“WHEN OUR CHILDREN LEARN, WE LEARN”

Building Safer Communities through Child Centered Disaster Risk Reduction in Bihar

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First published 2011

Published by :

Save the children Bal Raksha Bharat Bihar state office 224/E Pataliputra colony Patna-800013 Telefax : 0612 2274650 www.savethechildren.in

This report has been prepared by RedR upon invitation from Save the Children for documenting good practices and innovative experiences of the Child Centered Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction Programme in Bihar. It has been jointly authored by Mona C. Anand and Sheena Arora.

RedR-India is part of the RedR International network, a humanitarian, non-profit organization, which maintains a register of experienced humanitarian professionals who are available to assist governments and external support agencies that work in the humanitarian sector. In addition to its primary task as a recruiter of humanitarian personnel, the RedR's have a global reputation for the development and presentation of high quality training and technical support services for the sector. RedR has offices in India, UK, , , , Canada, and New Zealand. For more details on RedR-India please do visit www.redr.org.in Mission: A world in which sufficient competent and committed personnel are available and responding to humanitarian needs.

RedR India, Samrudhi Bungalow No.1, A Wing, AJ Classics Condominium, Survey No.2/3A, Hingne, Karve Nagar, Pune 411052 IndiaAuthor’s note:

The authors gratefully acknowledge the input of the village communities participating for their generous and honest sharing of experiences as well as the time they gave the team for the various meetings organized during the field visit. The authors are also grateful to the partners of Save the Children involved in the programme for their support and input for this documentation.

Photo Credit:

RedR India/ Save the Children

CONTENT

------Forward 05

------Introduction 06

------Innovative Experiences

------Child Protection in Emergencies and Disaster Risk Reduction 10

------Child-Centered Community-based Disaster preparedness 12

------Resilience Building through Livelihoods Intervention 17

------Child Friendly Flood Shelters 20

------Discussion and Lessons for Policy 25

FOREWORD

It has been going to be three years the massive Kosi River floods of August 2008 caused unprecedented loss to lives, livelihoods, infrastructure and property in north-eastern Bihar. Although floods have been a recurring feature in parts of the state, the 2008 floods were not usual. The Kosi burst its embankments and changed course, inundating areas of Bihar that had not experienced such flooding for half a century. About 1,000 villages in five districts (Araria, Madhepura, Purnia, Saharsa and Supaul and parts of Khagaria) were affected, involving three million people, of whom about one million were evacuated.

Save the children and its partners responded immediately to reduce the negative impact the disaster which was declared as the National Calamity by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India. The response start with the cooked food in the relief camp, Family Tracing Reunification, providing child friendly spaces to the children Non food Item, Intermediary shelter.. soon reached more than 10000 families in holistic approach

While immediately relief had reached affected communities, even if everything nature and scale, the challenge is to meet the needs for intermediate rehabilitation and longer-term preparedness against future disasters. The Hyogo Framework of Action (2005), of which the Government of India is signatory , calls for Disaster Risk reduction to be made a national and local priorities . Moreover safety of children in school is priority area.

As part of its strategy with the support from ICICI foundation and Civil Societies organization Partners, Save the children designed and implemented a 2 years ( April 2009- March 2011) , Child-centered Community- based Disaster Risk Reduction intervention in 100 villages of Araria ,Madhepura, Supaul, Khagaria districts in Bihar affected by the Kosi floods 2008 .

This document is based upon the experience of Save the Children and its partner’s organization gained through implementation of the aforementioned programme and reviewed by Red R. The purpose of producing the document is to share with all relevant stake holders the good practices and lesson learnt that has emerged and which can be either replicated elsewhere or which can act as cautionary reference for improved

project in implementation in this thematic sector towards ensuring child rights . The idea behind this exercise is not capture the achievements but also rigorous analysis for future reference.

Save the Children takes this opportunities to acknowledge the wonderful gesture and support of all the individual contributor cum customers of ICICI , who contributed to ICICI foundation to support the survivors of the flood victims in the state , Save the Children acknowledge the hugely successful initiatives of ICICI foundation of mobilizing and distributing funds for a greater social welfare , Civil Society Organisation Partners , no doubt have played a significant and dynamic role in channelizing these resources to further the cause of child rights.

With Best Regards

Mr. Rayappa Knacharala Ms. Nitu Prasad Emergency programme Manager State Programme Manager Bihar Save the Children Bal Raksha Bharat Save the Children Bal Raksha Bharat

1. INTRODUCTION

Background

The Kosi flooding in Bihar affected millions in seven KOSHI FLOODS map 24TH August 2008 districts of north Bihar:Supaul, Araria, Madhepura, Saharsha, Purnia, Khagaria and Katihar. As a result of the breach in the eastern Kosi embankment upstream of the Indian border at Kusaha in neighboring Nepal on 18th of August, 2008, the fury of the swirling waters destroyed roads, bridges, culverts, agricultural fields, houses, schools and other public infrastructure.

As a result of the breach, the river changed its course to what it had followed over 200 years ago. Unprepared for flood-related calamities, over 3.3 million people were hardest hit.

Children and young people were severely affected, not only in terms of loss of assets and loved ones, but also in terms of increased vulnerability to a variety of threats. This was the case as traditional protection mechanisms were affected with displacement into temporary shelters, the diversion of parents‟ attention towards relief and livelihood options, and the shut-

down of schools for as long as 3 months. The education system was hard-hit with thousands of schools destroyed and reports1 of around 75 per cent of teachers affected by the floods.

The Kosi disaster further highlighted the need for strategic interventions towards reducing disaster risk of communities in the state, and risks of children in particular. It is important to note that 17 per cent of the India‟s flood-prone areas are located in Bihar. 37 per cent of the total area in state of Bihar is vulnerable to floods; resulting in 22 out of 38 districts and around 5000 villages are under grip of severe floods every year. Further, the state is prone to earthquakes, droughts and fires. Children‟s vulnerabilites in Bihar are further compounded by high rates of poverty in the state, calling for increased efforts towards realization of their right to live in a safe environment.

Implementing Partners

Partner District Block Villages No of HH

Madhepura 2 30 3467

Jan Jagaran Sansthan (JJS)

Araria 1 20 3515

Vikas Vihar

Supaul 1 20 2805

SAKHI

1 Source

Khagaria 3 30 3760

Nav Jagriti

TOTAL 4 7 100 13547

Building Safer Communities: The Child Centered Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction programme

The Child Centred Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction (CCBBDRR) Programme of Save the Children and its partners works towards reducing the disaster risk of communities with children as the main actors during the entire process. This approach is guided by Save the Children Fund‟s2 belief that „children can play an important role in helping their families, villages and communities to reduce risks associated with natural disasters.‟

After the immediate response phase after the Kosi floods in 2008, Save the Children worked to demonstrate a model of child-centred approach to making 100 villages safer in four districts with the Building Disaster Resilient communities in Bihar with focus to Child protection in emergencies were supported by CSO partners fo

As a result of the initiative,100 CBCCDRR plans were prepared in100 villages and approved by Gram Sabha; 100 children's groups are formed and trained on Child Protection and disaster risk reduction (DRR); four different types of Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials were developed & disseminated. Partner staff members and community volunteers were trained on Participatory Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment and facilitating DRR Planning. 500 task forces on First Aid and Search and Rescue were formed in 100 villages, of which 60% are children. 100 Village DRR Committees and Task Forces were

2 Source

equipped with search and rescue, first aid and shelter management kits, which include utensils. In addition, safe evacuation routes were developed and shared with 100 village communities.

Farm and non-farm livelihood supports were extended to participating families for addressing emerging issues of migration and child labour. Five Child Friendly Flood Shelters have been constructed for providing shelter to children and their families in emergencies.

At the heart of all of these initiatives, there are community groups that comprise of chidren as well as adults that have been trained to take up these challenges and lead the way towards safer and more resileint communities.

1Children from Araria district participate in the mock drill exercise

Purpose of the documentation

The CC CBDRR Programme was designed to build upon the potential of child centred community development mechanism created during the immediate response of the Kosi floods. These mechanisms clearly underscored the opportunity for holistic development of communities at risk with child protection as an entry point. While the programme is in its final stages of completion, there is enough evidence to indicate the value of the processes that have been followed by the programme and its contribution to overall resilience building in the communities. This report seeks to document good practices that contribute towards this goal.

UNESCO defines3 „Good practices‟ as initiatives, projects and/or policies that provide examples of practice, generate ideas and contribute to policy development. In the context of social transformation, UNESCO defines4good practices as creative and sustainable practices that provide effective response based on the idea of direct knowledge utilisation, which can have potentials for replication as “inspirational guideline” and contribute to policy development.

3 In a document by UNESCO on Education and Sustainable Development http://www.unesco.org/en/esd/publications/good- practices/ accessed on 8th March 2011, 9: 00 PM 4http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/social-transformations/international-migration/best- practices/ accessed on 8th March 2011, 9 : 20 PM

In this regard, there emerge „good practices‟ this program that can be adapted to different contexts to improve the quality of programming, especially from the children and young persons perspective. This document aims to highlight such elements of the programme that have been appreciated by the participating communities, and recommended by them for replication with other communities that are at similar risks. This is intended as a practitioner‟s document, therefore the sharing of experiences and good practices thus captured will encourage further improvements. At the same time, a deeper exploration of these programs also provides insights for policy. In view of this, the documentation will be shared with the State level Inter-Agency platform, Disaster Management fora, state and national level Disaster Management Authorities and training institutions.

Methodology

This review for documenting good practices was carried out through field visits in Khagaria, Supaul and Madhepura for understanding from the participating children, their families and communities those aspects of the programme that have been successful, their key outputs and processes. In addition to the field visits, this report draws from the regional review5 of Save the Children's child centered disaster risk reduction programs in South Asia. The team's past experience of interviews, focus group discussions and key informant discussions with children, adult community members, local government representatives, volunteers and emergency focal points at Save the Children and their partner staff in Araria, Bihar also informs this document.

Further, this document draws extensively from existing programme documents – donor reports and process documents. Through a corroboration of field observations and process documents, the good practices review seeks to contribute to knowledge on child centred CBDRR programming.

Structure of the report

The document has been divided into three broad sections. The first section introduces the community based child centered disaster risk reduction program and places it in the context of the Bihar, with a focus on the status of chidlren indisasters in this State. Section II highlights the key good practices emerging from the CCCBDRR programme in Bihar. The last section discussing emerging themes, lessons for policy and concludes. 2. INNOVATIVE EXPERIENCES 2.1 Child Protection in Emergencies and Disaster Risk Reduction

5 Save the Children, 2010 ‘Reducing Risks as Equals’, Regional Review of Child Centered Disaster Risk Reduction in South Asia

Community institutions are a critical element of any community-based DRR program. Save the Children, Bihar‟s program weaves the discourse of child protection into the DRR fabric through their investment in community institutions. The Children‟s Groups and Child Protection Committees emerge as active entities for monitoring risks in their communities and taking actions to reduce them.

Claiming our right to protection Tools Village Khoot in the Supaul district was ravaged by the KosiWhile-floods. programmatic The primary activities school structure were carried was completely to achieve destroyed,the desired disrupting goals, cre ative even tools the ensured minimal that these means ideas of education.and messages Two were years retained. after the floods, while the official recovery process was over, the school structure remained conspicuousIEC Material: by itsPosters, absence. information Children were booklets forced and to gamesstudy in the blazing sun without a roof, while classes were Innovations were used to share important messages. suspended on rainy days.

Events: Convention on Rights1 of Children week was  Creating Safe Spaces for Voice and Belonging to the „musahar ‟ community, the children in Action thisorganized village werefor communities engaged in theto share formation their experieof a Children‟snces viz. Groupa viz child in 2009. rights. During Rallies, the signature meetings, campaign, the issue meetings of the The formation of children‟s groups (CG) in schooland workshops in their village at district would and come state levels up often. were Finally, organized. the communities has provided the children with childrenLed by took the the children issue belongingto the Child to Protection 100 children Committee groups, in their village and it was decided that they would ask for spaces for expression and exploration. By means this campaign brought together 20000 children who these rights from the administration. Led by the children‟s signed charter of demand which was submitted to District of careful situation analysis and resultant group, a group from the village visited the Block targeting, the program reaches out to children DevelopmentMagistrates Officer with their demands.After persistent whose vulnerabilities to disasters are compounded efforts on part of the Children‟s Group and the Child 6 Protection Committee, there now exists a temporary school because of their social status in the society . structure in their village, the mid-day meals are served on Comprising of girls and boys aged 10-14 years; time and two appointed teachers take daily classes. The the groups were formed through an election children are now working towards a permanent school process whereby children from 6 to 17 years of structure for their village, so that they are better prepared in case of another disaster. age had voting rights. The groups meet twice a month to discuss their past experience of disasters, issues related to their rights and those of other children in their village, and potential solutions to the same. Like the children‟s group mentioned above, CGs across the four program districts bring stories of friends and neighbors who are school drop-outs, being forced to engage 3 CRC Week celebrations Play together day in child-labour, or forced to enter a child-marriage Media Engagement: Throughout the program, the media to their meetings and plan the course of action to was pro-actively encouraged to participate in all the improve these situations. events,2Daily and classes to publish at the temporary best practice primarys and school achievements structure of the children and their parents.  Strengthening support systems and duty- bearers

6 More than 60 percent of the program villages are inhabited by communities who belong to Scheduled Castes and Other Backward Classes.

4A news feature in the local daily about DRR day workshop

With the recognition that protecting children from violence, abuse and exploitation has to be embedded in institutions closest to the children, this program engaged actors from within these institutions through the formation of Child Protection Committees (CPCs) in villages. The CPCs comprise of parents, service providers (ANMs/ ICDS and Anganwadi workers) and PRI members and were trained on monitoring and responding on child protection issues in emergencies.

Further, young people from the villages were trained from each village as honorary volunteers to ensure that people across age groups were engaged in the process. Organizing and strengthening support systems and duty bearers with facilitates the development of mechanisms within the communities to identify and address child protection issues within the communities, this paving the way for creating resilient communities.

 Encouraging Participation for Reducing Risks

Highlighting that children are key actors for reducing their own risks and that of their communities, different activities in this program support their empowerment to this end. The participation of children in the CPCs, Panchayat Gram Samsad meetings, and risk reduction activities not only ensures that cultural barriers to their participation are broken, but also prepares them to be active risk reducers in their communities. Piloting of the „Children‟s Social Audit‟ is one such pioneering example from this program whereby children and other members of the community were organized into a committee to carry out an audit of the program as it was conducted in their village.

Challenges and Way Forward

 The value of engaging institutions in a child‟s environment is gradually being recognized. Yet, sustaining their active participation and role, especially in the case of service providers and other representatives of the administration, still remains a challenge. While establishing linkages with administrative counterparts was embedded in programmatic design, it has shown mixed results.

 There is a need for further strengthening of 5 Ramashish showing a fire-rescue technique the softer components of the programme and “Last month, we decided to act on our discussions closer monitoring of the effect of the about children in our village who don’t have notebooks programme on the social issues in the and pens. We collected Rs. 150 and distributed communities. For instance, is the program notebooks and pens to 10 students. We can’t expect weakening caste barriers to access and students to go to school if they don’t have any control of resources for children in the lower notebooks and pens, and take action for helping them if castes? What is the scale in reduction of child we can.” Ramashish, Education Minister, Village Khutah, District Khagariya

marriages and children involved in hazardous labour? Has school enrolment and retention increased?

2.2 Community Based Child Centered Disaster Preparedness

The importance of preparedness for disasters cannot be emphasized enough. Save the Children, Bihar‟s program has highlighted that when 6Vikram, with his mother and siblings, and his best friend from the CG children are actively engaged in risk reduction activities, then they are able to communicate this From Training to Real Life: knowledge in their families and immediate Children‟s Group‟s member saves family members during storm environments. An unpredicted cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 125 Innovations km per hour hit 11 districts of West Bengal, Bihar and Assam just before midnight on Tuesday April 13th 2010. In  Creating knowledge about risks in their Bihar, over 90 people were killed, 125 injured approx 1 community million people were affected. Vikram Kumar of Village InderpurMashari, MajuhaAraria district was sleeping in his Community members come together to house with his family when the Nor‟ester storm struck on April 13th. collectively create knowledge about their resources, vulnerabilities, capacities, socio- He says, “The storm that came that night was the worst political systems through the participatory storm I have ever seen. When it came I was sleeping with vulnerability and capacity assessment (PVCA) my brothers and sisters but I woke up because the thunder and wind were really loud. We were all really scared and process. Designed so as to be led primarily by my sisters were crying. I told them all to get under the bed children, the PVCA creates spaces for community “Choki”. I learnt this from going to the children‟s group. members to be cognizant of their realities and to We went under the bed and then the house fell down. We were not hurt, but we got really wet from the hailstones.

As a member of the children‟s groups, he had learnt about the safety during the meetings. When asked about the trainings provided to children in his village, he says “I liked the early warning training best and first aid; when a friend of mine was hurt I used the first aid on him”.

plan for addressing some of the issues identified. This process laid the foundation for the development of community-based plans for child protection in emergencies. These plans set out specific activities, roles and responsibilities and the timeline for carrying those out.

7 Children’s Group in Khagaria, discussing their community’s Venn diagram

 School Safety Initiatives

Children carried out a similar process for their schools as well. They identified risks through a „hazard hunt‟ in the school and its surrounding areas and then prepared school safety plans to ensure their safety while in schools. Protection issues in schools such as physical abuse and corporal punishment were identifying as risks and also incorporate in the plans.

 Task Forces: From Trainings to Life Saving Skills

Five task forces: Search and Rescue, First Aid, Early Warning and Preparedness, Relief and Shelter Management and Psychosocial Care were formed in communities, comprising of men, women and children7. The program design ensured that trainings on these themes were provided at multiple levels, creating networks of disaster preparedness skills in these areas. 120 NGO staff and volunteers were trained as master trainers, who then trained task 8Girl in district Khagariya administers first- aid to a friend forces and other community members.

 Towards Effective Preparedness: Mock Drills

7 Children are not a part of the Search and Rescue task forces because of concerns about their safety.

Frequent rounds of mock drills on cyclone and flood warning were conducted in all 100 project operational villages. While the trainings provided knowledge and skill based input, the drills provided an opportunity to apply the same in a simulated context. Further, this drill, under guidance of external resource persons, was aimed to create understanding among partners NGO staff and volunteers on the process, need based preparation for the drill and the importance of involvement and participation of the community and children in the drill process. 9 Setting up a child friendly space during a mock drill in district Supaul

Tools

Material Support

In addition to skill-trainings, every community‟s preparedness mechanism was bolstered through provision of task-force kits. Comprising of support equipment for shelter management, early warning, search and rescue and first aid, the list of these materials was developed in consultation with communities, and as per the AIDMA guidelines and sphere standards.

In most villages, community members have come together to make decisions about the use and maintenance of these materials. For example, the utensils provided for shelter management are rented out on occasions and the money is collected in a „disaster fund‟.

Wall paintings in the village

The risk-maps created by communities have been painted on walls of common spaces in the village. This ensures that everyone in the village has access and is exposed to this information about their village at all times.

Events

Challenges and Way Forward

 There is a need to ensure that the skills on preparedness, first aid and other capacities that are needed in large numbers are further spread to the larger community through the network of trained individuals – especially to younger children and women

 The task forces need to set up a discipline for reinforcing their skills and servicing their equipment so that the skills and equipment – critical assets created through the programme can be used effectively in emergencies.

“Now we know how to collect information about a disaster that may be useful to my village. We can read in newspapers and hear on the radio and then make a phone call to the Sarpanch and cross-check this information”

Children‟s Group Member, Khoota village, Khagariya

2.3Resilience Building through livelihood interventions

Considering the relatively low levels of achievement of economic development in Bihar and the fact that North Bihar remains a less developed region within the state, the programme attempted to assist extremely marginalized families to recover their livelihood.

Innovations

 Attention to most vulnerable families pictu

The programme followed very clear and transparent criteria for selection of beneficiary families. While care was taken to identify and work with the most vulnerable families care was also taken to minimize duplication of assistance to the same family. The criteria for selection of beneficiary were developed with the community by the project volunteers. Priority was given to based on these criteria, a list of families for assistance was developed by the CPC using the baseline and PVCA data to ensure transparency, this list of families was shared with local administrative as well as the gram sabha.

The criteria for selection of families for livelihood assistance were determined jointly with the volunteers and village community as follows: - Child headed or managed families, women headed families, families whose head was differently able, migrant labour if the family has land up to 1 acre. - Landless Share croppers

 Building resilience through diversity in livelihood strategies

The programme has not only pursued strategies for minimizing losses due to emergencies bit it has also proactively sought to build family and community resilience. The programme interventions were designed such that there was no conflict with existing livelihoods strategies but coping mechanisms were improved. Once the list of participating families was finalized and shared through the Gram Sabha, a one to one meeting was organized by the project staff with each benefitting“The family support to develop we got for a precise rebuilding list our of livelihoods livelihood assistance material- both non-farm as well as farm based. was timely. People in our community have different skills which they were using to eke a living before the Kosi floods took away all we had. However the floods could not take away the skills we had. The Non-farm support: This resulted in a standardized list of materialsprogramme and helpedequipments us recognize for the following our skills trades: and Bangle &Bindi Kit, Vegetable selling kit, Basket Makingprovided Kit, Blacksmith us necessary, supportFishing to Net stand, Masonry up on ourKit , two feet. While this whole effort is still continuing and the result of our effort are yet to be seen, we are now very hopeful about the future. After all, we all have done everything that was needed. Insha’Allah Now we are eagerly waiting to reap the fruits of our hard work”

Laundry kit, Handpump Repairing kit, Tea Shop, Egg Stall Kit, Hand pump installation and maintenance, Wood Cutter, Tailoring Machine, Sewing Machine,

Painter Kit, Bicycle Repair, Barber Kit, Carpenter “I have been a barber all my life, thats all the work I Kit, Construction Labour Kit, Cobbler‟s kit. know. Before I got the help from JSS/ Save the children I did have the basic kit for shaving and cutting but very Grain-Bank: For those families that were involved little of my income was cash. I used to operate in a “community service” mode (Saamaajik) where most of in farm based livelihoods, family resilience the my earning was in the form of grain with only a basic building has been attempted by promoting a habit kit in my jhola (sling bag) I was not in a position to of saving a handful of grain everyday. The grain negotiate a better deal. As a result, my earning was subject to the time and quantity of harvest and cash thus stored in deposited in the community grain income was negligible. Now with this new kit, I am able bank that not only reserve s grain for emergency to set up a stall at the village market (haat) that happens situations but also sells the collected grain as every fourth day. In addition to my income in the four of required by the members. Against grain deposit, grains, I am also able to earn cash income from people visiting the haat from other villages. I not only have cash loan is also available to members at an interest better income, I also have better status in the community much lower than normally charged by local money now” lenders. Therefore the families participating in the initiative not manage to save but can also access Karpoori Thakur, village Pokhraan, distt. Madhepura easier loans.

Migration Training: Training courses were conducted in all the four districts on the issues of migrant‟s worker risks, rights and skills required for safe migration. The labour resource department at the district level also joined and explained the different schemes and provision in the act for the migrants. Further all the 100 villages were provided with ID cards and registers to record migrations and facilitate the safety of migrants.

Assessing Needs before Intervening: The Livelihoods Survey

As part of the CC CBDRR programme, it was planned to support non farm labourers of the most marginalised households in the project villages. As a first step, different livelihood options being pursued in the nonfarm sector were identified. Towards this end, a formal study was undertaken with AFPRO. The following aspects of were examined:  Seasonality Survey was carried out to understand different aspects of local livelihoods such as seasonal variation and their linkages with food, employment, workload, coping strategies and diseases over the four seasonal cycles.  Wealth Ranking was conducted to understand the different wealth group residing in the villages and the community perception for different wealth groups, their linkages with different households in the villages.  Focus Group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with different groups to understand local livelihood patterns practiced prior to the disaster and the coping strategies after the disaster. Discussions were held withchildren to understand the impact of the disaster on them. 10 % of the project villages were selected for the FGD. Different village contexts were represented for instance, one nearer to the township or market, one village in the interior and one village in middle to it in each district.

Working of the Grain Bank - Contribution: Each member family contributes an equal share every week- typical a hand full of grain. It may include maize, wheat and rice. - Meetings: Meetings are organized every week, during which everyone making a contribution brings their share and the group takes stock of total grain collected, storage and management. - Management:The Grain Bank is managed by DRRcommittee of the village, selected by the community. Keeping the necessary reserve for emergencies, the collected grain is sold to within / outside the village. The money collected is deposited in the bank account of the grain bank. - Emergency stock: The Grain Bank maintains an emergency stock for at least 15 days to feed all households during post -disaster. - Loan: Loan is provided if a member needs a loan of food grain or cash. The date for returning the loan and the interest is decided by the community. - Storage: the grain is stored atthe highest point in the village to prevent flooding or any other risk during disaster, and to ensure accessibility during and after disaster.

 Sourcing the necessary expertise

For farm based livelihoods, it was clear in discussion with the participating families that the choice of seeds was a key determent in achieving the desired outcome. The national seed corporation of India was engaged in providing advice on the type and quality of seeds as well as supplying the sane. It was decided that non- hybrid (pure) and high yielding varieties for anyone crop would be provided. As a gesture of partnership the entire cost of transporting the seeds to the village/ was borne by the corporation.

Challenges and the way forward “Yes, we had some issues within our community Kosi floods led to serious damage to the livelihoods of the where only 46 families were chosen for community. Nearly everyone, irrespective of their earlier assistance for agri-based livelihoods. There were more families that needed assistance as the financial well-being, struggled to make a living. The floods had caused severe financial stress to livelihood intervention s of the programme was therefore everyone- even those who are not marginal very timely. However, given the resources available, the farmers. But we managed the situation amongst ourselves. Those of us who received 50 kg seeds programme could only reach the most marginalized and from the project gave 5-15 kgs of seeds to some not a larger group of families that could have benefitted. others who needed help too. In the small patch of land that was left uncultivated, we planted Community consolidation processes such as the support to mustard and some vegetables. We could do this because we knew that the seeds are of extremely the newly formed children‟s groups and CPCs had an high quality and even if we gave away some of empowering effect on the people. In many villages, our own seeds we would still be better off families who had received livelihood assistance from the compared with the period prior to flooding . programme distributed small quantities of seeds to those In addition to the seeds, we also received who were not eligible for programme support. In addition, agricultural implements for working our lands. the agricultural implements are also being lent within the We are sharing the kits with other farmers who community as a result the programme has managed to did not get the assistance and do not have the implements. As a community, we are better able to help each other in normal times for improving our lives and livelihoods as well as during disaster times to face them.”

-SudishtaYadav, father of Vikas aged 3

strengthen and nurture the existing social capital within the community. 2.4 Child Friendly Flood Shelters

Five Child Friendly Flood Shelters (CFFS) have CFFS - „Creation Of Community Assets For Disaster been constructed under the programme in Risk Resilience partnership with local stakeholders to provide emergency shelter to children and their families The recently constructed Child Friendly Flood Shelter in as well as a community asset that can be used Purvi Thatha village in Khagariya district, Bihar is the first concrete building of the community. Located on the lower for community functions during non-emergency side of an embankment, this village is exposed to water situations. inundation almost every monsoon season. For this reason, it was selected as one of the 11 villages to have a CFFS. Having been built to accommodate 1000 people, to provide Innovations water, sanitation and first aid facilities, and to face multi- hazard risks, this structure would be inclusive in providing  Comprehensive/holistic design for use for the needs of children, the disabled and the elderly. by children and their families The community has formed a CFFS-committee that will look The flood shelters have been designed as a after the building. They also plan to rent out the CFFS for double-storeyed structure with support facilities private functions to generate revenue for its maintenance. The CFFS has brought fresh hope to the people of Purvi T such as a medical room and the office of the hatha. A “pucca” building has come to the village to give incharge on the ground floor; ladies and gents them shelter during floods. In the process of accessing this dormitories on the first floor with an attached facility they have, through sheer persistence, managed play area for children. The structure has a flat government support for the facility: the PHED for installation of a handpump, the Rural Development roof that can also serve as a raised surface department for the toilets and the revenue department for use escape floods. of government land for construction of the building. The entire experience has made them more confident and hopeful All the flood shelters have been located within for the future. the compounds of the school in the village. This The people of Purvi Thatha finally have a safe space to take was a strategic decision so that the buildings are shelter from the recurrent floods. But what they also have is used and maintained regularly. During non– a structure for their community and family needs, a place for women‟s self help groups and children‟s group to meet, and emergency times, the flood shelter have been a place they can truly call their own. designed to be used as ICDS centre and extension class rooms. The CFFSs in Khagaria and Supaul are also proposed to be used for marriages and community functions.

Site Selection The following village and site selection criteria were considered for location of the CFFS: - Govt. or community land, preferably within the school premises, so that it is regularly cleaned and maintained. - Besides the Village where the CFFS is located, the it should serve attest one more in the vicinity. - The site should be within the village settlement close to habitation. - The size of the land should be about 80 ft. x 60 ft.. It should be compact and not loose. - The land should be little higher land (elevated) within the settlement - There should be no legal disputes regarding the ownership of the land - In emergency cases, everyone irrespective of caste, religion etc. with preference to women and children should be permitted to take shelter.

 Appropriate details for lending child friendly character to the building

The CFFS initiative takes cognisance of the fact that children are often the group most traumatised by a disaster. Besides the sheer trauma of haring been through a disaster, the loss of a home, safety of care givens loss of school and distribution of daily routine can add to the disasters.

Thus the layout and design details have been disclosed to restore a sense of comfort for children. Some of the features that have been attempted towards this end are:  Children’s play room accessible both from ladies as well as gents dormitory- children and their mother/father can maintain visual contact even through children are engaged in play. The sill level of the play room is safe yet low enough to allow children to get an outside view.  Anthropometrically suitable design of toilets – A smaller lower wash basin have been installed in both ladies and gents toilets for accompanying children.  Attractive treatment of walls and floor- the internal and external surfaces of the building have been rendered with bright colours and interesting patterns to appeal children. In addition writing surfaces of interesting shapes eg common fruits and animals have been provided as green/blue boards. Similarly lattice work ( Jaali) with bricks have been used to make the building attractive.

 Structurally sound design and construction to with stand milt -hazard conditions of north Bihar

The CFFS building was designed and constructed under the technical guidance of Development Professionals Forum a professional consultancy firm based in Orissa. - Assuming 2 sq. ft. /per person during emergencies as recommended by NDMA guidelines, the CFFS buildings have been designed for a capacity of about 1000 people under covered roof area with another 500 on the roof. The Flood Shelters has been designed flood Cyclonic wind pressures (for example, in coastal Orissa and West Bengal) and the Seismic tremors. - Flood considerations include a plinth height of minimum 0.3 M above the Highest Flood Level [HFL] and the First Floor level has been designed according to maximum Storm Surge Heights. - The ground floor has been left open without any partitions/ walls to avoid hydrostatic pressure on walls leading to erosions and scour in case of inundation. Due to the possibility of high inundation, the plinths have been protected by a mound. The stilted floor with adequate plinth height will help in keeping the livestock safe. Considering the safety for the differently abled a ramp with a slope of 1:10, with railings has been provided so that children, the differently abled and the aged can climb up safely.

 Children led, community based planning, execution and sustainability

The prototypes of the CFFS were developed in consultation with children, parents and PRIs to accommodate the diverse needs of each group. The child protection committees (CPCs) formed in each village have been made responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the CFFS. In cases where the CFFS caters to more than one village, CFFS committee- special committee representing all the villages has been formed. Each of these committees includes some children as members. Each committee has a bank account for transparent functioning and upkeep of the CFFS. The funds generated by letting the CFFS for use during weddings and community functions are deposited in the account. Similarly, each committee has been landed a set of large size pots pans & utensils for large gatherings. The utensils are also given out on rent which is deposited in the committee account. The committees were trained for supervision of the CFFS construction, regular monitoring & reporting of the programme resulting in ownership of the CPC/ CFFS committee to the initiative.

 Institutional leveraging

The CFFS initiative was undertaken by save the children and its partners but much of the success of the initiative can be attributed to strategic collaboration & leveraging from local institutions.

For instance the entire cost of earth-filling for the CFFS foundations as well as plinth protection amounting to approximately INR 300,000 was leveraged from the respective departments. All of this was made possible through consists liaison with the local administration. Direct purchase and on site delivery of cement from the manufacturing company was helped in cost optimization, given the remoteness of the project villages.

Challenges and the way forward

While some villages included in the programme experienced severe floods in 2008 as an „unusual‟ event, most villages experience floods almost every year. Thus “living with risk” in flood and earthquake prone areas without the necessary measures for structural strengthening of building has been a „ way of life‟. Constructing CFFS buildings in these areas where contemporary construction methods, materials & skills had to be deliberately brought in, was one of the main challenges. Through on the job training of local workforce, the necessary capacities were created to accomplish this task.

3. Discussion and Lessons for Policy

An exploration of the different components of the community based child centered disaster risk reduction program has reasserted the importance of addressing children‟s vulnerabilities in disasters and the vital roles they can play in reducing their own risks. Providing brief insights into impacts of engaging with children and their communities for child-centered DRR, it highlights the need for creative ways for ensuring the prioritization of children‟s needs and participation in disaster management. This indeed has been one of the key elements of success of the programme.

A thematic analysis of the innovations made in different components of this program reveals some common approaches and practices underpinning the program, that facilitate action towards this end. “When our children learn, we learn; as they are evolving These are discussed below: so are we. Children do not understand the difference of caste and creed; they are free of social biases and greed. By working with children, you are waking everyone  Adopting an integrated approach around them from their stupor. ” The understanding that the factors influencing the picture CPC Member, district Araria well-being and protection of children are situated at different levels in a child‟s environment has been translated into practice through this program. The protection of the community‟s children has been the binding force behind all the activities carried out with different members of the community, including children themselves. “In one of our children’s group meetings, the children discussed the story of a boy who worked as a child labour. This issue was discussed and taken to the child protection This approach deeply impacts children‟s lives by committee of the village. The CPC members approached building a constituency for child protection in the boy’s father, a landless labourer with no fixed income. emergencies in the community. Members of the The father claimed that there is enough food in their community across ages and positions are engaged household only because the boy works; if he stops, his family will go hungry. The CPC members nominated this in activities under this program, thus, creating a man to receive non-farm support under Save the network of people for monitoring and ensuring Children’s CCDRR program. While the father now has a children‟s protection in future. Further, different regular source of income, the son had been enrolled in and attends school instead of working.”

Community Volunteer, SAKSHI, District Supaul, Bihar

activities nurture resilience through strengthening of coping mechanisms in case of emergencies.

 Leveraging multiple-stakeholders

Unique public-private partnerships emerge through different aspects of this program. Funded by ICICI Foundation and CSO partners, the program sought to leverage government and administrative representatives at every step of their program – events, during the construction of the child friendly flood shelters, preparedness measures in the community or strengthening of child protection committees.

The current situation of vulnerabilities to disasters calls for sustained multi-sectoral investments towards disaster risk reduction. One of the first programs for risk reduction to be funded by a private-sector enterprise, it sets a good example for such partnerships in the future. Relationship with the media was yet another positive step for disseminating information for knowledge-building and advocacy purposes.

 Prioritizing children‟s participation

Theories8 on the level of participation of young people highlight that the highest level of participation is reached when children are able to initiate, lead and act on their plans and when decision making is shared between adults and young people. This program created spaces for ensuring the highest level of children‟s participation by laying the foundations for and strengthening mechanisms in the community to facilitate this. Their engagement with disaster risk reduction issues through the children groups, child protection groups, school-initiatives, mock-drills and other events and discussions ensured that they become active agents in the discourse of risk reduction. The engagement of children further provides opportunities to highlight their capacities and roles in strengthening the resilience of their own communities.

Lessons for Policy HFA in the context of children*

The imperative for building resilient communities 1. Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and nations has now been recognized and a local priority with a strong institutional basis for implementation – promoting and supporting children’s internationally and nationally. India is a signatory rights to the Hyogo Framework for Action and the 2. Involve children and young people to Identify, National Disaster Management Act 2005 of the assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning. Government of India mandates the state 3. Use knowledge, innovation and education to governments to set up mechanisms and systems build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels, for managing disasters at the state, districts and because children are our future panchayat levels. 4. Involve children and young people to Reduce the underlying risk factors. 5. Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective

response at all levels, particularly at community level, 8 See Robert Hart (xxxx) for example concentrating on children and young people.

*Plan International

While much still remains desired to be done for recognizing children‟s vulnerabilities and roles in disasters, renewed efforts are being made in this direction. Initiated during discussions at the Second India Disaster Management Congress (IDMC), a National Dialogue on child centered disaster risk reduction was organized in 2009. Similarly, representatives from the SAARC nations came together in 2011 to share experiences about Children in Disasters and are in the process of formulating a framework for the same. The practice of child centered disaster risk reduction provides deep insights on children in disasters, and the lessons learnt from this practice should inform these processes.

While Save the Children‟s CCDRR program in Bihar merits a deeper analysis into the impacts of the different activities and interventions, even an exploration at this scale provides lessons that can inform national policies on children and disasters. Some of the key entry points could be:

Integrated Child Protection Scheme

The Integrated Child Protection Scheme9 concretizes the Government/State responsibility for creating a system to protect children in the country, bringing together multiple vertical schemes under one comprehensive child protection programme and integrates interventions for protecting children and preventing harm. At a stage when components of this scheme are being rolled out by different state governments in the country, the practice of CBDRR in communities can inform this process. Specifically, this program throw light on the nature of investments that need to be made in community institutions who play a vital role in monitoring and ensuring children‟s protection. More importantly, the program highlights the importance of addressing children‟s protection issues in emergencies. The ICPS emphasized that “child protection needs dedicated sectoral focus as well as strengthening protection awareness and protection response from other sectors outside the traditional protection sector including in emergencies”. Lessons learnt from this program can facilitate this process.

National Disaster Management Act 2005

The approved NDM Act provides legal succor for providing systems and mechanisms for disaster management at the state, district, block and panchayat/ward levels. Many states, including Bihar, are currently in the process of formulating their State Disaster Management Plans. However, the key document guiding disaster management efforts in the country does not mention specific ways of managing risks of children and including them meaningfully in the disaster management process. By strongly highlighting the active roles children can play in the risk reduction process, this program reasserts the need to incorporate and apply this knowledge at the policy level. CONCLUSION This review has sought to document Save the Children Bihar‟s community based child centered disaster risk reduction program and consolidate innovative experiences and good practices. This process has provided valuable insights into the merits of adopting an integrated approach with children at the centre, engaging multiple stakeholders for disaster risk reduction and prioritizing children‟s participation for building resilience. Further, it

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has highlighted lessons for policy regarding children‟s needs and capacities in disasters. Finally, in the words of a CPC member, it has highlighted how “when our children learn, we learn”.

Bihar State Programme Office Head office 224/E, Pataliputra Colony 3rd Floor, Vardhaman Trade Centre Patna -800013 Bihar 9-11 Nehru Place, Phone: 0612-2274650 New Delhi -110 019 Fax: 0612-2274650 Phone: +91-11 -42294900 Fax : +91-11-42294990