In appreciation of first responders

Nepal ranks among the top countries prone to natural disasters. As it sits right above the tectonic plates, occurrence of frequent earthquakes is not unusual. In times of disasters, the main priority is to conduct search and rescue operations to save lives and to provide relief. Those who reach the scenes to rescue people and provide first aid are the first responders. Who should they be? Security forces, community people, humanitarian organizations, volunteers?

There is always a debate about whether or not to reduce the size of the Nepal Army, who usually are amongst the first responders. While some argue that Nepal does not face active war so the size could be reduced for economic reasons, others say they are needed so that they can be deployed in times of emergencies. Friday night's earthquake sent a fresh alert that Nepal has reasons to strengthen its disaster risk reduction efforts.

Humanitarian organizations, most commonly known as I/NGOs, are often seen as dollar-making agencies but in times of crises, they are among the first ones to provide temporary shelter arrangements, items required to manage daily life and food items. They are able to do so as they keep stock of these items to be used in times of disaster. Yet, the perception of them is limited to the understanding of organizations that provide 'software' programs such as awareness on hand-washing, which in itself is a huge need nevertheless, and some people realized the importance during Covid-19.

When the 2015 earthquake hit Nepal, people finally realized that certain organizations that had been raising awareness on what to do in an event of earthquake were not irrelevant and that they were crucial in times of disasters. In one of my field trips to Tatopani of Sindhupalchowk, which was among the worst affected districts by the mega earthquake, I met an elderly single woman whose house was on a steep hill top, far from other houses. She told me that she received relief first distributed by humanitarian organizations. It was a hard-to-reach hill and the woman's house was the sole house on the top. For me, it was an actual example of a catch line used by development organizations—leaving no one behind!

I also recall the safe bathing spaces built specially for women to avoid being harassed or shamed. There were special packages for women too, called the dignity kits consisting of pads and other items required for menstruating women. One can imagine an aftermath of the disaster where people are living in a temporary shelter having such items can provide relief. I also saw how inflatable water storages provided easy access to water in hilly areas.

However, these organizations are expected by the government to mostly provide hardware support such as building  roads and other structures. Raising awareness, sensitizing people, or empowering people do not seem to be convincing to them. People who lose family members and houses might as well lose means of income. Those people need support to help them reach their pre-disaster economic levels. Thus knowledge on financial literacy, challenging gender norms and stereotypes, raising voice for oneself, diversification of livelihoods are vital.

I firmly believe that in a country like Nepal that still faces multiple challenges and vulnerabilities related to natural disasters, climate change, poverty, gender-based violence, superstitions, and inequalities, the presence of humanitarian and development agencies should be appreciated. Additionally, these organizations provide jobs to Nepali and pay tax to the government and contribute to the economy.