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Resilience Through Community Participation – a look at the “Enhanced Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment” (EVCA) Training of Trainers

Resilience Through Community Participation – a look at the “Enhanced Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment” (EVCA) Training of Trainers

From 8th to 13th June 2024 the Maldivian Red Crescent held a 6- day workshop for “Enhanced Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (EVCA) Training of Trainers (ToT)”. Thirty participants took part in the workshop from all over the country, including volunteers from Maldivian Red Crescent’s Addu City Office, Kulhudhufushi City Office, Male’ City Office, Fuvamulak Unit, Velidhoo Unit, Gadhdhoo Unit as well as staff from National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). This ToT is a part of the ongoing Enhancing Resilience Planning and Strengthening Community Preparedness (ERCP) project, supported by USAID Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance.

MRC continues its valuable partnership with NDMA in carrying out the EVCA in 10 targeted islands over the course of the project.  The main outcomes of the project are to enhance and strengthen risk-based resilience planning at island and city levels, strengthening locally led preparedness and mitigation actions through systematic capacity building of existing resources, as well as tools in island communities in the Maldives. The sessions were conducted by International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Society’s (IFRC) Regional DRR Coordinator, Arnauld Raulin, with the support of IFRC, NDMA, Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC), United States Agency for Development Aid’s Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (USAID BHA).  

Throughout the training, participants gathered the knowledge, skills, and resources needed to effectively facilitate participatory community risk assessments using EVCA under the Roadmap to Community Resilience used by IFRC in many different communities worldwide.  From learning about the 11 dimensions within the Resilience Star under the Roadmap to Community Resilience, the 11 resilience dimensions - disaster risk management, health, water and sanitation, shelter, food and nutrition security, social cohesion, inclusion, economic opportunities, infrastructure and services, natural resource management and connectedness; participants contextualized the elements of resilience within the Maldivian Island Setting. Each island in the archipelago is unique, and it was understood that the EVCA process would be in line with community needs, willingness and participation. The Maldivian Red Crescent as a National Society, therefore, will engage, connect and enable the community to a more resilient future according to their own urgent needs.

The EVCA integrated into IFRC’s Roadmap to Resilience, is a participatory process convening different stakeholders within the community through the assessment and analysis of the risks they face, to become more resilient in the long run. It aids in bringing  

forth a sustainable, inclusive and long-term action plan in combatting the hazards and mitigating the risks in our different island communities. As aforementioned, the EVCA determines 11 dimensions of resilience; integrating climate change, gender, health, livelihoods and diversity considerations. Guided by IFRC’s Strategy 2030, it helps vulnerable communities anticipate, respond to, and recover from crises leading to safe, healthy, and thriving communities. 

We hope to conduct the EVCA within the islands utilizing our batch of trainers soon. Maldivian Red Crescent continues its motto of “Building Resilience Through the Power of Humanity” facilitating important trainings and partnerships within the community in its 15th year.