South-East Asia Red Cross Red Crescent Community Safety and Resilience
Monthly e-Newsletter
April 2017

ASEAN to deepen and broaden cooperation in disaster management and emergency response

Leaders from ASEAN National Disaster Management Organisations gathered in Vientiane, Lao PDR from 4-6 April 2017 for the 30th Meeting of the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM). With a view to create a more resilient ASEAN, the development of social protection guidelines was also discussed. The guidelines aims to build disaster resilience and develop instruments that are effective to reduce disaster risks, respond to disasters and recover from the impact of disasters. Moreover, ASEAN’s unified response among the sectoral bodies will be salient to further enhance and strengthen ASEAN’s collective response towards disasters. Click here to read more

Community-based Disaster Risk Reduction (CBDRR) training

The CBDRR project is to strengthen capacity of community members to be ready in responding to disasters. In addition, the CBDRR process will cover the disaster cycle from preparedness, response and recovery.

The Thai Red Cross Society conducted the training for the community leaders from 4 communities in Angthong province on 27 April 2017. There were 18 males and 20 females participated in this training. The training focused on Red Cross background, disaster knowledge, vulnerability and capacity assessment (VCA) tools and VCA practice. Click here to read more

April 2017 Monthly Update – Building Urban Resilience in South-East Asia

In Lao PDR the national workshop on Public Awareness and Public Education (PAPE): a guide and key message in Vientiane Capital City was conducted for 5 target schools with 90 students and 5 teachers including Lao Red Cross’ staffs on 1 and 2 and 8 and 9 April 2017.  In the Philippines the training on multi-risk maps using QGIS (Quantum Geographical Information System) was conducted during 24-26 April 2017 in Quezon City, Manila. In Vietnam the Public Awareness and Public Education (PAPE) workshop was held in Quy Nhon during 20 - 22 April 2017. Click here to read more

Psychosocial Support in Community training for Shan Migrants in Chiang Mai

On 3-5 April 2017 The Life Skills Development Foundation (TLSDF), in tandem with the Thai Red Cross Society, with the support of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Society (IFRC), at Thai Red Cross Health Station No.3 Chiang Mai, organized the training on Psychosocial Support (PSS) in Community for Shan migrants, to help build their capacity to help their own communities when people are in need of psychosocial support. Click here to read more

17^th South-East Asia Youth Network Online Meeting

17^th SEAYN online meeting was held on 27 April 2017 with attendance of 10 participants from 8 National Societies (NS) to build cooperation with Plan International, to consider the Work Plan 2017-2018, 5th SEAYN Annual Meeting outline, Community Safety and Resilience Forum (CSRF) outcome and to know the NS updates on Youth in School Safety (YSS) and School Safety mapping projects. Click here to read more

Presentation of badges to Brunei Red Crescent Society members

The presentation of badges to 65 Brunei Darussalam Red Crescent Society (BRCS)’s members was held following the completion of the Henry Dunant Leadership and Junior First-Aider Camp. Brunei Red Crescent Advisor Datin Hajjah Siti Hajar presented the badges to 65 BRC members. Earlier Datin Hajjah Siti Hajar inspected the parade line and affixed insignia onto the uniforms of two newly promoted officers. Photo: BRCS

Cambodian Red Cross’ Water Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion (WASH) programme – April 2017 Updates

On 20-24 April 2017 there was hygiene promotion awareness and education session on treatment methods for safe water, and environment cleaning awareness at the communities. Awareness sessions were conducted during four days at four villages. On 5-26 April 2017 construction of water facilities (4 shallow tube wells) was started for in Por and Lovea villages. On 12-13 April 2017 there was hygiene promotion awareness and education session on treatment methods for safe water, and environment cleaning awareness in the communities. 2-day home visit was conducted to create awareness regarding the treatment of water and safe storage at Boseleau Krom village. Photo: CRC Click here to read more

To increase the capacity of Red Cross volunteers in the field of disaster preparedness and risk reduction and community-based disaster risk reduction in schools, PMI (Indonesian Red Cross Society) in Aceh province held the training on Disaster Risk Reduction to 17 PMI volunteers in Pidie Jaya. Th training took place from 4-7 April 2017 in the District PNPM, with an opening speech by PMI Pidie Jaya District Secretary Dr. H. Burhan Sulaiman. Photo: PMI Click here to read more

PMI’s landslides responses

In responding to the landslides in Banaran-Ponorogo that occurred on 1 April 2017, the Indonesian Red Cross Society (PMI) Ponorogo mobilized 50 volunteers to help search for the residents affected by landslides. In addition, PMI also opened Disaster Command Post-Ponorogo - a 24-hour standby in PMI Ponorogo Headquarters and Command Post-Banaran Village Square since 2 April 2017. Photo: PMI Click here to read more

Philippine Red Cross first in action after Batangas earthquake

The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) Welfare Services and medical teams were first on the scene to give relief and rescue assistance to the people of Batangas after a magnitude 5.5 earthquake shook the province on Tuesday, April 4.  According to PRC Operations Center, PRC first aid and welfare staff and volunteers were immediately deployed to assess the area and help the affected families. Photo: PRC Click here to read more

Nepal earthquake: Two years on

On 1 April 2017 the Thai Red Cross Society (TRCS) organized an event, "23 years of TRCS' Organ Donation Centre" to make merit to the deceased organ donors of whom the organs were transplanted to patients. The event was also held to persuade more Thai people to make their wills to donate their organs. Photo: TRCS Click here to read more

Thai Red Cross Society’s Youth Movement Office inaugurates "Do good for the land" project

The Thai Red Cross Youth Movement Office of the Thai Red Cross Society inaugurated the project, "Do good for the land" by organizing a ceremony of handing out "Red Cross kits bag and a special speech, along with asking youth from more than 23 universities to jointly announce their wills to do good for the land to inherit His Majesty King Bhumibhol's ideas. Photo: TRCS Click here to read more 

Unconditional cash grant and livelihood recovery in Viet Nam

KOICA and Korean Red Cross visit Viet Nam Red Cross Society

Between 19 and 21 April 2017, representatives from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the Korean Red Cross visited the Viet Nam Red Cross Society and Ben Tre province, where the Viet Nam Red Cross Society is implementing the KOICA-funded project “Building Community Resilience for Climate Change and Disaster Reduction in Vietnam” from 2015 to December 2017. With a budget of US dollars 1 million, the project is implemented in 10 provinces, providing trainings and services in the areas of disaster preparedness and response, road safety and first aid, epidemic control and water and sanitation to some 205,900 beneficiaries. The selected provinces are among those most susceptible to climate change and natural disasters in the Northwestern mountainous provinces and Mekong Delta region. Click here to read more

 The 'silent crisis' of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

(CNN)They say they ran from murder and persecution. They've ended up in mud huts on the Bay of Bengal. And with the torrential rains of the monsoon season approaching, along with the threat of cyclones and floods, the fate of tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees living in overcrowded camps in Bangladesh looks as precarious as their makeshift shelters. The UN estimates that 74,000 Rohingyas have crossed the border into Bangladesh since Myanmar began a military crackdown in northern Rakhine State following attacks on border guardson October 9 last year. Many of those fleeing have made >allegations of murder and rape by Myanmar's security forces inside Rakhine State. Click here to read more

World Disasters Report

The World Disasters Report is an annual independent publication commissioned by the IFRC, contributing evidence-based research on the challenges, trends and innovations in disaster risk reduction and crisis management. The report is an important body of research, which builds on discussions at the 2015 UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, and the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals. It makes a direct contribution to next year’s World Humanitarian Summit where the localization of aid is one of the key thematic areas of focus.