Shifting our focus: relief to rehabilitation and beyond

Full text: While there is some disagreement within the disaster response community and charitable NGOs in general regarding the specific terminology used relative to disaster phases, there is no doubt whatsoever that there are progressive phases needing to be addressed within the context of recovery from such an event to ensure a successful future. For the purposes of this session, that targets the NGO participants in the conference, these progressive phases will be identified as the 'Three R's: Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction'. It is a fact that in the 20 years that have passed since the Chernobyl disaster, literally thousands of charitable NGO organizations have been created, both in the affected areas and in countries all around the world. These organizations have dedicated considerable time, energy and effort toward providing relief assistance programs for the many victims of this terrible tragedy in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Their work has definitely been welcomed and truly appreciated by the many beneficiaries they serve in these affected areas although perhaps not as widely publicized as would be appropriate within their own environments and countries. These organizations face many new challenges for the future, perhaps the most important of which is the realignment of their 'relief' programs towards 'rehabilitation and reconstruction' initiatives. As many organizations were conceived in an environment where the immediate and basic needs of people in the affected areas were of paramount importance, they may not have the inherent ability to easily make the adjustment from relief types of aid to rehabilitation and reconstruction types of programs. Funding, support and even public interest for these traditional programs is waning over time, and rightly so. The programs although very useful in the immediate aftermath of Chernobyl, are no longer sustainable and have now been overshadowed by other, more recent, world crises. Creative, new, sustainable programs that will take these affected areas into long term are essential to a successful future, both for the charitable organizations and for those they so lovingly serve. This session will present a few select examples of current, successful Chernobyl initiatives that have been able to make the transition from immediate relief efforts to focus on rehabilitation and reconstruction. Attendees to this forum will have an opportunity to ask questions or provide insight about their own specific challenges and through this process learn about the best practices of other participating organizations. At the close of the event, all attendees will be provided with a CD containing a 'road map' and a 'tool kit' to use in adapting their own programs and organizations to better meet the current and future needs of their beneficiaries