Shortly after the earthquake in Kashmir 2005 occurred AIDMI went to the affected region. After a meeting with government officials and the Army concerning the needs assessment after this earthquake, five of the affected villages in Indian Kashmir - Hathalanga, Mothal, Saidpura, Silikot, and Sohara in the Uri block of Baramulla district, were chosen by AIDMI for the provision of relief - on the basis that these villages were not covered by any other organisation. All these villages, except Saidpura are lying within the LoC and are therefore not easily accessible. One of the main activities of AIDMI was the identification of potential beneficiaries in the affected villages allotted to AIDMI. In cooperation with the committee of each village and the Army, the most vulnerable and poorest beneficiaries were identified in order to provide them first with shelter material. The focus was put on people worst affected by the earthquake. AIDMI´s shelter relief process included community involvement in activities like the identification of appropriate kinds of relief, relief item selection, checking quality of relief items, selecting a supplier, transporting the relief materials to the village and relief distribution. AIDMI was responsible for the provision of the shelter relief material, whereas the purchase and distribution of the material was done by involving the community and with the help of the Army. Also, in the monitoring process of the construction progress AIDMI involved the Army.

Due to the fact that many disaster-affected families are lacking resources, it is not only necessary to give them material for shelter reconstruction but also provide them some sources of income that they can meet their specific or routine needs, such as food. To reach this, AIDMI applied the Cash for Work and Cash for Shelter programme. However, the main focus in Kashmir was on the Cash for Shelter programme.

System of Cash for Work Programme (CFW): After a disaster, affected people are asked to do some (community) work, like cleaning or other activities chosen by the local committee. For this work they receive money (from AIDMI). With this money they can buy food and other items needed, thus encouraging the local economy.

System of Cash for Shelter Programme (CFS): This system works the same way as the CFW concept, however in this case the affected people are first provided with the material for building up their houses from AIDMI. When they have finished building up their houses they receive the money, and the same process starts running as in the cash for shelter Programme. Strengths of AIDMI`s Shelter Relief Programme • Focus on long-term approach - Houses are planned so that they could be up- graded without the need to build totally new ones. In addition to relief activities, long-term needs, like shelter development, water storage facilities, risk transfer through insurance security and establishment of community infrastructure were identified and addressed. • Extensive community involvement - Local knowledge regarding shelter construction was appreciated and used e.g. in terms of locally available and appropriate construction material and suppliers. Needs assessments involving the communities were conducted, that helped to avoid duplicated or unnecessary relief provisions. Local capacity was strengthened, and thus the ability to react in future disasters improved. • Cash for Shelter Programme - Affected people are provided employment. They build their own houses. They generate income, can buy food and other items they need for daily life. People feel not useless, gain knowledge about construction and the local economy is supported. Learnings from Different Processes

a) Focus on the poorest: The poorest are the most vulnerable members of a society who are worst affected by any disaster and take the longest to recover in the absence of external support. This hypothesis was strengthened again during the Kashmir earthquake. This is because their livelihoods are irregular and related to physical labour, which depend heavily upon normalcy of local businesses and public life. Since their houses are highly damaged or destroyed due to the earthquake, they are forced to suspend their livelihoods and put efforts to save their belongings. With no money coming in everyday, they are not able to meet their daily needs. Their reserved resources, if at all intact after the disaster, do not last long. Therefore, AIDMI focuses first and foremost on the poorest and the worst affected. b) Importance of community driven approach: The experiences of the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, 2002 communal riots, 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, 2005 Gujarat floods, and other disasters have taught AIDMI to formulate tailor-made, one-to-one relief approaches. Effective recovery requires participation of the entire community in decision making. c) Linking relief resources with development: The most important learning of the entire process has been the concept of focusing all relief actions in the direction of long term development. Persistence of action and adaptability in thinking are very important to utilise the resources of the relief phase, inter-linked with long term development. Thus, cash for work or cash for shelter activities were not only intended for temporary livelihood generation but also for community infrastructure creation and construction of private houses.

The following objectives were underlying AIDMI's efforts: • Direct basic relief to the poor amongst earthquake victims in Kashmir • Developing the foundations for community based rehabilitation and long term recovery • Developing basic conditions for local capacity based risk reduction • Carrying out national capacity building initiatives, for example in the form of advocacy campaigns of relief needs and rights of the victims, including issues on gender and livelihood; or workshops.

How Cash for Shelter represents the comprehensiveness of AIDMI´s approach: • It has a long-term focus, emphasises the needs of affected communities and its members and stimulates the local economy. All this is reflected in its relief activities.

Why AIDMI's approach to relief and recovery efforts was appropriate to the conditions in the area: • The team worked in close contact with the main stakeholders in the area. The Government, the Army and villagers were included, in order to gain a greater understanding of the issues affecting the most vulnerable communities and general prevailing conditions.

Delicio.us  |   Digg  |   NewsVine  |   Reddit                                                                                  Permalink