With funding from the German foreign Office, World Vision Germany is working together with World Vision Niger to strengthen the resilience in six communes in the Zinder Region, Niger, in order to reduce the risks for the population to be affected by natural events such as drought and flooding.
For this purpose six local Disaster Risk Reduction Committees are being established, trained and equipped from May 2012 until October 2013. Supported by the project and its personnel these committees are working to raise awareness and mobilize the population in their communities in order to strengthen their capacity to prevent, prepare for, and manage disasters on their own. Training sessions include risk assessment, risk mapping, early warning systems, risk and disaster management based on the Hyogo Framework for Action and SPHERE standards. The DRR committees develop risk reduction and management plans and will be equipped with first aid kits, as well as material such as shovels, torches, megaphones, etc. The knowledge and skills acquired will be applied in simulation exercises and reinforced through lessons-learned-workshops.
In order to reach a maximum number of beneficiaries and especially children as they are amongst the most vulnerable, radio programs in local language will be produced and broadcasted, special trainings for teachers will be given and didactical material for the use in schools will be developed and utilized.
Collaboration with local authorities and coordination with other actors as well as the integration of DRR activities into other regional development programs of World Vision in the Zinder region ensures ownership, sustainability and multiplication.
With a successful implementation of the project described the local population will be more resilient to shocks, less dependent on external aid and empowered to play an principal role in responding to events such as droughts and floods.