Quarterly Report: July-September 2015

The project is supported by USAID and focuses on developing a comprehensive approach to psychosocial support in disaster response. The project's Phase II, which began in 2016, has made significant progress in implementing its activities. One of the key achievements of the quarter was the completion of a baseline study evaluating the levels of psychosocial disaster risk reduction (DRR) awareness in the four communities targeted in both Phase I and Phase II of the Reducing Risks initiative. The study, conducted by a team of researchers, measured data among households in the community as well as among participating volunteers. The results highlighted significant gaps in awareness among the villagers surveyed, reinforcing the need for the updated curriculum training in the four villages. The project also made significant progress in training volunteers for the Immersion Course. Following the curriculum refinement workshop in March 2016, efforts continued to complete the production of revised materials, including a revised syllabus, pocket book with reading materials, training manual, and assorted Immersion course materials. The revised curriculum was implemented in two sessions, each lasting 40 hours, and covered topics such as disaster preparedness, psychological first aid, and self-care. A total of 139 volunteers participated in the training, with 105 graduating from the course. The Crisis Center, a key partner in the project, has continued to play a critical role in shaping the trainings for policy makers organized by the Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA). The Crisis Center has worked closely with MoSA to develop guidelines and a curriculum for training in Psychosocial Support in Disasters for the six MoSA Centers for Education and Social Welfare Training located in different regions around the country. The training will have two levels: basic and advanced, with the advanced training divided into two tracks. The project has also made significant progress in influencing policy makers and positioning the Crisis Center as a national resource for psychosocial training in DRR. The Crisis Center has worked closely with MoSA to train 83 policy makers from 34 provinces around the country on guidelines for providing psychosocial support in disasters. The training targeted representatives from each of 34 provinces, as well as 17 participants from nongovernmental organizations/institutions consistently engaging in disaster response or assisting TAGANA (Sahabat TAGANA). In addition, the project has made progress in determining locations for new villages to be included in the program expansion. An assessment will be completed in Sinabung to determine if it meets the criteria for the program expansion. Efforts are currently underway to develop the framework for the baseline study for the new locations. Overall, the Reducing Risks project has made significant progress in implementing its activities and achieving its objectives. The project's focus on developing a comprehensive approach to psychosocial support in disaster response has the potential to make a significant impact in enhancing the capacity of responders in disaster-prone areas.