NGOs quick to respond, but grapple with challenges
SINGAPORE — Within 48 hours of the first major earthquake hitting Nepal on April 25, an advance team from Mercy Relief arrived in the country and began identifying which areas were the hardest hit, and scouting for relief supplies to distribute as aid.
Within the week, the Singaporean humanitarian non-governmental organisation (NGOs) secured supplies from areas beyond Kathmandu Valley and from neighbouring India. And days after the quake hit, Mercy Relief, as well as the Singapore Red Cross (SRC) appealed for urgent donations from members of the public. Like Mercy Relief, SRC also despatched a small team to assess the situation, before it sent a medical team to set up a clinic in the Nuwakot region.
It is a lot to do within a short span of time, but one that NGOs must be prepared to do if they want to respond to disasters in a timely manner. “We are on standby 24/7… We have to get there during the critical phase,” said Ms Saleha Ali, 29, Mercy Relief’s international programme manager, adding that the organisation will always try to respond to an appeal for aid within 72 hours.
But even though NGOs can marshal resources more quickly than individuals, there are challenges. For example, the type of relief aid and teams that can be put together must be considered. Compared with international teams, SRC secretary-general Benjamin William said the Singapore organisation is considered “fairly small” and has to focus on areas that their team has expertise in.
Ms Saleha noted that Mercy Relief had to constantly assess the needs on the ground and address them in a timely manner, but getting information quickly was challenging. “A lot people don’t realise that the people who are working together with you on the ground are also people who are affected by the earthquake.”
Dr Tan Hun Hoe, SRC medical adviser and consultant urologist, who was part of the Nepal team, said the team was at times “professionally handicapped”. Not being able to speak the language meant it was difficult to understand their conditions, he noted.
Likewise, not having the support facilities close at hand — such as a team of specialists and equipment — meant that some conditions could not be fully treated, said Dr Tan.
Operation Hope Foundation, a charity, is planning to keep their Nepal team small to ensure most of the money goes into relief efforts. Through their rebuilding project Raise The Roof, the charity hopes to raise funds to build longer-term housing solutions in Nepal, such as earthbag and mud-brick houses.
Its project executive Evangeline Lin, 27, said one misconception people have of relief missions is that volunteers are able to make significant changes to the lives of the locals with a short trip. Projects must also be in line with what locals need, or else it will not be meaningful or sustainable, she said.
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