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Footsteps 56

LEARNING FROM DISASTERS

Photo: Jim Loring/Tearfund
Photo: Jim Loring/Tearfund
The world is full of bad news. Sometimes it can seem as if there are more and more disasters around the world. Unfortunately that really is the case as Marcus Oxley points out in our opening article. Disasters can damage communities. However challenges can also bring out the best in people. Preparing to cope with a possible hazard means that a community will have to organise itself. This can bring many benefits in day-to-day life – even if an unexpected hazard never arrives. This issue focuses on how we can learn from the experience of others and gives ideas on how we can help organise our community to be prepared for the unexpected.

Please find below articles from Footsteps issue 56 in html.

To download a pdf version of Footsteps issue 56 click here (715K).


Bible study
Learning from the beginning: Genesis Read Genesis 1:31, 2:15 Disasters and suffering were never part of God’s original plan for us. He created all things and formed a partnership with us. However, this partnership was broken (Genesis 3) and we suf... More >>
Editorial
The world is full of bad news. Sometimes it can seem as if there are more and more disasters around the world. Unfortunately that really is the case as Marcus Oxley points out in our opening article. Disasters can damage communities. However challeng... More >>
Flood-related disasters in South Asia
The deltas of the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers in South Asia flood on a seasonal basis. The flooding keeps the soil fertile because the rivers deposit silt which forms fertile soil each year. Partly because of the flooding, it is one of the most d... More >>
Hope from despair: A case study from IPASC
For several years there has been ethnic conflict in the northeast region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, particularly between the Lendu and Hema communities. During 2002 the region went through many hardships due to ethnic tensions. Many peo... More >>
Landslide in Myagdi
by Alastair Seaman. International Nepal Fellowship (INF) has run a community health and development programme in Myagdi District, Nepal for over ten years. For the last six years the programme has encouraged marginalised people to meet together to ... More >>
Letters
Ideas for action  We collect all the Footsteps issues for our Library and use them in our ministry. We use many ideas from Footsteps in our training, seminars and workshops. As a result of our training: Illegal and unnecessary tree felling is ve... More >>
Project Pani: responding to drought
by Roshan Mendis. Sri Lanka is an island with rich and varied vegetation. In the past, most major disasters have been linked to excessive rainfall. In 1999, however, the monsoon failed. People in the south of the island waited hopefully for the nex... More >>
Promoting public health among displaced people 
by Mwakamubaya Nasekwa. Tearfund has several partners based in Nyankunde, Democratic Republic of Congo. Staff were forced to leave Nyankunde when tensions between the Hema and Lendu communities led to a massacre of around 1,000 people at Nyankunde.... More >>
Resources
On Solid Ground: Strengthening community in times of crisis This is a series of six educational videos designed for everyone interested in improving relief and development practice. The videos are available in both English and Spanish as part of a ... More >>
Responding to disasters
by Marcus Oxley. What do we mean by a disaster? A disaster is any kind of crisis that happens when people are unable to cope with the impact of an event that causes severe damage or destruction. The term hazard is used to describe such an event. Haz... More >>
Risk mapping
Local people already know more than any outsider about their community and the people living there. Many people assume they know everything about their local area, but there is always more to examine and learn. Producing a detailed map of the communi... More >>
Tree surveys
This activity can be used with children to help them learn about their surroundings. They will also learn about the use of surveys, ranking and charts to collect and display information. Farmer groups could find these techniques useful in surveying l... More >>