Humanitarian organizations were engaged in emergency response for many decades and being effective and relevant is the need in the ever-changing scenario. Support in terms of need assessment, beneficiary selection, relief distribution, institutional strengthening, the capacity building requires constant progression for any humanitarian assistance.

Caritas India, as a humanitarian agency has touched over a million lives through a range of emergency response and DRR initiatives. It acknowledges that disaster-affected people are entitled to receive the humanitarian assistance of internationally recognized quality and standards and believes that all possible steps should be taken by all stakeholders involved, to prevent and alleviate human suffering.

While working with various stakeholders Caritas felt that there is a need for capacity building of the staff who are working at the ground level.

Along with the capacity building of partners’ staff, it also aimed to build organization level understanding about humanitarian response focusing on WASH.

A 4-day training was facilitated by RedR India to train Caritas India partners’ staff on “Managing Humanitarian Aid with Focus on WaSH” in Delhi from May 28-31, 2018. 21 Participants from East, North and South zone learned the principles of humanitarian practice and the nature of work in emergency response with a specific focus on WASH.

Sessions on Humanitarian Law and Principles, Code of Conduct and Humanitarian Standards, Disaster Management Cycle, Introduction to SPHERE Standards familiarised the participants on the norms and protocols associated with Humanitarian Aid.

Special focus was given on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH) by introducing WASH and its components, Water Supply in Emergencies, Excreta Disposal in Emergencies, Hygiene Improvement Framework, Hygiene Promotion in Emergencies, WASH Related Non-Food Items in Emergency Response and conducting scenario exercise on WASH Program Design.

Participants were introduced to the basics of water supply in emergencies. The fundamentals of water supply, the modalities of emergency water supply, the phases of response etc. They learned about identification and development of water sources, water extraction from sources, water treatment, water distribution and water quality monitoring in emergencies.

The overall shift from an engineering-centric response to a hygiene-led response was shared with the participants at the outset of Hygiene Improvement Framework session.

Participants appreciated the need for hygiene promoters to have a significant say in the design of the entire WASH response. The 3 pillars of the HIF were introduced to the participants and through a group activity, they were familiarised further with what each of these 3 pillars entailed.

All the participants appreciated the effectiveness of the course sessions and making an excellent balance between lecture, discussion, and exercise during the whole training.

Caritas India planned to create an effective disaster response system by empowering its partner staff in the most vulnerable situation to be the first responders after a humanitarian crisis. The training and expertise delivered by Caritas India and RedR India will not only improve humanitarian responses but also help in building a more secure and resilient community.