The significant role of volunteers - Yejin

"Further strengthen volunteerism in disaster risk reduction through a strong management system to enroll, train, mobilise and deploy volunteers in an effective and timely manner." - Yejin, UN Volunteers, UNDP, Delhi, India

In the aftermath of 2004 India Ocean Tsunami, thousands of volunteers in India (National Service Scheme, Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan and UN Volunteers) were engaged in the relief and rescue work in the affected areas of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Kerala and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Despite volunteers’ commitment and willingness to support victims, they did not have adequate understanding of the situation. Without much knowledge and skills in disaster management, allocating responsibilities and monitoring their work was a huge challenge. In addition, they struggled to overcome cultural and language barriers, not being familiar with affected region.

It is importance for WCDRR to acknowledge the significant role volunteers play during emergencies when trained adequately. From previous experiences, it is evident that we need trained volunteers at community level as they will be the first respondent during any kind of disasters. At the same time, we need to set up strong volunteer management system to enroll, train, mobilise and deploy volunteers in effective and timely manner. Thus, volunteerism should be further strengthened in disaster risk reduction.