Title of Event:

Name of Organisation:

Date and time of the session:

Building Back Better: Rebuilding Communities After Disaster and Conflict

Huairou Commission

21st June 2006, 1.30-3.30 pm

Key Highlights

1. Estimated no of participants: n/a
2. Stakeholder group representation at the event: Grassroots leaders from Asia and Latin America, NGOs, donors, academics and other partners
3. What were the expected objectives: To discuss recovery and reconstruction as opportunities for women to rebuild their lives and transform development.
4. What did the networking event achieve: Women’s stories highlighted their multiple public roles in recovery which enabled them to negotiate with local authorities and government.

2. What were the core issues identified in your event as they relate to the theme and sub-themes of WUFIII? n/a

3. What were the main points raised by panellists and participants in relation to these different issues? What new ideas have been generated as a result of the discussion?

A tsunami survivor from Aceh Indonesia talked about the process by which women were  empowered to participate in designing, building and supervising construction of their homes after the tsunami. While at first women were hesitant to participate in public meetings on reconstruction dominated by men, they gradually gained enough confidance to attend and speak at community meetings.

A  community leader from Peru presented how the  women in her community were organized and  provided training to women to make building materials and construct seismic-safe housing.   

A community leader from the marginalized Garifuna community in Honduras presented ways in which her community organized after Hurricane Mitch in  16 Garifuna communities to rebuild houses, collectively cultivate traditional root crops to create food security and negotiated for land to rebuild in flood safe areas. In recognition of their work, Comite de Emergencia Garifuna has been invited to partner with COPECO, the national emergency organization of Honduras.

The Sri Lankan panelist, highlighted the benefits of putting relief resources and decisionmaking in the hands of local women leaders and the importance of supporting women to re-start their livelihoods activities even while they were in relief camps.

A tsunami survivor from India  recounted how women organized to set up solid waste management programmes and appointed health guides to connect women to government officials and health service providers, in the government and private sectors to improve community access to health services.

Former combatant from El Salvador drew attention to the links between  rebuilding after conflict and disaster spoke of the inequitable distribution of land after the conflict had left women with the worst land. While women came together to cultivate their lands and advocate for secure tenure, their struggle continues as they have no support from the government.

The audience was moved and inspired by the stories. Participants highlighted the need to recognize grassroots women as key partners and experts in disaster management. It was noted that grassroots women were not among the embedded experts in the Dialogue on urban safety.  A representative from the World Watch Institute asked how academics and professionals could support such grassroots efforts. A representative from GTZ lauded the efforts of the women in overcoming the social barriers to participation. The Mayor of Trincomalee, Sri Lanka spoke of the local efforts to rebuild the city; a representative of the Worldwatch institute wanted to know how academics can support the efforts of grassroots women. American Jewish World Service spoke of the need to listen to communities and support them to scale up their efforts through peer exchanges. A UN Habitat representative from Indonesia requested that Huairou Commission support women in the recent earthquake affected Jogjakarta to rebuild their communties.

4. What process steps have been identified in your event that could help turn ideas into operational reality?

Safe spaces for women to organize and provide services for their communities were identified as another strategy that were used by women in rebuilding communities after both conflict and disaster.