Rural women acquire new knowledge and skills on disaster risk reduction

UN Women continues to raise awareness among rural women regarding disaster risks and climate change, sharing relevant knowledge and practical skills with them.

This very goal is at the heart of the two-day training series “Strengthening Community Capacity for Gender-Sensitive Disaster Risk Reduction”, which in coordination with the Women’s National League began last year and continued this year. In June and July, three meetings held in Imereti, Guria and Racha-Lechkhumi were attended by 66 local women. Participants received up-to-date information on the gender dimensions of disaster risks and climate change, acquiring practical skills that will help them better identify local natural hazards in the future and engage in prevention, preparedness and response measures. Following the training, all participants were provided with an evacuation bag equipped with essential basic items.

The two-day trainings combined interactive sessions and practical exercises. Together with trainers, the attendees worked on assessing local hazards, planning evacuations, following early warning systems, and practicing methods of providing first aid, medical response and psychosocial support. Among them was 54-year-old Inga Metreveli, a resident of Oni who heads the non-governmental organization Racha Antiquities Study and Protection Fund and also works on climate change issues.

“It was important that this training was held in Oni,” noted Inga. “Racha is very vulnerable to disasters: this is a seismically active area, and landslides, mudflows, floods and flash floods are frequent. Sometimes villages remain cut off from the outside world, so it is good that many people [here] were given the opportunity to receive this up-to-date information. We already know that, individually, we need to start preparing from today, and the more of us who are prepared, the more we can reduce the potential damage.”

At the end of the training, along with other participants, Inga discussed the hazards characteristic of Racha and worked on recommendations that are important for better disaster risk management at the local community level.

It is noteworthy that the experience, knowledge and active engagement of women, especially those living in rural areas, are of great importance in strengthening community preparedness. Accordingly, it is critical that they have access to essential information and resources, are more involved in decision-making processes, and contribute to disaster risk reduction and effective response. During the course of the training, special attention is given precisely to women’s participation and leadership, highlighting and strengthening their role.

“Whenever I’m given the opportunity, in the future I will try to increase people’s preparedness for disasters through all of my projects and highlight the importance of women’s participation and their leading role [in disaster preparedness],” Inga noted after completing the training.

Following the trainings, with the support of UN Women, a women’s network is planned to be established in the regions of Georgia, the members of which will be able to identify natural hazards and cope with them using their knowledge and skills.

The training series “ Strengthening Community Capacity for Gender-Sensitive Disaster Risk Reduction” is part of the UN Women project “Gender in Disaster Risk Reduction”, which is implemented with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).