Page 14 - Reliance Foundation - The Change Maker - Issue 45

14 The ChangeMaker

Empowering first responders to support

communities in times of crises

eliance Foundation organised a practical implementation for 36 people disaster response efforts.
Rtraining workshop during March who participated in the training. “I found the training extremely useful
11-14, 2024, to enhance disaster The Sphere standards were established and takeaways from it highly shareable,
management skills and knowledge of in 1997 by a coalition of humanitarian touching up on multiple aspects of disaster
employees from both Reliance Retail organizations and the International Red response, from shelter to food and
and Jio who have been part of the Cross and Red Crescent Movement. communication. The training will certainly
organisation’s response to natural Detailed in the Sphere Handbook, strengthen the organisation’s disaster
disasters. The workshop aimed to these standards are a globally accepted response, and the workshop participants
equip participants to contribute more minimum benchmarks for humanitarian at an individual level are now better
effectively in disaster response efforts response in various scenarios, including poised to make their own communities
and raise the resilience of communities. natural disasters, conflicts, and both respond better,” Easkki Pandi, Territory
Delivered by RedR India, an organisation slow and rapid-onset events. Head HSEF – Mumbai, Reliance Retail, who
that conducts skill trainings in The training programme enabled participated in the workshop.
humanitarian aid, the workshop provided participants to analyse multiple facets Reliance Foundation has stood with
an overview of disaster management of a disaster response effort through disaster-affected communities across
and explored the core humanitarian knowledge sessions, discussions and India since 2013 and aims to make
standards, the humanitarian charter, simulated exercises, which in turn vulnerable communities resilient.
and the minimum response standards helped in analysing responses and The Foundation has responded to 54
applicable in India. This was followed by identifying potential interventions disasters so far, with its efforts reaching
exposure to Sphere standards and their that can strengthen the organisation’s more than 2.1 crore people.