Tapiwa Gomo in Kafue, Zambia
Nearly 26,000 people have fled to Zumbika, following heavy fighting in neighbouring Jumboland. Red Cross Societies in Southern Africa, supported by the International Federation’s regional delegation in Harare, have deployed a Regional Disaster Response Team (RDRT) to compliment the efforts of Zumbika Red Cross. A camp has been set up, emergency relief supplies have been delivered and clean water supplies installed. The situation is complicated by a long-running drought, malnutrition and high rates of HIV/AIDS. If the situation were not precarious enough, a huge storm brings flooding and destruction to Zumbika.
It is a daunting scenario, but fortunately only a hypothetical one. For this was the situation with which participants at an RDRT workshop in Kafue, Zambia, were confronted.
“The theme for this year’s training focused on managing complex emergencies which include population movement, disease outbreaks and general road accidents as these are some of the major disasters affecting the region,” said Tamuka Chitemere, the Federation’s senior regional disaster management officer.
The training covered such varied topics as how to conduct assessments and leadership and coordination during emergencies. Chitemere said the main goal was to create a core group of competent people from National Societies who could enhance disaster response in the region.
The participants, who were drawn from eight national societies, went on a ten-day programme, including one week of gruelling theoretical presentations and three days in the field during which Kafue was transformed into a hive of activities.
“The theory part was to test the participants’ endurance and commitment as they had to finish most of their work quite late in the night. This was deliberately designed to demonstrate to them that disaster situations demand a lot of time and effort. There is a lot of stress endurance involved in disaster operations,” said Chitemere.
However, it was not until the simulation exercise that their practical ability to deal with disaster situations was put to test. Two days after setting up the camp, a cloud of dust rose from the south-western end of the camp site along the Kafue River. Large groups of people of all ages trooped down the undulating mountains, seeking refuge from the violence in fictional Jumboland.
In less than an hour, the entire camp was abuzz with activity. Sector leaders deployed their members in their respective places to ensure the smooth flow of the operations. Among the “refugees” were the elderly, sick and unaccompanied children who were immediately attended to. Emergency relief packages were issued to the “refugees”. In about two hours all the “refugees” had settled in tents having their first meal of the day after their “long walk” to the camp.
The sudden influx came as a surprise to some participants. “This is quite an experience, because we were able to apply the knowledge we acquired. I thought it was going to be a small demonstration,” said one.
Lending authenticity to the simulation were the local people who arrived in the camp and who played the part of refugees like professional actors. “It took us a whole day to prepare the communities to act as refugees, which they did successfully,” said Gift Chatora, the Federation regional disaster preparedness officer. “Some of the participants were shocked to see such a scenario. But that is exactly what we wanted them to experience. We are happy that most of them were able apply the knowledge they acquired during theory sessions.”
Rachell Hoogbaard, a volunteer from South Africa, who acted as camp manager, encouraged participants to utilise this experience when they returned home.
“For some of us, we only read about these situations in the press. We have never been exposed to the real situation as we have done today. We have learnt what it feels like to be involved and I hope this training will enable the participants to help reduce suffering in refugee camps in their countries,” she said.
This was the fifth RDRT workshop to be held in the region but the first to focus on complex emergencies. “Although we covered a lot of ground in previous workshops, we realised that there were still some gaps, especially on managing complex emergencies and refugee situations. Based on the disaster scenario in Zambia, we decided to focus on population movements as the country is host to over 200,000 refugees, which is the largest number in the region,” said Chitemere, who praised the International Committee of the Red Cross for passing on its expertise in dealing with complex emergencies.
She stressed that trained RDRT members are an invaluable resource in their own national societies. Several have responded to emergencies in their countries and some have been deployed for disaster assessments or relief operations elsewhere in the region, such as during the recent floods in the Caprivi region of Namibia.
“The RDRT concept has enabled the region to develop a tremendous human resource capacity within Southern Africa, whose ability and skills have been tested in various disaster situations,” Chitemere pointed out.
Among the facilitators were experts from UN refugee agency, UNHCR, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the Commissioner of Refuges in Zambia. Chitemere also thanked the government of Zambia, Zambia Red Cross Society, local authorities, the Global Fund, British Red Cross, Norwegian Red Cross and ICRC for making the workshop a success.