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Collaboration in crises | i
This report introduces the studies and findings of the Oxfam International
Tsunami Disaster Risk Reduction and Participatory Action Research
program, hereafter referred to as the tsunami research program. For
information about the program, including an electronic version of this report,
summaries of the research, stories from the field, and details about the
research program itself, please visit www.oxfamamerica.org/fieldstudies
or contact Russell Miles (rmiles@oxfamamerica.org) or Elizabeth Stevens
(estevens@oxfamamerica.org).
ii | Collaboration in crises
Table of contents
Executive summary 2
Foreword 4
Introduction 9
I. Research as a tool for thinking locally 13
II. Methods and partners 17
III. The central finding: Communities want more ownership 21
IV. Owning disaster risk reduction:
A prelude to community-guided disaster response 25
Conclusion 29
Stories from the field 33
There is nothing that cannot be changed: The gender study 34
Research that could save lives: The HIV study 36
A process that cant be rushed:
The disaster preparedness program review 38
The perfect knowledge for survival: The community-based
disaster risk reduction study 40
Forecasting a better future: Linking development and
disaster risk reduction programs 42
Drawing water to a thirsty village: Following the lead of a community 44
Appendix I: About the research and our partners 47
Appendix II: Publications of the Oxfam International Tsunami
Disaster Risk Reduction and Participatory Action Research program 50
Appendix III: Oxfams humanitarian research in Aceh, Indonesia 51
Notes 51
Acknowledgments 52
2 | Collaboration in crises
into disaster-affected areas, which crowds out significant Train ourselves to listen. The participatory techniques
community participation; the difficulty in finding mean- demonstrated in the studies are learnable, and they
ingful criteria for and measures of what is working and have the potential to help staff and partners on the
what isnt, which interferes with our accountability; ground improve their ability to engage communi-
lack of training in and commitment to participatory ties more fully in needs assessments and the design,
approaches in humanitarian programming; and the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of pro-
challenge of creating DRR programs that reflect the gramsthereby deepening community engagement
vision and priorities of communities, not just those of and ownership of humanitarian programs.
aid providers.
Create sustainable DRR interventions. Tsunami
Getting from here to where we want to be. Often miss- research pilot projects developed with full community
ing from discussions about putting community needs, participation achieved a sense of community owner-
aspirations, and leadership more firmly at the center ship and sustainability. In the case of community
of our work are not so much ideas and observations radio, the program that resulted weaves DRR messages
(we have those in abundance) as illustrations of how, into daily life and ensures that community members
realistically, we can move forward. have full creative control over the program activities.
Enabling community members to play a key role in
The tsunami research produced several examples:
designing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating
Employ community-generated indicators of success. DRR programs could build the capacity of both aid
Lists of how many training sessions, aid packets, or providers and communities to engage in full partner-
shelters provided to a community are poor indicators ships both before and after a disaster.
of the value of humanitarian programs, as they dont
Other research suggested that facilitating links between
reflect community satisfaction with whats been given.
communities and governmental and nongovernmental
One study involves helping communities develop
aid providers and helping vulnerable communities
their own criteria for well-beingwhich includes
clarify and articulate their development priorities before
social, economic, and material considerationsand
disaster strikes can help communities proactively pur-
then tracking their sense over time about whether and
sue the kind of assistance they most require.
how their recovery has been progressing. A process
like this, carried out jointly by aid providers, could The tsunami research program and the studies high-
produce community-centered measures of the success lighted in this report point to the need for greater local
of our programs and give meaning to the more quanti- ownership of humanitarian programs and suggest that
tative indicators we are accustomed to using. participatory processesincluding PARare a means
of meeting that need. Listening to communitiesfairly,
Improve interagency alignment. One study dem-
deliberately, and methodicallyis an investment in the
onstrated how aid providers could carry out a joint
sustainability and effectiveness of aid programs, and
impact assessment that would reduce the burden on
in the well-being and empowerment of the disaster-
community members to evaluate large numbers of
affected communities at the center of our mission.
individual agency programs. The same principle
applies to needs assessments.
Collaboration in crises | 3
Foreword
By Hugo Slim, director, Corporates for Crisis and member,
the Oxfam International Tsunami Fund board of directors
4 | Collaboration in crises
Helping people can be surprisingly difficult. For Participatory action research has been around for a
centuries we have been encouraged to think of help as long time. This report and its many supporting studies
giving. But good help is a much more subtle business show that it serves a double purpose for the emergency
than just replacing things that people have lost or hand- worker. First, it establishes an equal working partner-
ing out things that they have never had. All too often, ship between agency and community, creating the right
simply giving people things runs a double risk. First, we grammar for the aid relationship at the start. Second,
may give them the wrong things. Second, we may focus by researching solutions together, community members
too much on the things we give and not enough on the and aid agencies produce appropriate programming
relationship around the gift. The things we give then and good results. And of course, all this can and must
become the central fetish of our work, and we come to be done in advance of disaster, too. Participatory action
treat the people who receive them as secondary objects. research needs to play a key role in disaster risk reduc-
We call them recipients or beneficiariespeople tion as well as relief.
who have needs but not much else.
So, as this report says: there is nothing new about calls
I remember rushing into a crowded tent full of Kurdish to improve community ownership and participation.
refugees on a mountainside in Turkey way back in 1991 Whats new is that the largest humanitarian response
and urgently asking what people needed. An old man in history has produced all the evidence any agency or
sat me down. He was cold, exhausted from a two-week government could ever need to justify taking strong ac-
trek, and obviously worried about the young family tion to make this goal a reality. In other words, no NGO
all around him. He stopped me talking, offered me a should feel uneasy or inhibited about working carefully
cup of tea, and slowed me down. After all, I was inside together with communities in disaster response and pre-
what was, for the moment, his house. I was his guest. paredness. They should expect their emergency teams
Snow was melted, a kettle was boiled, and we shared to work like this, and people should demand it.
the one cup they had. He turned the tables of our aid
But a good collaborative relationship takes two. Respon-
relationship and gave me something of the little he had.
sibility for good participatory work does not just lie with
As I shared it with him, we discussed what we could
aid agencies. Disaster-affected people also have respon-
do together. This old man stopped me thinking simply
sibilities to make it work. And they do not always rise to
about things and began to make me mindful of the
meet these responsibilities. If we aid workers know that
people around me. I emerged with a better understand-
community ownership and participation is a good thing,
ing of their situation and a rather different grammar of
we also know that most communities are not the happy,
humanitarian relationships.
smiling, and cooperative groups that we pretend they
It is tempting in our extreme concern for others, and are in our NGO publicity. Like all communities, they
with donors and deadlines on our backs, to get the can be plagued by bias, feuds, competition, class, and
grammar of our relationships wrong in disasters. As aid greed. In an emergency, unpleasant and unrepresenta-
workers, we can mistakenly think that we are the sub- tive individuals or cliques can capture a community
jects of things, that we should control the active verbs and the resources it receives. Governments in many
(assess, decide, design, distribute, monitor, recover), and disaster-affected countries are also appallingdeeply
that people suffering the consequences of a disaster are corrupt, incompetent, and keen to politicize aid. Some
the objects of what we do. This is a humanitarian gram- local NGOs and community-based organizations can be
mar exemplified by the phrase we help people. decidedly dodgy, too. Aid agencies can be the victims of
bad relationships and not just the perpetrators.
As aid professionals, however, we know that the best
help often arises from self-help or active collaboration This research done by Oxfam after the tsunami makes
and equal partnership between agency and community. it clear that the best way to help people is by encourag-
Rather clumsily, we bundle this kind of help into a dis- ing community ownership and participation in relief
course of participation. Our role in this grammar of and recovery. It confirms that aid work is as much about
participatory relief is essentially prepositionalwe creative working relationships as about commodities
work alongside people who are recovering or we do and project management. This is now obvious, but both
things with them. As the subjects of their own recovery, parties in the aid relationshipagencies and those who
people hurt by disasters are more autonomous and have survived emergencieshave to make it work anew
active than we are in this kind of help. around every disaster.
Collaboration in crises | 5
6 | Collaboration in crises
The Oxfam tsunami research
program as a whole revealed
the need for humanitarian
agencies to listen more closely
to communities and to engage
with them more fully.
As this finding emerged,
so, too, did the realization that
the researchers themselves
were providing a model for how
that listening and engagement
can be accomplished.
Collaboration in crises | 7
8 | Collaboration in crises
Introduction
When the tsunami of December 2004 surged across the shores of the Indian
Ocean, aid providers launched a response that was extraordinary in its
speed, scope, and magnitude. Responding to catastrophes simultaneously
in countries as diverse as India and Somalia, they stretched themselves to
the limit and, in the early months, achieved a stunning success: despite a
massive displacement of communities into crowded temporary camps,
there were no outbreaks of disease epidemics.
Collaboration in crises | 9
A community is not an island
The logic is simple: disasters, plans, studying ways to help women and effective local NGOs, for exam-
by definition, occur when a crisis improve their incomes, or building ple, has much greater capacity than
overwhelms local capacities to cope local knowledge about gender- one that is for any reason reluctant
with a hazard; therefore, building on sensitive disaster response. to engage with government or civil
local capacity to withstand or avert society organizations.
One study was focused not so
hazards can reduce disaster risks.
much on building on local capac- The BEDROC study points to an
It is reasoning that Oxfam finds ity as on expanding our knowledge important capacity-building role for
compelling, and so we aim not of what that might entail. A key NGOs: linking communities to public
simply to provide material aid in an message that emerged from the providers of goods and services.
emergency but to invest in commu- research is that a community is For example, village information
nities in ways that will leave them not an island. centers established by an NGO
strongerless vulnerable to future after the tsunami helped bring the
To understand the capacity of a
disasters and to the ravages of government closer to the people
community, you need to look not
poverty. by disseminating information on
only at what a community knows
programs and services while also
But the question of how to do this how to do but at the actors and
providing a platform from which
most effectively is not so simple. networks that surround it, and at
community members could voice
Its one that the humanitarian com- how effectively that community
their needs and concerns.
munity has been asking itself for at can interact with them, says Annie
least 20 years, and the researchers George, CEO of BEDROC (Building A key capacity that has been built
in this program explored it from and Enabling Disaster Resilience of during the tsunami response has
many angles. Some illustrated ways Coastal Communities), an Oxfam been the communities ability to
to strengthen local capacity by, for research partner. engage with external people, says
example, working with communi- George. Now they have confidence.
A community that can communicate
ties to create disaster contingency
easily with a responsive government
At the heart of the program was a desire to learn from the communities
how to improve our tsunami response, says Russell Miles, director of the
tsunami research program. But we knew from the start that the research
would have implications for our work on future disasters as well.
10 | Collaboration in crises
successful pilot programs carried out by researchers. Section II describes Above: Research into how to help coconut
participatory action research (PAR) and explains the choice to work through fiber (coir) spinners earn a larger share of
local research partners rather than consultants from outside the region. The coir industry profits laid the groundwork for a
successful Oxfam program to help more than
studies as a whole yielded an underlying theme: communities want a chance
2,000 women in southern Sri Lanka improve
to play a more central role in the choice, design, implementation, monitoring, their incomes. Thanks to mechanized equip-
and evaluation of programs aimed at assisting them, and the programs will ment, new products and markets, and a newly
likely benefit from their deeper involvementan issue that is discussed in formed federation of self-help groups, many
Section III. Section IV looks at the possibility that DRR programs have a role are now making double and in some cases
triple what they earned before the tsunami.
to play not only in reducing the physical and economic risks of disasters but
The gains are not only financial: We used to
also in enabling communities to become strong partners in the relief and stay in our houses and not get involved in
rehabilitation programs designed to assist them. The conclusion offers practi- [community] work, says M. M. Somalatha from
cal suggestions for increasing community ownership and participation in the village of Lunukalapuwa. Now we dis-
humanitarian programming. cuss issues in this community and try to solve
them in our role as women leaders.
Collaboration in crises | 11
12 | Collaboration in crises
I. Research as a tool for thinking locally
When a sudden-onset emergency strikes, aid providers can parachute into
practically any region of the world and mount a response that will save lives,
but when it comes to creating longer term interventions, general knowledge
about emergency response is insufficient. History, culture, politics, physical
environment, and even personalities play major roles in what will work and
what wont, and these vary country to country, region to region, and vil-
lage to village. Taking the time to understand the local context can make the
difference between a response that is clumsy or deft; short-term or sustainable;
divisive or inclusive; and, from a community perspective, dignified
or disempowering.
The coir study helped women increase their incomes. A study of the coir
(coconut fiber) industry and the ways in which the Sri Lankan women at
the bottom of the market chain could improve their earnings provided the
basis for a successful program that has helped the participants double and
in some cases triple their pre-tsunami incomes.
A gap was identified between gender policy and practice. The needs
and voices of women and girls were frequently neglected in the emergency
response, despite a commitment on the part of many NGOs to keep
them front and center. Chaman Pincha, a researcher with Oxfam partners
Anawim Trust and Naban Trust, found there was a widespread lack of
understanding of the theory and practice of gender mainstreaming at the
local level in India; she went on to develop a gender toolkit for local use.
14 | Collaboration in crises
Testing new approaches: Researching innovation Above: Creating separate discussion spaces
for women and men, children and youth, and
The research program also provided an avenue for investigating and piloting other groups within communities can help
new approaches to humanitarian programming. ensure that research is truly participatory.
PAR can help aid providers understand social and economic conditions at
the local level, assess community needs, gather data to advocate for change,
develop programs that are tailored to community priorities, and evaluate
ongoing work.
Aid providers who engage in a careful listening process can home in on
the needs, aspirations, and capacities of the communities they are presently
assisting, says Nanditha Hettitantri, Oxfams research program manager in
Sri Lanka. Without it, they may find themselves creating programs better
suited to another place and time.
Collaboration in crises | 15
16 | Collaboration in crises
II. Methods and partners
Participatory action research: A methodology of social change
In nearly all the studies referred to in this report, Oxfams partners have
based their work on the principles of PAR.
Collaboration in crises | 17
The researchers: Keeping it local
Above: Once you know about your rights, you
are not going back to the same position, says The other key element of the Oxfam tsunami research program is the choice
O. Sumanaseli de Silwa, who participated in of local and national NGOs and academic institutes to design and implement
research in Sri Lanka on how NGOs ending
their tsunami programs can exit responsibly
the studies. Their cultural familiarity with the communities made it possible
and ensure the gains they worked for are to carry out research on sensitive topics like HIV, and their local perspectives
sustainable. generated ideas that might not have occurred to researchers who didnt grow
up in the region. The process of reporting the findings and products of the
studies has also been influenced by the commitment of the researchers to
improving conditions in their own countries. Pincha, for example, has dis-
seminated her gender research and toolkit throughout India using workshops,
Web sites, and other forums. In some cases, state and national governments
in India and Sri Lanka have engaged with the study findings in ways that
might not have happened had the researchers been seen as foreigners. And
we have every reason to believe that our research partners will continue to
spread the knowledge and insights from their studies long after Oxfams
tsunami program is complete.
The studies were supporting arent destined for a dusty shelf somewhere,
and theyre not carried out by consultants from faraway places, says Miles,
director of the tsunami research program. Were partnering with local
researchers who are dedicated to solving problems in their own countries.
18 | Collaboration in crises
Measuring recovery, community by community
Collaboration in crises | 19
20 | Collaboration in crises
III. The central finding: Communities want
more ownership
From study after study, a theme emerged. It was like a drumbeat, faint and
barely recognizable at first, and then louder and louder as the findings rolled Left: K. R. Thanajayan, a village leader
in Kandakadu, India, sits near a bore well
in. It didnt seem to matter what the topic of the research was. Its underlying
provided by an NGO to help desalinate
message was nearly always the same: disaster-affected communities want a and irrigate their agricultural fields after the
chance to guide their own recoveryand humanitarian programs will prob- tsunami. Rather than accept the well as a
gift, the villagers chose to pay 15 percent of
ably work better if they do so.
the cost to ensure that everyone had a sense
of ownership and an investment in maintain-
Too often, the research revealed, community members were cast as consul-
ing it. We wanted to give benefit to future
tants or passive recipients of aid rather than equal partners in the recovery generations, says Thanajayan, who partici-
process. Their local knowledge, capacity, and priorities were overlooked, pated in the research on strenghtening local
capacity. After an emergency, give support
which contributed to an attitude of dependency on outside aid and to a
immediately to recover livelihoods, and then
diminished sense of ownership of the programs aimed at assisting them. a man is capable of carrying it on from there.
He has fallen down; just help him to stand up,
and he will walk.
FRONT
Whenever an NGO comes to the CARITAS AGAINST MAGAMA
SRI LANKA
village, they want to form a commit- WAR WOMENS
ORGANIZATION AGRICULTURE
DEPARTMENT
tee, says Mariah Meraya Swaris, a
research participant from a village DMC
in the Kalutara District of Sri Lanka.
JEN
Now our village has so many INSTITUTE
Collaboration in crises | 21
Above: The Advanced Center for Enabling Di- Given the amount of time and effort aid providers spend discussing
saster Risk Reduction (ACEDRR) community
programs with community members, how can this be? It comes down to
radio program helped place DRR in the hands
of the community members themselves. If we a crucial distinction between engaging communities as full partners and
get information about rain upstream, we will merely consulting them on programs developed by the aid providers them-
take some precautions, says Sethurajan, a
selves. Whose idea was the program? Who designed and planned it? Who
farmer whose community has a reservoir for
irrigation purposes and now has the means implemented, monitored, and evaluated it? If community members were not
to alert residents by radio about impending deeply engaged in these activities, chances are slim that they feel a sense of
floods. Well open the sluices to divert the
ownership and that the program turned out to be a good, sustainable fit.
flood; well cut off the big bunds to divert the
route so excess water can be drained off.
Despite desire and effort on the part of aid providers to incorporate com-
munity input into humanitarian programming, tsunami survivors found
that their own knowledge, concerns, and priorities were frequently relegated
to the sidelines. The results paint a picture of disempowerment: neighbors
fighting neighbors about distributions of aid over which they had little
control, and an attitude of dependency permeating villages that once prided
themselves on their self-sufficiency.
Now people have come to a situation worse than the tsunami. That is
dependency, says E. T. Sarath, who participated in a study on community
well-being in Mawella, Sri Lanka, and who feels his neighbors are not ready
to support themselves independently of aid providers. Most of the NGOs
are responsible for this situation.
In the tsunami response, it was not community consultation that was lacking
so much as community ownership of programs.
Aid providers who want to follow the lead of communities are hampered
by concerns that they may be asked to stray from their core competencies;
22 | Collaboration in crises
by the difficulty in measuring the outputs and impacts of a mishmash of
community-led projects, which in turn challenges accountability to support-
ers; by lack of training in participatory techniques and in engaging in equal
partnerships with community members; and, perhaps most of all, by pres-
sure to quickly complete a set of programs they have committed themselves
to in the early days of the emergency.
Even with the best intentions, says Annie George, CEO of BEDROC
(Building and Enabling Disaster Resilience of Coastal Communities), an
Oxfam research partner, time and targets hang over them.
Like PAR, aid delivery that builds community ownership requires vision,
time, skills, and resources. It doesnt move at an impressive pace, yet the
alternativebuilding programs that are not fully embraced by communi-
tiesrisks wasting funds and frustrating everyone involved.
Collaboration in crises | 23
24 | Collaboration in crises
IV. Owning disaster risk reduction:
A prelude to community-guided disaster response
We are accustomed to thinking about DRR programs in terms of their poten-
tial to reduce risks. The goal of community ownership of disaster response
programs provides an additional lens through which to view DRR programs:
how do they contribute to a communitys ability to engage with aid provid-
ers as active and equal partners and guide those providers to address the
communitys needs and aspirations at times of emergency?
Linking vulnerable communities with aid providers Left: A research pilot program carried out by
The study in India on building on local capacity carried out by BEDROC an Oxfam partner in India helped communities
develop their own radio stations to commu-
put significant focus on the relationships between the communities and the nicate messages about DRR. A key to the
actors and networks around them. Researchers found that a community that success of the program is that creative control
is unaware of the services available through governmental organizations and of the programming rests with community
members like Raji (left), who produce shows
NGOs is at a disadvantage during emergencies; likewise, a community that on a wide array of topics of local interest,
has some awareness of whats available but hasnt the confidence to seek includingbut not limited toDRR.
it out may find itself adopting a more passive role than necessary during
emergencies. The BEDROC researchers recommend that NGOs take on a
role of establishing and maintaining the links between aid providers and
disaster-affected communities. They offer as a model the NGO Coordina-
tion and Resource Center, which established information centers in villages
throughout Nagapattinam District for disseminating information on programs
and services and also helping community members voice their needs and
concerns to the providers. The centers were originally established as part of
the tsunami response, but over time they took on the DRR role of ensuring
that vulnerable communities could quickly and proactively engage with
governmental and nongovernmental aid providers in a future emergency.
A community with a clear picture of its short- and long-term needs, however,
can make excellent use of the influx of aid that accompanies a disaster, sifting
through the offers and choosing only what is best suited to its situation. The
story of the irrigation system put in place by a group of women in the Sri
Lankan village of Gonnoruwa that appears on page 44 was not part of the
Collaboration in crises | 25
research program, but it was cited by a research partner as a good example
of a community taking charge after the tsunami and an agency following its
lead. Key to the success of the program was the communitys clarity about its
priorities: rather than passively accept whatever aid came its way, the villag-
ers refused one kind of assistance (food) and requested another (an irrigation
system to help them grow food).
Although the villagers of Gonnoruwa were able to give strong guidance im-
mediately after a disaster, that might not have been possible had the commu-
nity been hit harder by the tsunami. It is more realistic to think a community
could map out its development priorities prior to rather than immediately
after a disaster. Governments and humanitarian and development NGOs
could facilitate this process as part of DRR or development programming.
In previous programs, we received houses, but the people who came from
NGOs were the ones who designed them. Just because we are poor and
helpless, we had to accept those houses, but we dont have the ownership.
We are not the ones who designed them or planned them, says L. W. Sunil
Edward of Diviyagala, Sri Lanka,6 who participated in the study. This is the
first time we have had a chance to contribute our thoughts and experiences
on our own research. We have the ownership of this research.
26 | Collaboration in crises
range of topics of interest to the village. In the Sri Lankan example involving
a cyclone contigency plan, one of the keys to the high level of community
ownership was that the researchers focused on enhancing the villages own
traditional methods rather than introducing generic DRR interventions that
wouldnt have reflected the communitys individual needs and experience.
What all the successful DRR research programs had in common was an
investment in understanding the local context and a commitment to commu-
nity participation and input.
Listening well
Whether an agency sets out to help a community identify its priorities or par-
ticipate in program development, participatory methods are a powerful means
of enabling communities to take their place at the center of their own recovery.
Collaboration in crises | 27
28 | Collaboration in crises
Conclusion
PAR can help aid providers understand the social, economic, and cultural
environment in which they are working, while simultaneously offering ben-
efits to participants. It can generate the evidence needed to create thoughtful
programs, advocacy, and evaluations, and it can help agencies explore new
approaches to their work.
Likewise, the forms this action could take have been discussed for years:
Create DRR programs that communities can embrace and carry forward
as their own.
Collaboration in crises | 29
Emergency priorities
In the aftermath of a sudden-onset At the outset of an emergency, our is time to carry out in-depth discus-
emergency, how can aid providers top priority is to help people meet sions and research with communi-
balance the need to meet urgent their basic needs for survival, and ties to learn about their priorities
requirements for food, water, shelter, speed is essential for that, says and preferences.
clothing, and medical assistance Mike Delaney, Oxfam Americas
And, says Oxfam DRR manager
with the need for deep community director of humanitarian response.
Jacobo Ocharan, if community-
engagement? The one requires In that first, acute phase of the re-
based risk reduction programs have
speed and the other, deliberation. sponse, it is likely to be a burden to
been implemented in advance of an
The tsunami research drove home communities to engage in any more
emergency, the urgency of the initial
the importance of participatory discussions than are strictly neces-
phase should be reduced and the
approaches, including research, but sary. But that period is usually very
capacity of communities to clearly
how realistic are they for humanitar- short. Long before the emergency
articulate their needs should be
ian aid providers? phase of a disaster is over, there
greater.
30 | Collaboration in crises
Ownership of the response begins with disaster
risk reduction
If disaster-affected communities want a chance to guide their own recovery,
what are the implications for DRR? How can a DRR approach help prepare
communities to take a strong and active role in post-disaster activities?
Facilitating links between communities and governmental and nongovern-
mental aid providers before disaster strikes can help communities proac-
tively pursue the kind of assistance they most require.
Collaboration in crises | 31
32 | Collaboration in crises
Stories from the field
Collaboration in crises | 33
There is nothing that cannot be changed
THE GENDER STUDY
Oxfam has a key focus on empowering women, which is reflected in the tsunami research
program. Many of the researchers who led the studies were women, and the participa-
tory methodology employed in most of the research was chosen in part to ensure that
womens voices were heard on every topic. Some studies focused on issues of particular
concern to women, such as the research described below, which explored how humani-
tarian programs can be a force for gender equity in the tsunami response and beyond.
What is the difference between sex sensitive programs, says Pincha. That realization suggested Pinchas
and gender? Between the practical Those with a high awareness next step: develop a toolkittrans-
needs of women and girls after a and commitment to gender equity lated into local languagesto help
disaster and their strategic needs? can translate abstract ideals into NGOs of all stripes focus on the
What are gender-blind, gender- effective and culturally appropriate issue of gender equality and the
sensitive, and gender-transformative programming on the ground, while needs and opportunities that present
interventions? those that have never successfully themselves at times of emergency.
challenged the biases within their The document that emerged intro-
These are not questions to be
organizations or communities might duces concepts related to gender;
asking yourself in the midst of an
deliver programs in a way that per- the different ways that the tsunami
emergency, yet everyone involved in
petuates inequities. disaster affected women, men, and
emergency response should know
the answers.
34 | Collaboration in crises
marginalized groups; ways of de- stereotyping and discrimination I had an expectation that men
termining the practical and strategic are social constructs, not decreed should behave in a certain way.
needs of women and other margin- by nature and not to anyones I am throwing this notion away.
alized groups in disaster situations; real advantage.
I used to think about Aravanis
case studies about programs that
Unless gender sensitivity is in- [transgendered people] in society
worked well after the tsunami; and
as disgusting. Im throwing [away]
Local NGOs working in partnership with international NGOs can my ignorance here.
prove to be either the strongest or the weakest links in delivering My wife, my daughter, my female
gender-sensitive programs. relativesI used to dominate. Im
throwing it out.
recommendations for making future
ternalized, it wont be consistently There is nothing that cannot be
programs more thoughtful and fair.
applied, says Pincha. If you are changed. It is possible to change.
Kasthura Chandrasekar, the leader consistently aware of the gender I take an oath to bring about gender
of a womens federation of self-help issues in any context, then your justice in me, in my family, and then
groups, was introduced to the Tamil spontaneous response to disaster out in the world.
version of the toolkit in May at a will be sensitive.
workshop for local NGOs in Nana-
As the workshop drew to a close,
davanam. The idea of practical
the participants wrote down on
gender needs is very important. It
slips of paper the things they
hits us like anything, she says. She
wanted to hold onto from their two Left: Unless gender sensitivity is internal-
explains that she wouldnt get much
days together, and some old notions ized, it wont be consistently applied. If you
out of a longer document because
theyd like to throw awaya collec- are consistently aware of the gender issues in
she is semi-literate, but, she says, any context, then your spontaneous response
tion of wishes and vows that shows
the toolkit is very simple and crisp. to disaster will be sensitive, says researcher
internalization of Pinchas mes-
Pincha, (pictured at center).
The two-day workshop on the toolkit sages was swift and deep.
that she attended involved discus- Above: Aneestha is a Dalit girl from Tamil
In my life, I will not differentiate Nadu whose mothers self-help group now
sions, role-playing, and lively games
between men and women; I will take owns several fishing boats. Oxfam-supported
for 22 NGO leaders, designed to research points to the positive and potentially
up gender in all my work.
bring to light the ways that gender long-term impacts of placing high-value as-
sets into the hands of womens groups.
Collaboration in crises | 35
Research that could save lives
the HIV study
The Swasti Health Resource Center undertook a study of whether and why vulnerability
to HIV increased on the tsunami-stricken coasts of India. Using inventive participatory
methods, the researchers were able to elicit frank and confidential answers to sensitive
questions. The results provide importantpossibly life-savinginsights for the humani-
tarian aid community.
It began as a rumor early in 2005. vulnerability of the coastal commu- This is a demonstration of the
A report here, a quiet word there. nities to HIV infection. polling booth technique. The
Enough to suggest that in the equipment involved is simple: a jar,
We did not set out to determine
aftermath of the 2004 tsunami, a cardboard box, and a stack of
actual rates of HIV infection in the
the coastal villages of southern numbered cardsgreen to indicate
villages, says Hari Krishna. That
India might be in harms way once yes and red for noare all it takes
would have revealed very little about
morethis time from the deadly to build a booth. But with willing
the changes precipitated by the di-
HIV virus. participantsand researchers who
saster and even less about how and
have earned their trustit can be
Many experts thought these tight- why they took place. Instead, the
used to carry out the very delicate
knit communities were relatively research focused on how people
task of eliciting honest answers to
safe from the AIDS epidemic, but felt their own HIV-related behavior
tough questions.
with the death and displacement had changed since the tsunami and
of hundreds of thousands, the what brought about those changes. After the polling booth survey, the
social landscapelike the coastline facilitator and participants tabulate
The central difficulty in carrying out
itselfwas recreated in a moment. and discuss the results. In a real-life
the research is obvious: who wants
situation, the facilitator might begin
The rumors reached Michael to talk about your own behavior if
by saying: Two people answered
Jose, coordinator of Oxfams HIV its something dangerous or strongly
that they use condoms and six said
program in India, that people living condemned in your community?
they dont. Why do you suppose
in crowded temporary houses and But the inventive staff of Swasti,
people in this village might choose
communities were experiencing Oxfams research partner for this
not to use condoms? Such a ques-
new pressures that could increase study, came up with a plan and a
tion could launch a valuable discus-
their risk of HIV infection. new research tool, which they call
sion of community perceptions of
the polling booth.
There were many possible triggers, condom use and the spread of
but we had no evidence, says Jose, HIVwith no one having to reveal
Do you use condoms?
so while he continued the Oxfam his or her own personal decision.
HIV/AIDS awareness program, he Eight women sit in a circle, each
with a cardboard box in front of her What we share in a polling booth
and Hari Krishna, Oxfams research
to conceal the choice of cards she is fact, says S. K. Shashikala, who
program manager in India, engaged
places in a jar. In the center of the participated in the Swasti research
a well-known Indian health research
circle stands a facilitator who asks a and later helped demonstrate the
organization to determine whether
set of questions aimed at determin- technique to observers. In this
and how the tsunami disaster and
ing how vulnerable these women process, there is no inhibition.
its aftermath were increasing the
are to contracting HIV.
36 | Collaboration in crises
Researcher Manoj T. J. led groups
of men in these polling booth
sessions. The participants had
a chance to talk about issues that
they might otherwise be silent
about, he says. The discussion
often revealed realities on the
ground. When you know those
realities, you can plan accordingly.
A wake-up call
Although the researchers were
successful in their mission, they
had bad news to report. After inter-
viewing around 1,000 people in 30
tsunami-affected communities, they
determined that in 10 out of the By now, many of the conditions that Now we know much more about
11 temporary shelter settlements caused HIV vulnerability to spike how responders in future emergen-
studied, HIV vulnerability rose in have been resolved. The need cies can help communities reduce
the aftermath of the tsunami. for AIDS education and services their vulnerability. This is research
The lingering trauma of the tsunami remains acute, but most people that could save lives.
disaster, combined with life in the can report that theyve moved out
crowded temporary shelter settle- of temporary shelters and are back
Above, top: The Swasti researchers devel-
ments and disruptions in employ- to work, and that the trauma of the
oped a tool they call the polling booth that al-
ment, triggered changes in sexual tsunami has subsided. But for emer- lows focus group members to give confidential
behavior that, in the absence of gency aid providers, the research answers to sensitive questions. What we
strong knowledge about safe sex has implications far beyond the share in a polling booth is fact, says Shashi-
coast of India. kala, who participated in the research. In this
practices, put men and women at process, there is no inhibition.
risk. Strict community standards If aid providers dont supply
Above, bottom: The Swasti study under-
of behavior were unenforceable enough water or food or shelter scored the importance of raising awareness
when villages were scattered into after an emergency, its clear to about HIV before disaster strikes. Street
temporary camps, and many sur- everyone whats wrong, but a rise theater is one of the ways Oxfam and its
vivors were drawn to alcohol and in HIV risk after a disaster can go local partners communicate messages about
extramarital relationsincluding preventing the spread of the virus.
undetected until its too late, says
commercial sexas a means of Mike Delaney, Oxfam Americas
coping with stress, boredom, and director of humanitarian response.
overwhelming grief.
Collaboration in crises | 37
8
A process that cant be rushed
the disaster preparedness program review
Give a man a fish and you feed him In June 2007, IPID, in partnership to avoid duplication of effort and
for a day; teach a man to fish and with Oxfam, set out to review excess meetings.
you feed him for a lifetime. Its a fine post-tsunami programs that were
Jayatissa Samaranayake, executive
old proverb, but if youre a humanitar- focused on building local capac-
director of IPID, adds a sobering
ian aid provider, its time to move on. ity for disaster preparedness in a
observation: In all the commu-
dozen Sri Lankan communities.
Thats the gist of a recent study car- nities, one thing we heard was
ried out by an Oxfam partner in Sri Among the findings were that com- Nobody asked us what we needed.
Lanka. After the tsunami, many aid munities wanted more input into They gave us things they thought
providers were so intent on teach- program plans, more transparency we needed.
ing a man and a woman to fish that about program spending, more
The upshot of the research: Com-
they neglected to ask them whether respect shown for their traditional
munity members thought most of
fishing was what they actually knowledge, a better match be-
the programs they received were
wanted or needed to learnor even tween community needs and the
useful, but changesdeep chang-
whether they already knew how to programs being offered, and better
esare called for. Its not just that
do it. coordination among aid providers
aid providers need to find new ways
to carry out their programs; they
need to find new ways to conceive
their mission.
38 | Collaboration in crises
techniques, the community can
gain confidence and legitimacy, and
start to speak out in ways that were
previously impossible.
Collaboration in crises | 39
The perfect knowledge for survival
the community-based DISASTER RISK REDUCTION study
Researchers from the Institute of Human Development and Training (IHDT) and the
Sri Lanka Foundation Institute (SLFI), two Oxfam partners in Sri Lanka, undertook a
study aimed at helping communities create effective disaster contingency plans. The
researchers focused first and foremost on the villagers own traditional knowledge. In
Diviyagala, this approach was key to the communitys sense of ownership of the plan
that resulted.
Standing on Leopard Rock at the noise, like shouting from a long Sri Lankans face a wide range of
mountain temple of Aranya Se- distance, says another. And when risks, from landslides and floods to
nasanaya, it is hard to think about they hear it, they run for cover. armed conflict to tsunamis and ma-
mayhem. The great slab slopes rauding elephants. Some hazards
The Sri Lankan village of Diviyagala
gently down toward the village of have been created or exacerbated
lies in the path of cyclones. The
Diviyagala below, where the houses by humans and could eventually
violent storms, which originate in
are barely visible under a canopy be solved; others are the result of
the Bay of Bengal, make landfall
of coconut palms, and the valley unstoppable natural forces. Regard-
50 kilometers (30 miles) to the
stretches out toward the jagged less of the source of trouble, Ox-
northeast. Their course runs south
Wadinagala mountain range. Flow- fams Hettitantri points out, commu-
along the range, but suddenly, at
ering trees scent the air, and the low nities can reduce the impact of any
the mountain that marks the bound-
whistle of the koha bird accentuates hazard if they have the knowledge
ary of the village, the storms veer
the quiet. and resources to do it.
west and churn their way through
But from time to time, the villag- Diviyagala and beyond. They dont When it comes to knowledge,
ers hear a whistle of a different come oftenthe big ones only ev- though, aid providers tend to waltz
sort, and this one warns of terrible ery 30 yearsbut the worst of them in with the latest thinking on risk
danger. Its like whistling on electric destroy every house and paddy field reduction and ignore what the com-
wires, says one. Its a strange in their path. munities already know. Oxfams re-
search partners use another model:
encourage each hazard-affected
community to draw on its own
knowledge and thinking to develop
a plan of action, adding in expertise
from the outside only as its required
and requested along the way.
40 | Collaboration in crises
ceeds 50 meters [around 55 yards] But if you were a villager with a came and used their own informa-
above ground level, says Patabendi, cyclone at your back, you would tion and methods. They didnt con-
who is a hazards expert. I thought find it a refuge from wind and rain: sult the communities for our ideas
that moving to the mountain would as many as 150 people can take and experiences. So, the ownership
diminish their survival rate. But shelter in the caves and shadows of of the research was theirs.
as a researcher with an eye to the this rock.
In this study, the information and
value of traditional knowledge, he
I thought to myself, they have the ideas are those of the community,
had to consider that they knew
perfect knowledge for survival, says U. Wijayantha Ukwatta, a re-
something he didnt. He found the
says Patabendi. searcher for SLFI. We respect their
answer under a rock. A very big
knowledge and their attitudes. They
rock by the name of Guhawa. So, instead of suggesting more
identified how to prevent loss of life
conventional approaches to reduc-
Hidden in the forest on the moun- and property by using traditional
ing cyclone risks, the researchers
tain is a gigantic boulder, 100 yards knowledge. And they have made the
helped the community build on its
long, at least. If you were a child, research their own.
own experience.
you would find this the biggest, best
playground ever. You would hide in The main problem weve identified
Left: Researchers Patabendi (left) and Uk-
its caves, swing from the branches is water, said the head monk at a
watta on a beach in Sri Lanka where cyclones
of the fabulous climbing trees that recent community meeting. from the Bay of Bengal make landfall. Their
press in around it, and scale the project in Diviyagala, which resulted in a
While theres space for everyone
great rock to command a view for cyclone contingency plan, built on the com-
to take shelter, theres no source of
miles around. If you were a Buddhist munitys own traditional knowledge.
drinking water nearby; the commu-
monk, you would meditate in the Above: Before implementing aid agency plans
nity now aims to restore an ancient
shadow of its awe-inspiring mass here, we would rather they listen and under-
cistern for collecting rainwater.
which, as an ancient inscription stand the rural villagers traditional knowledge
and methods, says Edward (left), a commu-
suggests, is what monks have done We have not had any experience
nity member from Diviyagala, Sri Lanka.
here for more than 2,000 years. like this in our lives, says R. M.
Rathnayaka Jayaweera, a village
resident. Before, other researchers
Collaboration in crises | 41
Forecasting a better future
linking development and DISASTER RISK REDUCTION programs
The onset of climate change is endangering a way of life in rural India. The Develop-
ment of Humane Action (DHAN) Foundations Advanced Center for Enabling Disaster
Risk Reduction (ACEDRR) is helping small farmers adjust to the new uncertainties,
while DHAN development programs are helping them take steps out of poverty.
The farmers of the village of Sen- Rains are coming when they day in May 2008, the farmers of
gapadai, India, make it their busi- shouldnt and not coming when they Sengapadai came together to learn
ness to know whats coming. They should, and the traditional forecast- the results.
are fortune-tellers of sorts, who ing methods, unable to adapt to the
Rains that once fell here predictably
look deep into history in order to speed of change, are losing their
in July, she told them, can now be
forecast the future. Using methods power to predict.
expected to arrive in late August.
that have evolved over thousands of
Theres been a vast difference Then she made a proposal: delay
years, they watch the movement of
in rainfall patterns in the last 10 sowing peanuts until between Aug.
the stars, notice the feel of the wind
years, says Jeeva Rathinam, an- 10 and 16.
on a given day of the month or year,
other farmer. Before that, we used
and carefully observe the behavior A heated discussion followed. Shift-
to plan properly and plant one kind
of plants and animals. At the heart ing to accommodate the rains could
of seed in the fields. Now we have
of the mysteries they set out to make some crops more vulnerable
to mix them together and see what
unravel each year is this: When will to infestations of weeds and pests,
comes up.
the rains come? and the farmers argued pros and
The rainfall variations these farm- cons of various plans. But an hour
If they miscalculate, the conse-
ers are seeing now are defeating later, everyone had come to agree-
quences can be grave. In years
their knowledge of the way nature ment: the best way to balance all
past, it has meant families have
functions, says Hari Krishna, Ox- the factors would probably be to
postponed not only weddings but
fams research program manager plant corn in September.
also medical care. Sons and daugh-
in India.
ters have dropped out of school, This is not research as its conduct-
ed at universities, where academics
In the month of July, if the wind blows vibrantly, there will be good carry out studies at a comfort-
rainfall. If softly, no. Padmanaban, farmer of Sengapadai able distance from actual farmers,
and where recommendations are
ending their formal education. Climate change, in other words, has conveyed to the villagers in top-
Theyve pawned their jewelry, which come to Sengapadai. down fashion. That days discus-
represents their savingseven sion, which began with Arthiranis
the necklaces that symbolize their Researchers and farmers educated guess about what to sow
marriages. And, says 51-year-old collaborate when, ended with a practical plan
Jakkammal, in a bad year, theres The DHAN Foundations ACEDRR, that drew on knowledge from both
only one meal a day. an Oxfam partner, has set out to inside and outside the community.
help communities adjust to the The ACEDRR study, says Arthirani,
We are not getting proper rain changing climate landscape. Re- is not a one-way process.
The specter of bad harvests looms searcher B. Arthirani, herself the Community members are not simply
larger than ever these days be- daughter of farmers, gathered and considered beneficiaries of the
cause, as one farmer puts it, We analyzed 40 years worth of local study, explains Hari Krishna. Here,
are not getting proper rain. rainfall data, and on a sweltering they are partners in the research.
42 | Collaboration in crises
We are able to have three meals
DHAN is tackling that vulnerability
on two fronts: the disaster-oriented
research of ACEDRR is helping
ensure that changing rainfall pat-
terns dont lead to catastrophic crop
losses, while DHANs development
programs are building resilience in
other wayshelping those same
farmers organize themselves into
self-help groups that enable savings
and investment; create federations
that have clout in the marketplace;
and gain access to high-quality
seed, affordable insurance, and
lenders that charge two percent
interest instead of ten.
Collaboration in crises | 43
Drawing water to a thirsty village
following the lead of a community
44 | Collaboration in crises
The pool above the Gonnoruwa really want to assist us, villagers struggled to produce a single crop
anicut is peaceful, cool, and long- told aid agencies, help us get water can now grow two a year. What
awaited. Here, at a bend in the to our crops. Oxfam took them up does this mean to the women of
Malarara River, water that pauses on it. Gonnoruwa and their community?
above the irrigation dam nudges up They are eating three meals a day;
A small group of village women
against the sluice gate of a hand- they have pulled themselves out of
took charge of the anicut project.
dug channel. debt; they can grow rice and home
It was they who negotiated with
gardens, too; they are building
In my grandparents time, my Oxfam, government irrigation au-
better houses for themselves; they
parents time, and even my time, thorities, masons, and vendors. And
are sending their children to school
we had this idea to take water from they organized the community to
for extra classes and helping them
the river for our crops, says D. A. provide labor for jobs like transport-
continue with higher education.
Ekanayaka, who lives in the village. ing materials and mixing concrete.
All of these people for generations But the gains dont stop there. The
But as women stepping into a lead-
knew they could take water, but they womens husbandsnow proud of
ership role normally occupied by
didnt know how. their wives huge contribution to the
men, they were put to the test from
communitysupport them in new
This is the dry region of Sri Lanka, day one.
ways.
where irrigation is the lifeblood of
At the start, the men tried to do
agriculture. Although the Malarara Most of the men changed their
some things just to see whether
River is only a few kilometers from behavior because of the anicut
the women would give up. To see
the village of Gonnoruwa, Ekanaya- project, says one of the women.
whether we had the courage to
kas parents and grandparents had Now half of the household work is
continue the work, says Mallika
no way to transport enough water done by my husband, even if Im at
Abayakoon.
for crops from A to B. The result: home.
crop failures, sometimes four sea- At home, there were complaints
And instead of a handful of men
sons out of five. The villagers were from husbands that the cooking,
supporting womens leadership in
nearly destitute, forced to depend cleaning, and child care were being
Gonnoruwa, there are now scores.
on moneylenders to make up the neglected; at the construction site,
endless shortfalls. there were refusals to carry out K. Somawathi is a member of the
the tasks assigned. But the women womens group. She is shy and has
Then came the tsunami, which took
were a force to be reckoned with. a serious look about her, but when
the lives of 60 people in Gonnoruwa
When men balked at the labor asked how it feels to be a respected
and a neighboring community. If the
asked of them or the wages offered, community leader, she smiles and
wave had struck on another day of
the women simply stepped in and says, after a pause, Its unbearable
the week, the village would have
did the work themselveseven happiness.
been spared: Gonnoruwa is 25
when it involved heavy jobs like mix-
kilometers (about 15 miles) inland.
ing cement.
But Dec. 26 was market day in the Left: The women of Gonnoruwa who led the
anicut project. Theres something special
coastal town of Hambantota, and But they always had the support of
about this project. Oxfam didnt go to the vil-
many of those who went to buy and a handful of village men, Ekanaya-
lage with a blueprint for an anicut. The need
sell never returned. ka among them. They didnt care was coming from the people; the response
about food, time, or anything, says was coming from Oxfam, says Jayatissa
But when, in the immediate after-
Abayakoon. They were like our Samaranayake, executive director of the
math of the disaster, the villagers Institute for Participatory Interaction
fathers, our brothers, our very good
were offered food handouts by aid in Development.
friends. They treated us really well.
agencies, they took the long view:
what they needed wasnt food; it The anicut was completed in March
was the means to grow it. If you of 2007, and the village that once
Collaboration in crises | 45
46 | Collaboration in crises
Appendix I
About the research and our partners
1. A Rapid Assessment of the Shelters in Five Tsunami-Affected 5. Research on Reviewing Existing Disaster Preparedness Policy and
Districts (India) Practice (Sri Lanka)
Partner: Department of Social Work, Loyola College, Chennai, Tamil Partner: Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Sri Lanka, www.ips.lk
Nadu, India, www.loyolacollege.edu Partner mission: To contribute to the economic development of Sri
Partner mission: To help students better understand rural and urban Lanka and enhance the quality of life of its people through research-
social issues, as well as build on their conceptual and practical skills. based analysis of national policy issues.
Key finding: Temporary shelters deteriorated long before many Key finding: Increased community input and closer coordination
displaced people were able to move into permanent houses, leaving among government, civil society, and the private sector would
shelter residents living in conditions that were unhealthy and unsafe. improve national disaster management policy.
Completed: October 2006 Completed: October 2006
Key impact: A video (If It Rains Again) about the findings was used Contact for more information: IPS executive director, Dr. Saman Kel-
in successful advocacy for government funding of shelter repairs. egama, kelegama@ips.org; lead researcher, Paul Steele, steele@sltnet.lk
Contact for more information: Rector of the college, Father K. Amal,
S.J., kamalsj@gmail.com; lead researcher, Ashok Xavier Gladstone, 6. Understanding Vulnerability of Coastal Communities to HIV/AIDS
gladstonexavier@gmail.com; Oxfam America contact: Hari Krishna, (India)
hari_2068@yahoo.com Partner: Swasti Health Resource Center, www.swasti.org
Partner mission: To enhance the health and well-being of communi-
2. Public Awareness and Policy Research and Advocacy for Appropri- ties through innovating, improving the effectiveness of organizations
ate Shelters: Building on Lessons From Tsunami Response in South in the health sector, and helping communities to better address their
India (India) health care priorities.
Partner: Visual Search, www.visualsearch.org Key finding: Trauma, crowded living conditions, lack of employ-
Partner mission: To foster communication and create spaces for ment, and lack of HIV education contributed to a spike in vulnerabil-
social action in India through production and distribution of docu- ity to HIV infection in the aftermath of the tsunami.
mentaries and feature films on social issues. Completed: May 2007
Key outcome: The video documents deteriorating conditions in tem- Key outcome: A toolkit titled Toolkit for Mainstreaming HIV
porary shelter communities and highlights lessons for the future. Prevention and AIDS Care in (Natural) Humanitarian Emergencies
Completed: November 2008 was completed in December 2008 to inform and guide aid providers
Contact for more information: Lead researcher, K. P. Sasi, kpsasi36@ of HIV risk issues in future disaster response.
gmail.com Contact for more information: Lead researcher/Swasti CEO, N. Shiv
Kumar, shiv@swasti.org
3. Study on the Impact of Humanitarian Aid on Conflict (Sri Lanka)
Partner: Colombo University Community Extension Center (CUCEC), 7. Understanding Gender Mainstreaming Strategies by NGOs in
Sri Lanka, www.cmb.ac.lk Tsunami Rehabilitation (India)
Partner mission: To undertake research on social and economic de- Partner: Anawim Trust, www.anawimtrust.org
velopment issues and to create an environment for professionals from Partner mission: To empower rural communities to exercise their
government, NGOs, and universities to collaborate and participate in rights and access to natural resources in order to increase control over
training and action-oriented community development research. their lives, livelihoods, and environment.
Key finding: Discrepancies in distribution criteria and poor coor- Key finding: The needs of women and girls were often neglected in
dination among responders have caused or inflamed underlying the tsunami response, but local NGOs had some successes in creat-
tensions in some Sri Lankan communities. ing gender-sensitive interventions.
Completed: October 2006 Completed: April 2007
Contact for more information: Lead researcher/CUCEC director, Contact for more information: Lead researcher, Chaman Pincha,
Professor Lakshman Dissanayake, uc-jica@eureka.lk pincha.chaman@gmail.com
4. The Coir Industry in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka 8. Strengthen Gender Mainstreaming in Tsunami Response:
(Sri Lanka) Through Research Dissemination, Toolkit Development, and
Partner: National Institute of Business Management (NIBM), Sri Capacity Building (India)
Lanka, www.nibm.lk Partner: Nanban Trust, www.nanbanindia.org
Partner mission: To train students to take advantage of business Partner mission: To combat exploitation and oppression of children
opportunities in management and industrial technologies. through the protection and promotion of their basic human rights.
Key recommendations: Mechanized equipment and manufacture Key outcome: Toolkit on gender mainstreaming
of value-added products like doormats, brooms, and planters could Completed: November 2008
increase the incomes of coir workers; creation of a federation of self-
Contact for more information: Lead researcher, Chaman Pincha,
help groups and a peoples company could increase their leverage in
pincha.chaman@gmail.com
the marketplace.
Completed: August 2006
Contact for more information: NIBM director general, Dr. E. A.
Weerasinghe, weerasjp@yahoo.com; lead researcher, S. C. Kaluarach-
chi, kalu_sck@yahoo.com
9. Contingency Plans for Rapid Emergency Response (India) 13. Participatory Action Research on Community-Based, Hazard-
Partner: Registered Engineers for Disaster Relief (RedR), Specific Disaster Risk Reduction (Sri Lanka)
www.redrindia.org Partner: Institute of Human Development and Training (IHDT),
Partner mission: To provide frontline relief agencies with technical www.ihdt.org
help in restoring the everyday lives of disaster-affected communities. IHDT mission: To develop the capacity of communities in Sri
Key impact: The study helped Oxfams partner organizations de- Lanka to face the challenges of the 21st century by creating people-
velop resource-based contingency plans, which provide comprehen- oriented approaches to human development.
sive information about physical and human resources for disaster Partner: Sri Lanka Foundation Institute (SLFI)
response. SLFI mission: To develop training, education, awareness, and
Completed: July 2008 research around human rights, gender, and labor relations.
Contact for more information: RedR India director, Sarbjit Singh Sa- Advisory support by the Disaster Management Center (DMC),
hota, sarbjit@redrindia.org; lead researchers, Victor Moses, moses_vic- www.dmc.gov.lk
tor04@yahoo.co.in, and Mandar Vaidya, mandarcv@yahoo.com Key finding: Local communities have unique and specific ways
to keep members safe in emergencies; DRR programs benefit from
10. Learning From the Tsunami: Insights From Future Leaders building on local knowledge.
(India, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia) Completed: September 2008
Partner: Center for Environment Education (CEE), www.ceeindia.org Contact for more information: IHDT lead researcher, Prabath
Partner mission: To improve public understanding of environmen- Patabendi, prabhthp@yahoo.com; SLFI chairman, Dr. C. P. Uda-
tally sustainable development through education. watta, slf_chairman@padanama.org; SLFI lead researcher, Dr. P. B.
Key impact: The research compiled lessons learned from the tsu- Dharmasena, dharma.fcrdi@yahoo.com
nami while preparing youth researchers for careers in humanitarian
research and response. 14. Improving Disaster Risk Reduction in India Through Research
Capacity (India)
Completed: June 2008
Partner: DHAN (Development of Humane Action) Foundation,
Contact for more information: Project manager, Madhavi Joshi,
www.dhan.org
madhavi.joshi@ceeindia.org; lead researcher, Gopal Kumar Jain,
gopal.jain@ceeindia.org Partner mission: To improve the livelihoods of poor people by foster-
ing innovation, helping local development institutions reach scale,
and bringing young professionals into the development sector.
11. Field Study on Previous Community Capacity Building for
Disaster Preparedness (Sri Lanka) Key outcome: The study led to the founding of the Advanced
Center for Enabling Disaster Risk Reduction (ACEDRR),
Partner: Institute for Participatory Interaction in Development
www.dhan.org, a DRR research center within the development-
(IPID), www.ipidlk.org
focused Tata-Dhan Academy; in its first year, ACEDRR conducted
Partner mission: To transform the processes of governance and 20 research and pilot projects on topics related to DRR.
community development by promoting participatory methodolo-
ACEDRR mission: To enable the integration of DRR into mainstream
gies among governmental, nongovernmental, and community-
development by building and sharing knowledge gained from prac-
based organizations.
tice and by pioneering research, networking, and advocacy.
Key finding: When aid providers did not align their capacity build-
Completed: December 2008
ing work with community priorities or other aid agencies, projects
failed to achieve full community acceptance and engagement. Contact for more information: DHAN Foundation executive direc-
tor, M. P. Vasimalai, tatadhanacademy@satyam.net.in; ACEDRR
Completed: September 2008
coordinator, Sangeetha Rajadurai, sangeethatda@gmail.com
Contact for more information: Lead researcher/IPID chairperson,
Mallika R. Samaranayake, ipidc@panlanka.net; IPID executive 15. Study on Mental Health Interventions in Emergencies
director, Jayatissa Samaranayake, ipidc@panlanka.net (Sri Lanka)
Partner: Peoples Rural Development Association (PRDA),
12. Study on Paddy/Rice Sector in Tsunami- and Conflict-Affected www.prdasrilanka.org
Districts in Sri Lanka (Sri Lanka)
Partner mission: To enhance the economic and social well-being of
Partner: Eastern University of Sri Lanka in Batticaloa, www.esn.ac.lk rural poor people, and in particular women, in Sri Lanka by build-
Partner mission: To pursue teaching, research, and scholarship for ing the capacity of community-based organizations.
the enhancement of public welfare, prosperity, and culture. Key finding: Local communities have their own criteria and indica-
Key finding: Three years after the tsunami, the high cost of rice tors of well-being, which can be measured over time to understand
seed and the long-term damage to their fields made it difficult for how recovery is progressing.
farmers to recover financially from the tsunami; diversifying liveli- Completed: November 2008
hoods and marketing options for farmers is essential to long-term
Contact for more information: Lead researcher, Chamindra
recovery and development.
Weerackody, chamindra@wow.lk
Completed: June 2008
Contact for more information: Eastern University vice chancellor,
Dr. N. Pathmanathan, tel. +94 65 2240531; lead researcher, Professor
K. Thredenamoorthi, dcensus@lanka.com.lk
48 | Collaboration in crises
16. Research on Gender and Womens Empowerment in Disaster Risk 19. Participatory Action Study on Sustainable Exit Strategies for
Reduction (Sri Lanka) Tsunami-Related Programs (Sri Lanka)
Partner: IPID, www.ipidlk.org Partner: International Center for Ethnic Studies (ICES),
Partner mission: To transform the processes of governance and www.icescolombo.org
community development by promoting participatory methodolo- Partner mission: To deepen the understanding of identity politics
gies among governmental, nongovernmental, and community- and conflict, and to foster conditions for a peaceful society through
based organizations. research, publication, dialogue, creative expression, and knowledge
Key finding: While women were involved in DRR programs at transfer.
the community level, there was a lack of womens participation at To be completed: December 2008
decision-making levels. Contact for more information: Lead researcher, Sanayi Marcelline,
Completed: November 2008 smarcelline.ices@gmail.com
Contact for more information: IPID chairperson, Mallika R.
Samaranayake, ipidc@panlanka.net; lead researcher, Indira 20. Impact Assessment (India and Sri Lanka)
Aryarathne, mika345@yahoo.com India partner: Alchemy Urban Systems, www.alchemyurban.com
Sri Lanka partner: Dr. Buddhadasa Weerasinghe, consultant, for-
17. Study on Strengthening Local Capacity for Disaster Management merly with the DMC, Sri Lanka
and Risk Reduction (India)
Partner mission: To provide professional services in development
Partner: BEDROC (Building and Enabling Disaster Resilience of research, development planning, urban environmental planning,
Coastal Communities), www.bedroc.in and management.
Partner mission: To build disaster-resilient and sustainable coastal To be completed: December 2008
communities by working with local, state, and national public and
Contact for more information: India lead researcher, Mr. B. R.
private stakeholders to develop appropriate interventions for local
Balachandran, bala@alchemyurbansystems.com; Sri Lanka lead
problems.
researcher, Dr. Buddhadasa Weerasinghe, buddhi4@hotmail.com
Key finding: Local governance is an essential component of disaster
management; humanitarian agencies have an important role to play
in helping disaster-affected communities build better relationships
with local governments and create the conditions in which they can
respond to disasters themselves.
Completed: December 2008
Contact for more information: Lead researcher/BEDROC CEO,
Annie George, annie.anniegeorge@gmail.com
Collaboration in crises | 49
Appendix II
Publications of the Oxfam International Tsunami Disaster Risk Reduction and Participatory Action Research program
Toolkits
Feature stories Gender-Sensitive Disaster Management, created by Chaman Pincha
More than 17 narratives from the field, available online at and Nanban Trust with participating local NGO staff in South India to
www.oxfamamerica.org/fieldstudies. make international gender theory applicable to specific local contexts.
Mainstreaming HIV prevention and AIDS Care in (Natural) Humani-
tarian Emergencies (working title), created by SWASTI in South India to
Journal articles help local NGOs minimize HIV vulnerability in their disaster response.
Understanding the Effect of the Tsunami and Its Aftermath on Vulner-
ability to HIV in Coastal Communities, Journal of Humanitarian Assis-
tance (December 2008). Article composed by Mercy Mutonyi, based on On the Web site: www.oxfamamerica.org/fieldstudies
original research by N. Shiv Kumar, N. Raghunathan, and Benoy Peter. Program summary reports
Gender Mainstreaming During Disasters: The Case of the Tsunami in Feature stories about the research projects
India, Journal of Humanitarian Assistance (December 2008). Article Slideshows
composed by Emily Bruno, based on original research by Chaman Pin- Journal articles
cha, Joseph Regis, Mareeswari, and Maheswari.
Humanitarian field studies briefs
Disaster Management Policy & Practice: Lessons for Government, Civil Program documents: the building blocks of a research program
Society, & the Private Sector in Sri Lanka, Journal of Humanitarian As-
sistance (December 2008). Article composed by Emily Bruno and Martin
Masara, based on original research by Paul Steele, Malathy Knight-John,
Amrit Rajapakse, Kanchana Senanayake, and Kanchana Wickrmasinghe.
The Coir Industry in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka, Oxfam
Humanitarian Field Studies (October 2006). Article composed by
Zivai Murira, based on original research by S. C. Kaluarachchi, D. P.
Nanayakkara, and Upali Wickramasinghe. Available online at
www.oxfamamerica.org/fieldstudies.
50 | Collaboration in crises
Appendix III
Oxfams humanitarian research in Aceh, Indonesia
The Oxfam International Tsunami Disaster Risk Reduction and Partici- The Aceh research projects
patory Action Research program that is the subject of this report was
conducted in India and Sri Lanka. But research was also carried out in Land rights
Indonesia, the country worst affected by the tsunami. The Aceh research Restoring and Confirming Rights to Land in Tsunami-Affected Aceh:
was more typical of traditional Oxfam analysis, with the aim of provid- A UNDP/Oxfam Report, July 2005
ing substantive evidence to underpin our advocacy work to support or
Access to Housing for Renters and Squatters in Tsunami-Affected Aceh,
influence the policies of the national and provincial authorities or other
Indonesia, May 2007
humanitarian agencies. While some of the research involved participa-
tory techniques and some involved local research partners, these were Housing for the Landless: Resettlement in Tsunami-Affected Aceh,
not central or unifying principles of the Aceh research program. Indonesia, July 2007
Among the subjects of the Aceh research were land rights, gender equal- Womens Rights to Land and Housing in Tsunami-Affected Aceh,
ity and womens economic empowerment, and pro-poor economic de- Indonesia, July 2007
velopment. For example, having advocated successfully for the Indone-
Managing Conflict and Sustaining Recovery: Land Administration
sian governments rehabilitation and reconstruction agency, the BRR, to
Reform in Tsunami-Affected Aceh, May 2007
change its policy toward people who rented and squatted on land before
the tsunamifrom offering only a cash handout to promising them land Avoiding Deforestation in Aceh, Indonesia: Land, Resource Rights, and
and a houseOxfam conducted research on how this could be achieved, Local Communities, ongoing
in particular with regard to the supply of suitable land and the provision
of adequate infrastructure and services to new homes built on that land. Pro-poor economic development
Oxfams research into womens right to land was also instrumental in Participatory Poverty Assessments (PPAs), South Nias and East Aceh,
influencing the BRRs policy of introducing joint land titling for land and 2007present
houses donated by the BRR.
Poverty Context Analysis for Aceh Province and Nias, Indonesia,
More recently, Oxfam has conducted participatory poverty assessments July 2008present
to ensure that provincial authorities, local NGOs, and civil society
organizations understand the root causes of poverty in Aceh, and that Avoiding Deforestation in Aceh, Indonesia: Land, Resource Rights, and
they have the necessary training and information to implement effective Local Communities, ongoing
regional development plans that take into account different community Aceh Green Tree Crops: Pro-Poor Economic Development and Rural
needs. Women, November 2008
Much of the research carried out in Aceh was aimed at addressing longer Market Access for Nias Cocoa, October 2007
term poverty reduction. Working with the SMERU Research Institute,
we have undertaken poverty assessments that are intended to help the Other
local government prioritize development needs and target funding more
effectively. Our research has also looked at how climate change and Climate Change Fund Feasibility Study, December 2008
deforestation might affect poverty levels and economic development in Oxfam and Access to Water: The Aceh Case, February 2008
Aceh and Nias.
The Acehnese Gampong Three Years On: Assessing Local Capacity and
Reconstruction Assistance in Post-Tsunami Aceh, Report of the Aceh
Community Assistance Research Project, December 2007
Notes
1. O
xfam carried out research in Aceh, Indonesia, as well, which also 6. D
iviyagala was not tsunami-affected, so Edwards comments dont
contributed to program planning and advocacy. The Aceh studies are refer to tsunami housing; however, there are many examples of hous-
not discussed in this report, as they were part of a separate body of ing created for tsunami survivors that did not incorporate sufficient
research, but the topics are listed in Appendix III. community input.
2. S
ee Appendixes I and II for listings of our partners and research- 7. T
he Institute of Human Development and Training (IHDT), the Sri
related publications. Lanka Foundation Institute (SLFI), and the Disaster Management
Center (DMC).
3. T
he researchers did not test participants for HIV infection; rather, they
identified changes in behavior after the tsunami that left people at 8. A
portion of this article appeared in The Priorities That Count
increased risk of infection. More information about the study can be (Monday Developments, April 2008, 2021).
found in Research that could save lives on page 36.
4. For information about the Listening Project, visit www.cdainc.com.
5. CDA Collaborative Learning Projects, Discuss Together, Decide
Together, Work Together, Listening Project Issue Paper (Cambridge,
MA: CDA Collaborative Learning Projects, 2008), 10.
Collaboration in crises | 51
Acknowledgments
This report is the culmination of a collaborative process opment and Training and Prabath Patabendi; IPID and
that drew on the work of research teams in India and Mallika R. Samaranayake, Jayatissa Samaranayake, and
Sri Lanka; the participation of disaster-affected com- Indira Aryarathne; the Institute of Policy Studies and
munities in both countries; the work of Oxfam staff in Paul Steele and Kanchana Wickramasinghe; the Inter-
Chennai, Colombo, Boston, and Oxford; and input from national Center for Ethnic Studies and Sanayi Marcel-
colleagues in the wider humanitarian community. line; the Peoples Rural Development Association and
Chamindra Weerackody; SLFI and P. B. Dharmasena, P.
First and foremost, we extend our thanks to all of the
H. J. Arunasiri, and Wijayantha Ukwatte; and DMC and
community members who gave generously of their time
Buddhadasa Weerasinghe.
and attention for these studies. The research program
was built upon their insights and perspectives. We would like to acknowledge the contributions of
scholars from the Feinstein International Center at Tufts
The program was driven by partner researchers and
University, led by Peter Walker and including Sally
institutions in India and Sri Lanka, who brought tremen-
Abbott, Martin Masama, Zivai Murira, Mercy Mutonyi,
dous commitment and creativity into their work. We
and Emily Bruno. We would also like to thank Mea-
would like to acknowledge these partner organizations
gan Hardy (Tufts University), Mansi Anand (Brandeis
and the teams of researchers and staff that contributed
University), and Denise Delaney (Harvard University)
their valuable time and expertise to make this program
interns who provided direct and valuable support to
a success.
partners in India.
We thank the following organizations and lead re-
We are grateful to colleagues from Oxfam offices around
searchers in India: Alchemy Urban Systems and B. R.
the world who contributed to the research program and
Balachandran; Anawim Trust and Chaman Pincha;
this report. We also appreciate the insights and support
BEDROC and Annie George; the Center for Environ-
provided by other NGO and government staff through-
ment Education and Madhavi Joshi and Gopal Kumar
out the program.
Jain; the DHAN Foundation and Sangeetha Rajadurai;
the Environmental Planning Collaborative and Darshan The Oxfam International tsunami research program was
Parikh; the department of social work of Loyola College, led by Russell Miles at Oxfam America. The research
in Chennai, and Ashok Xavier Gladstone; Nanban Trust; was coordinated by Hari Krishna in India and Nanditha
Registered Engineers for Disaster Relief and Victor Mo- Hettitantri in Sri Lanka, whose tireless efforts guided
ses, Mandar Vaidya, and Sarabjeet Singh; Swasti Health and sustained the program. Additional support was
Resource Center and N. Shiv Kumar; and Visual Search provided by Prasanganie Dunuge, Ruchini Weerawar-
and K. P. Sasi. dena, Dipankar C. Patnaik, B. Mareeswari, Kate Tighe,
Stephen Greene, and Gabrielle Kruks-Wisner. Ali Asgar
We thank the following organizations and lead research-
and Emilie Parry helped establish the early phase of the
ers in Sri Lanka: the Colombo University Community
program.
Extension Center and Lakshman Dissanayake and
Ramani Jayathilake; the Eastern University of Sri Lanka This report was written by Elizabeth Stevens and de-
and K. Thedchanamoorthy, L. Rupasena, and Thra- signed by Jessica Erickson. All photos are by Atul Loke.
chanamurthi; the National Institute of Business Manage-
ment and S. C. Kaluarachchi, Premlal Nanayakkara, and
Upali Wickramasinghe; the Institute of Human Devel-
52 | Collaboration in crises
About Oxfam International
Oxfam International is a confederation of 13 organizations working together in more than 100 countries to find last-
ing solutions to poverty and injustice: Oxfam America, Oxfam Australia, Oxfam-in-Belgium, Oxfam Canada, Oxfam
France - Agir ici, Oxfam Germany, Oxfam GB, Oxfam Hong Kong, Intermn Oxfam (Spain), Oxfam Ireland, Oxfam
New Zealand, Oxfam Novib (Netherlands), and Oxfam Qubec. Please call or write to any of the agencies for further
information, or visit www.oxfam.org.
Slow down and get to know us! say many recipients of disaster
assistance. Still, many humanitarians cite speed as their primary
goaland achievement. This Oxfam report demonstrates, again, that
humanitarianism is more than a delivery system. It reiterates that to
be effective in both the physical and moral support of people who
survive disasters, emergency assistance must begin from the
strengths of receiving societies and, with them, build appropriate
strategies for reducing disaster vulnerability.
Mary B. Anderson, executive director, Collaborative Learning Projects
2009 Oxfam International Inc. All Rights Reserved. Oxfam International is a registered
trademark of Oxfam International Inc., and the Oxfam logo is a registered trademark of
Stichting Oxfam International.