It is the capacity of the people, communities, organizations, or countries exposed to disasters, crises, and vulnerabilities to anticipate, reduce their impacts, face the effects, and then adapt and recover from disasters. The Community Resilience Program is an important element of the Directorate of Disaster Risk Management of Guatemalan Red Cross which allows the community organization, contributes in the strengthening of scholars, communities, municipalities, and departments capacities, through the tools, processes, and good practices for sustainable community development.
Aims:
- To increase the sensitization of communities in rural and urban contexts to reduce risks and protect livelihoods.
- To promote community participation, organization, and planning in training about actions and recovery in disasters, emergencies and crises.
- Implement risk mitigation measures in vulnerable communities.
Topics
Increased motivation in community participation in different actions, which are contemplated in disaster risk reduction, is encouraged. The shared vision of a community at risk and where they increase awareness, about risks, risk reduction and how to overcome them, focused on children, adults, and vulnerable groups.
It allows communities to know and increase their knowledge about the risks to which they are exposed, external actors linked to the community, their capacities and risk transformation actions.
The formation of organizations for disaster reduction (school, community, municipal and departmental) is encouraged; capacities and knowledge are strengthened through training and planning workshops for the response to emergencies, disasters and crises.
Investment in the protection of critical infrastructure at the community level is promoted, allowing risk reduction and saving lives.
Community measures that contribute to promptly and effectively alert the population to the occurrence of an event that potentially causes disasters are promoted.
Strategies are prioritized to promote community development as a synonym for risk management, with risk analysis at the community level.
This is a component to build resilience in families and communities. Vulnerable communities and people in the identification and protection of their livelihoods are supported, allowing them to have more life options and develop their capacities.
Through partnerships with community leaders, their communities; schools, municipal and departmental representatives, as well as with related institutions, actions are implemented to strengthen capacities in the most vulnerable communities.