated to group activities and question answer sessions. On the other hand, a fair percentage of the participants had reservations with the training material that was provided to them. This was especially apparent in the workshops that were held in Bhonja Fareedabad, Dhandan Jared and Dubriyan. Participants were of the view that it would have been more appropriate if the training material and presentations were in Urdu instead of English. This would have helped them in understanding the content more easily. Some participants were also unhappy with the logistical arrangements of the workshops, but on the whole it was clearly evident from the statistics that everyone was in favor of getting equipped with more knowledge and trainings about volunteerism and disaster risk management in the future.

Trainers’ Recommendations

The trainers proposed some recommendations for future workshops. These include:

• Presentations in Urdu can be more effective in the groups. It would be more effective if we use some pictures in the presentation when the participants are illiterate or semi-literate. Making the slides of some pictures of Risk Assessment Tools will make it easy to understand.

• The translated transparencies should be given to the trainees in booklet form so that they could take it home and use for future reference.

• It would be a better idea to use local examples of volunteerism (for example, Edhi Foundation) in the presentations instead of international ones (for example, Australia), so that participants can relate to them.

• More time should be allocated for group activities. • Some people felt uncomfortable getting training outside their village/UC and

suggested that in future, trainings be organized in their own village. • Women participants who have been working with other NGOs had more and

quick understanding of the issues even if they were illiterate. On the other hand there were young girls who were more educated but were very shy and submissive. Most of them did not show any enthusiasm for disaster risk management committee especially in urban UCs. Therefore for giving a leadership role to

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some community activists in a rural area, education can be an adding factor but not the only criteria for selection. Leadership quality and exposure/experience are more important.

• Contents like networking, volunteerism and planning for disaster committee were more effective than defining vision, mission and ‘SMART’ objectives. Some more work is required to make it more simple and easy for rural communities.

• Women disaster management committees should be equally equipped with tools, trainings and other resources to perform actively. This will be possible if lead staff include women field officers, who can directly communicate with women.

• Session on gender issues related to volunteerism proved to be very effective. Inclusion of this session in the manual for men and women both, will add in to quality of the training.

• It was discussed that the Transect Walk which is one of the tools that can be used for Participatory Risk Assessment, is more useful for outsiders and is not needed for village residents, since they know everything about their village. A few people suggested ways of modifying Transect Walk. One was that if 10 – 12 village locals could make it a practice to go for a transect walk of their own village on a daily basis, they would have the chance to raise issues and respond to the queries of village people. It would be an opportunity to raise awareness among the village people about the preparedness efforts that are being planned to avoid, prevent, and mitigate the hazards and disasters.

• The training course should be followed up with not only further training activities, but also some sort of periodic follow-up activity which helps them in actually forming and running a Disaster Management Committee, developing and implementing their work plans, and even assistance with regard to resource mobilization.

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Annexure

Annex 1.1

Training on Volunteering Organized by LEAD Pakistan

Pre-Training Assessment

1. What are the benefits of volunteering?

2. What are networks? Why do people create networks?

3. What do you know about disaster management?

4. Define/describe following concepts? a. Disaster b. Vulnerability c. Capacity d. Disaster Management e. Risk Assessment

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Annex 1.2

Three Day Training for Capacity Building of Volunteers

Organized by LEAD Pakistan November 12, 2007 to January 4, 2008

Training Evaluation Form

Using a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 means “disagree,” and 5 signifies “highly agree”, rate the following statements by drawing a circle around the relevant number.

Statements Highly Agree Disagree

1. Training was well structured 5 4 3 2 1

2. Program had a logical flow 5 4 3 2 1

3. Trainer had good command over the subject 5 4 3 2 1

4. Style of the trainer was good 5 4 3 2 1

5. Trainer involved of participants in the discussions 5 4 3 2 1

6. Presentations were informative and useful. 5 4 3 2 1

7. Training provided new and important insights theme of volunteerism, disaster management and networking

5 4 3 2 1

8. Program allowed requisite time for presentations. 5 4 3 2 1

9. Program allowed reasonable time for questions, answers and discussion.

5 4 3 2 1

10. Material provided was helpful. 5 4 3 2 1

11. Logistical arrangement for the training were good. 5 4 3 2 1

12. Quality of food was good. 5 4 3 2 1

13. Training met its objectives. 5 4 3 2 1

14. LEAD should arrange such trainings in future Yes No

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Annex 2.1: Risk Assessment Tools

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Annex 2.2

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Annex 2.3

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Annex 2.4

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Annex 2.5

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Annex 2.6