THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kudumbashree will join hands with Unicef, Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA), local self-governments and government departments to set an innovative model for ensuring transparency and people’s participation in disaster response and recovery.
As part of the mission, volunteers will collect feedback and views of flood-affected people. The programme named “Janakeeya Pankalithavum, Punarnirmanavum” (JPP) is designed in the model of a global approach of Accountability of Affected Population (AAP).
Using a mobile app, Kudumbashree volunteers will conduct the second round of survey in selected municipalities and grama panchayats out of the 489 villages in the seven worst-affected districts—Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, Idukki, Thrissur and Wayanad.
Kudumbashree women will meet the flood-affected people and record their needs, perceptions and views on assistance provided under various government schemes.
It will also undertake a study on the status of the complaints registered under these schemes and the most important needs of the people at present.
Feedback of people on whether the affected children have recovered from the trauma of floods, whether people have been consulted on government schemes and recovery efforts and if their livelihoods have been recovered to pre-flood period, would be recorded.
There are also questions in the feedback survey to assist the disaster preparedness of people and government agencies and knowledge of people on mitigation measures to prevent disaster and hazards at home and in their areas.
The feedback will be used by Rebuild Kerala Initiative and other government departments for designing, monitoring and implementing programmes for flood-affected people.
It is to be noted that organisations and government agencies providing humanitarian assistance are bound to follow the principles of participation, transparency, information sharing and feedback under the global approach of AAP.
Job Zachariah, United Nations coordinator for Kerala, said, “The scale of Kerala exercise is largely covering people in 489 local government bodies and the state is setting a model of transparency and people’s participation in disaster response, which other states and countries could emulate”.