Throughout the semester we have talked about disaster management. Most of the forms of help come from government agencies. FEMA being the most common and most well-known organization to help during disasters such as hurricanes, tornados, and earthquakes. But outside of the government, there are non-governmental organizations that also assist in disaster management. And sometimes the outside agencies or organizations do more and better than the government agencies. Possibly the best-known non-government organization that helps with disaster management is the Red Cross. The Red Cross seems to always show up in the time of need. They bring supplies such as water, temporary shelter, food, and also help hospitals with blood needed for different emergencies. I grew up on the coast of North Carolina and am no stranger to hurricanes. Every time there is even the mention of a hurricane the Red Cross is there and set up ready to help and support neighborhoods impacted by these hurricanes.
Another type of help is through the works of faith-based organizations. These organizations are founded and rooted in the religion of Christianity. They work closely with federal and local governments in the times of disasters. FEMA has incorporated a seven step process to engage these faith-based organizations into disaster management. The seven steps are engagement, assessment, self-guided and group training, technical assistance, participation in scenarios/exercises, affiliation, and integration. In 2006 The Department of Homeland Security Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives was created. This department was created to help coordinate government disaster management and faith-based organizations. Through the seven-step process, emergency managers can identify and engage with faith-based and community groups in underserved communities and assess their capacity to participate in emergency preparedness activities. Based on that assessment, emergency managers can build partnerships with these groups, provide training and technical assistance to
strengthen their skills, connect them with existing partners, and then integrate them into emergency management plans and
exercises (FEMA, 2018). Through using this engagement approach emergency managers can see where they can strengthen existing engagement strategies, tap into more community resources, and incorporate these resources into their current models of emergency management.
One occurrence of faith-based organizations working with emergency managers was in West Virginia in June of 2016. In June of 2016 Greenbrier County, West Virginia was devastated by a flood. This small county received massive amounts rain in a short period of time and the results were 125 business and 1,500 homes destroyed and another 4,000 homes damaged. Within a day the national guard arrived, then the Red Cross, and the nonprofit group Neighbors Helping Neighbors, and then three faith-based organizations The Samaritans Purse, The Mennonite Disaster Service, and the Appalachian Service Project (Shinn & Caretta, 2020). Some of these groups had staff that stayed in the area for months and years to help coordinate relief efforts with outside groups.
I think faith-based groups can play big role in emergency management. Like it was said before, they can offer resources that have not been tapped yet. Many local churches open themselves as emergency shelters, many offer food pantries, clothes ministries, local church members can organize with other community members to help with rebuilding. There’s a lot that can be offered if coordinated correctly with emergency management.
One faith-based organization that does a lot and plays a major role in disaster management is The Samaritans Purse. They are a worldwide non-denominational Christian organization. They offer food, clean water, shelter, and medicine. They also have a field hospital on board a DC-8 aircraft with doctors and nurses. They have provided medical care after earthquakes, hurricanes, armed conflict, and even during the Covid-19 pandemic (Samaritans Purse). They also help rebuild homes in the wake of disasters. This organization gives everything they can to whoever they can and they do it in the name of Jesus.
SHINN, J. E., & CARETTA, M. A. (2020). “If it Wasn’t for the Faith-Based Groups, We Wouldn’t Be Where We Are Today”: Flooding Response and Recovery in Greenbrier County, WV. Southeastern Geographer, 60(3), 235–253. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26977427Links to an external site.
Engaging Faith-based and Community Organizations Planning Considerations for Emergency Managers June, 2018 Engaging Faith-based and Community Organizations: Planning Considerations for Emergency Managers (fema.gov)Links to an external site.
https://www.samaritanspurse.org/our-ministry/christian-charity/Links to an external site. 2023
Reply 2. Kate
The role of non-governmental organizations within disaster management can vary immensely as they may play a different role based on the form of the disaster. In an article written by Jonatan Lassa he states the following:
The collaborative disaster risk governance framework promises better collaboration between governments, the private sector, civil society, academia, and communities at risks. In the context of modern disaster risk reduction systems, the key triadic institutions, namely government (state), the private sector (business/market), and NGOs (civil society), have been gradually transforming their ecosystem to utilize more proactive disaster response strategies, equipped with professional staff and technical experts and armed with social and humanitarian imperatives to reduce the risks of disasters. (para. 1)
When it comes to disasters there is a dire need for any and every bit of help possible. Non-governmental organizations may not have the same capabilities as governmental ones and vice versa. Specifically looking at natural disasters there is never telling of how great the need may be as they are unpredictable. For many non-governmental organizations their mission is solely based on helping those who desperately need it. For example, the mission statement of Doctors without Borders gives a good insight into what an organization like this stands for:
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) offers medical humanitarian assistance to people based solely on need, irrespective of race, religion, gender, or political affiliation. Our teams of doctors, nurses, logisticians, and other frontline workers are often among the first on the scene when peoples’ lives are upended by conflict, disease outbreaks, or natural or human-made disasters. The decision to respond is based solely on our independent assessment of medical needs. We work to ensure that our teams can reach people in need without restriction and provide aid directly (DOB, n.d.)
In everything they do they play a supportive role as they do not have the same restriction as say a government agency does. This can be beneficial as they can lend more support without the backing of the government or under the same requirements. Now faith-based organizations can be slightly different. Many churches have mission work which involves individuals going to other countries to do work there which they view as helping the community they are in, but in other cases there are organizations which have the capacity to bring forward a different view of helping. My local church has a big group of member and attendees. When the recent storms hit Florida worked with a few disaster relief organizations which were faith based and supported by churches to help those in need. One of the most well-known faith-based organization is Habitat for Humanity, whose mission is as such:
On the farm, Jordan and Habitat’s eventual founders Millard and Linda Fuller developed the concept of “partnership housing.” The concept centered on those in need of adequate shelter working side by side with volunteers to build decent, affordable houses. The houses would be built at no profit. New homeowners’ house payments would be combined with no-interest loans provided by supporters and money earned by fundraising to create “The Fund for Humanity,” which would then be used to build more homes (para. 2).
This organization is amongst the most well-known as it works tirelessly to build up a community which has fallen due to circumstances that were not in their control. Faith based organizations can be viewed with a negative perspective due to the lack of trust in religion in today’s day and age. It becomes difficult to look at how they can impact the community if they are only looking to impact a community which is according to their beliefs. Majority of these organizations which are religious based are not even known for their religious beliefs as they are working towards helping anyone and everyone in needs. There are some organizations that do the complete opposite and target those who do not agree with their beliefs, which in turn gives a bad name towards the faith-based community in general. In disaster management it becomes difficult to deny help when given as there is much to be done and anything can help the situation. In looking at both non-governmental and faith-based organizations they both have one thing in common and that is that they are willing to do whatever they need to do in order for them to help uplift a community.
References:
Habitat’s history. Habitat for Humanity. (n.d.). https://www.habitat.org/about/history
Lassa, J. A. (2018, June 25). Roles of non-government organizations in disaster risk reduction. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Natural Hazard Science. https://oxfordre.com/naturalhazardscience/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780199389407.001.0001/acrefore-9780199389407-e-45;jsessionid=A5171B754CE7E890370B8991A862362D
Who we are. Doctors Without Borders – USA. (n.d.). https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/who-we-are