As part of of the CCCM ToT(Training of Trainers) that took place in Amman, each attendee worked on an action plan, to put into practice their skills and knowledge gained during the ToT. The following report is from Yasmine Colijn, who, as part of her action plan, recently conducted a CCCM training in the Bahamas:
Hurricane Dorian hit the northern Bahamas on 1 September as a Category 5 storm, mainly affecting Grand Bahama and Abaco islands. Residents were exposed to winds exceeding 270 km/h and 5-7 meter storm surges. The hardest hit islands were Abaco and Grand Bahama in the North-Western section of the country.
Dorian is not only the strongest hurricane to have hit the country on record but was also traveling at slower than average speeds (between 1.5-8km/h), which meant the population was exposed to prolonged strong winds, heavy rains, and large storm surges. Over 76,000 people were affected and an estimated 15,000 people were displaced. Hurricane Dorian damaged or destroyed at least 13,000 homes.
An emergency shelters sub-working group (under Emergency Support Function 6) was established to address CCCM technical issues and support government and humanitarian partners to assist and protect displaced populations residing in emergency shelters, sites and settlements, while looking towards durable solutions.
This week, upon invitation from the Government of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, through the Ministry of Social Services, IOM provided a 3-day training in the core concepts of Camp Coordination & Camp Management (CCCM) to 33 participants from the government branches of the Ministry of Social Services, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and the Royal Bahamas Defense Force. The interactive and lively training build upon the strong partnership and provided a platform for mutual exchange noting that displacement and hosting of evacuees for an extended period of time, is something that may be an abnormal situation for the Bahamas but is unfortunately not new to many countries around the world. Drawing upon technical advice and lessons learned from other emergencies globally that have resulted in longer term displacement – in the framework of CCCM – participants already familiar with shelter management, extended their knowledge into CCCM training topics including Humanitarian Principles, the Global Humanitarian Coordination System, Minimum Standards in Emergencies, Site Closure and Durable Solutions, Mainstreaming of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Prevention (with a presentation by UNFPA), Mitigation and Referral in CCCM, and the importance of Community Participation from the evacuee/displaced population.
The training aimed to benefit the Government of the Commonwealth Bahamas (GoB) in their ongoing Hurricane Dorian response, as well as contributed to raising up the concerns of the displaced persons and providing a benchmark for preparedness in the event of future displacements.
All agencies doing CCCM trainings are encouraged to enter their training details on the CCCM Training Registry. The Bahamas training above is the latest entry to the registry which now covers 74 CCCM trainings across 16 countries for 2018 and 2019.
