WUNRN

http://www.wunrn.com

 

http://huairou.org/resilience/community-resilience-fund?utm_source=Nairobi%2FAfrican+Union+%28ENGLISH%29&utm_campaign=Regional+Spotlight%3A+Africa-+Nairobi+events%2C+AU+%28from+WLLA+spring+2014+newsletter%29&utm_medium=email

 

Women's Community Resilience Fund - 19 Countries

GROOTS Zimbabwe Planning Retreat. From left: Regina Pritchett (HC Secratariat), Theresa Makwara, Shorai Chitongo, Veronica Kanyongo, Selina Mungombe (Groots Zimbabwe)

 

Saving Lives and Livelihoods: Women Working Towards Solutions for Disaster Resilience and Climate Change Adaptation Through the Community Resilience Fund

Community Resilience Fund Vision of Change

In the face of climate change and increased natural disasters, money has been pledged from governments, mulitlateral agencies, and large NGOs to reduce risk an vulnerabilites and protect livelihoods.  Disaster risk policies have been drafted and initiatives developed to help inforce early warning systems, building codes and standards for safer schools and hospitals but conmmunities are continually left out of the planning and implementation of these policies and are denied acesss to funds to implement their own initiatives.  

Download Community Resilience Fund Flyer here.

There are few mechanisms that address how organized groups of poor men and women on the ground can particpate effectively in national policy and programming.  Yet, reducing risk and adapting to climate change requires cooperation between community based organizations and local authorities to implement the innovative and effective solutions collective grassroots organizing.  

At the UNISDR meeting in 2007 determined to set standards for community inclusion in DRR, Huairou Commission and GROOTS International joined with the ProVention Consortium to hold a high level workshop that culminated in establishing targets for securing community funds for DRR and facilitating resilience and advocacy networks that would fight for policy support forthese approaches. This approach -- the Community Resilience Fund-- enables groups to access resources streams through a decentralized financial mechanism, allowing groups to identify their own priorities and take actions to reduce risks and vulnerabilities from disasters and climate change, and fast track local HFA implementation in partnership with communities, local governments and disaster management authorities.

Community Resilience Fund Major Impact Areas

The Community Resilience Fund (CRF) is financially supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UNDP Gender and the World Bank GFDRR, and is a mechanism to channel funds directly to community based organizations and women's groups living in disaster prone areas to support them to: a. Initiate and scale up strategies to reduce vulnerabilities to disaster and climate change that empower women and promote their leadership in development and decision making. Collaborate with local and national governments to scale up and mainstream their solutions for disaster risk reduction. 

The Fund counters poor women's lack of access to funds to create change in their community and puts resources directly in the hands of grassroots women.  With these funds, local community based organizations exemplify good practices, link across communities and press national programming to incorporate local initiatives. 

The CRF is currently underway in 19 countries: Ghana; Kenya; Madagascar; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe; India; Indonesia; Philippines; Nepal; Turkey; Brazil; Ecuador; Guatemala; Honduras; Jamaica; Nicaragua; Peru; Venezuela. Grassroots women are leading risk identification and prioritization and driving the implementation of practices that seek to improve and protect their communities:

Multiple Entry points

·                                 Mapping risk and vulnerability (mobilizing, negotiating tool)

·                                 Addressing food security

·                                 Securing livelihoods

·                                 Securing markets

·                                 Improving health and sanitation

·                                 Improving community infrastructure eg. 

·                                 Hand pumps, foot bridge, etc.

·                                 Upgrading / securing housing

·                                 Negotiating with local / national authorities.

Roles of Grassroots Women

·                                 Facilitating and training peers on community risk mapping

·                                 Mobilizing communities

·                                 Raising resources

·                                 Managing and accounting for funds

·                                 Supervising construction of housing/ new infrastructure

·                                 Transferring practices through training and exchanges

·                                 Negotiating with local authorities

·                                 Training government / local government

·                                 Facilitating information flows

·                                 Partnering with government to design / evaluate programs

Key Findings

·                                 Activities led by grassroots organization such as mapping provide a knowledge base for dialogue, engagement and action planning

·                                 Processes of grassroots women's organizations are lifted up and streamed into government funded programs

·                                 Networking between grassroots organizations, local authorities, and national ministries creates a critical mass of leaders fostering community focused resilience building

How to Get Involved

·                                 Recommend Groups. Suggest an experienced grassroots women’s group or community-based organization to participate in the fund.

·                                 Become a Partner. Fund locally led, pro-poor Disaster Risk Reduction and climate change adaptation mechanisms that reduce vulnerabilities, poverty and close the gap between national programming and local realities

·                                 Commit to Action. Call on policymakers and institutional programs to designate a percentage of funds to community-led action engaging CBOs to demonstrate the capacity and strength of locally led DRR.