Disaster Risk Reduction

Prelude

The world, since 1989, has been celebrating the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) every year on 13 th of October. Every year, on 13 th of October, people and communities are facilitated to celebrate how they are reducing their exposure to disasters and generating critical awareness about the need for reining in the risks that they face. EKAM Foundation is celebrating International DRR Day with people with whom the organization has been working to reducing disaster risks.
EKAM Foundation, in partnership with UNICEF, has been taking conscious and concerted efforts to reduce risks that are emanated from disasters while strategically focussing on children, pregnant women, lactating mothers and women. We are pleased to share our success stories in DRR

Building Community Resilience through strengthening community volunteers

The District DRR Facilitation Teams while reaching the unreached are also functioning as ‘self-help groups’ supporting each other. Hundreds of needy people were enabled to avail public health service delivery, ambulance service, and ensured accessibility to food at free or fair price for home quarantined, supported with tele-counseling services. The collective efforts of District Disaster Risk Reduction Facilitation Teams have been certainly reducing the risks that are emanating from Covid 19 pandemic. There are about 600 volunteers functioning in all the districts of Tamil Nadu.

Village Panchayats in Disaster Risk Reduction

EKAM Foundation has been making conscious and concerted efforts to strengthen local self- governance bodies in order to ensure holistic wellbeing of people at the grassroots.

Multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholders approach

EKAM Foundation believes in partnerships as there is a pressing need for a ‘committed and dedicated team which comprises of members from multiple sectors’ with a ‘long-term and value based vision encompassing sustainable wellness of all’ which could work with an attitude to complement each other for mitigating the ill-impacts of public health emergencies like COVID – 19 and disasters such as floods, droughts, climate change, with strategic focus on women, pregnant women and children, especially in the context of raising temperatures and melting glaciers (climate change). We have been working with NGOs, CBOs and other groups who connect with us for achieving the goals of DRR.

Ensuring well-being of interstate migrant workers in Tamil Nadu

EKAM Foundation has identified locations where interstate migrant workers could be found in large numbers. We have been facilitating them to have access to Covid 19 vaccination and public health care service delivery. We have also been establishing support linkages in favor of interstate migrant workers.

Conclusion

We have adapted multi-pronged approach for realizing the goals of Disaster Risk Reduction. Strategically we have been focusing on protecting children, pregnant women, lactating mothers and women from disasters. We will meet you on 13th October 2022 with more success stories. We wish you all disaster risk free life.