Building a Safer Tomorrow: EFICOR celebrates its 38th Anniversary

New Delhi – Evangelical Fellowship of India Commission on Relief (EFICOR) celebrated its 38th Anniversary on April 30, by organizing a seminar on “Disaster Preparedness: Building a safer Tomorrow” at Silver Oak, Habitat World, India Habitat Center, New Delhi.

The chief guest of the occasion was Mr. Oscar Fernandez, Minister of State for Statistics and Program Implementation.

Mr. Cecilio Adorna, India–Country Representative, UNICEF, delivered the theme address.

Some of the distinguished guests present, amongst others were Bishop (retd.) Karam Masih of Delhi, Rev. C B Samuel, former managing director of EFICOR and B B Chauhan, secretary, Free Church, New Delhi.

“EFICOR has done a commendable job in reaching out to the poor and needy in times of distress,” said Mr. Fernandez. “India is a country vulnerable to natural disasters like flood, drought, earthquake, fire and now, the tsunami. EFICOR has taken a leading role in minimizing and mitigating the disasters.”

“It is time to wake up and go a step forward to avert disasters,” he said.

Giving the example of Japan which was hit by an earthquake of similar intensity as the one which triggered the Tsunami waves, at about the same time, Mr. Fernandez said only 400 people were injured. “Advance planning may involve some cost, but not as much as compared to the costs of damages later”, he said.

Recalling the super–cyclone in Orissa and the Gujarat earthquake, Mr. Cecilio Adorna said that bringing the situation back to normalcy and decreasing the vulnerability is the first and foremost task that should be carried out by any relief team.

“Effective disaster preparedness would help India to respond with greater efficiency to disasters in the future. Strategies must be planned, issues of sanitation must be addressed,” he said. “Actions must be taken to see that natural resources are available to those in need, thereby minimizing the loss of lives.”

“Preparedness and prevention is our foremost concern, accentuated by early warning systems,” he said, citing the examples of Cuba, Japan and South Korea that have excelled in terms of disaster preparedness. “However, when disaster does strike, response, rehabilitation and recovery come into play.”

While complimenting the Indian government’s effort in Tsunami relief and rehabilitation, Mr. Adorna stressed the need for strengthening disaster preparedness for the future.

“India is especially vulnerable to disasters as 85 percent of its land is prone to multiple hazards like floods, droughts, earthquakes, cyclones and landslides. It is imperative that all humanitarian assistance partners collaborate and concentrate their efforts on strengthening disaster preparedness,” he said.

He further pointed out that in India, a Community Based Disaster Preparedness Program has been set up for the flood prone areas in West Bengal by the Inter Agency Group. UNICEF is actively supporting this group, which is now extending its work to Assam where the local administration will also be involved. He said such projects will ensure that loss of life and livelihood as a result of disasters in these areas will be minimized in the future.

According to Mr. Adorna, women, children and the poor are the most vulnerable in any disaster prone area and any disaster preparedness should address the need to mitigate the impact of disasters on them, he added.

“UNICEF is strongly committed to strengthening its global response to disaster preparedness especially for children and has requested India to be part of a standby agreement for provision of safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene as a rapid response to emergencies,” he concluded. “As part of the agreement India will provide relief supplies and professional assistance in time of emergencies for other countries.”

Rev. Dino L. Touthang, general director, EFICOR, in his presentation on EFICOR’s work in disaster response, advocated community participation in disaster preparedness programs, said that the present approach of disaster management in the country was a "Top Down" approach, which needed to be reversed for adequate disaster preparedness in the future.

Referring to the theme of the day " Disaster Preparedness: building a Safer Tomorrow" Rev. Touthang said that India is a nation where over 65 per cent live below the poverty line and over 25 states are prone to natural disasters. “In such a situation it is important to build up the capacity of local district, block and panchayat institutions, and urban bodies to prepare a disaster resistant, resilient community equipped with safer living and sustainable livelihoods and to be able to respond to disasters quickly in the future,” he said.

“India is a nation where over 65 per cent live below the poverty line, over 25 states are prone to natural disasters and over 650,000 people are being displaced each year due to conflict,” he continued. “In times such as this, in collaboration with local authorities, we wish to set up state disaster management authorities under the chairmanship of Chief Secretaries and ensure active community participation and capacity building of local bodies.”

“Trauma car, environment protection and construction of permanent homes are our long term goals,” he said.

Mr. Sanjay Patra, chairman, EFICOR, delivered the welcome address and Mrs. Anuvinda Titus, member, EFICOR Board, offered the vote of thanks.