Joint Programme Evaluation final evaluation report august 2016 DanChurchAid (dca) Jhamsikhel, Lalitpur Nepal Dr. Prakash Bhattarai and Dr. Dhruba Gautam

2.2.4 Humanitarian Response

The evaluation team has identified five major areas of interventions which justify the effectiveness of DCA’s humanitarian response programme. Key areas of contribution of this programme include; a) immediate lifesaving assistance to the survivors of disasters, b) improving the lives of communities in distress, c) reconstructing the damaged public infrastructure, d) increasing disaster resilience capacity of the local communities, and e) strengthening the DRR institutions at the local and district level.
Immediate lifesaving assistance to the survivors of disasters: In all programme countries, DCA has supported the disaster affected communities with FIs and NFIs, cash based intervention, emergency health service, WASH, and community based psychosocial support. The evaluation team has found the achievements of the programme higher than that of set targets. Post Distribution Monitoring (PDM) data reveals that satisfaction with relief materials is high among the earthquake affected communities of Nepal, as they received relief items adequately and appropriately. DCA has also ensured timely and adequate support to conflict-affected communities in Assam, India. It was possible because DCA well-coordinated with the CSOs, local government and other agencies active in conflict affected areas.
Likewise, the selection of FIs, NFIs and shelter kits were also appropriate. According to affected families, supports given by DCA were their utmost need in reducing risk and meeting their basic means of subsistence during emergency. An earthquake survivor women interviewed in Lalitpur district of Nepal said, CGI support was instrumnetal in escaping them from never-ending debt. However, few households have not yet used their CGI sheet as timber and skill labour are not readily available at the village and they have planned to use CGI sheet after this monsoon.
Additionally, the NFI kits helped to meet their immediate needs which further provided lifesaving assistance. According to people interviewed during the field visit in Dhading of Nepal, shelter with adequate space protected the affected people from cold, damp, heat, rain, wind, and other threats to health. Beneficiaries admired that NFI kits (especially winterization support) protected them from harsh cold weather, increase personal safety, and maintain privacy. However, in Dhading and Lalitpur district of Nepal, there were also some issues related to the adequacy of FIs and NFIs to earthquake affected families.
DCA’s health assistance programme was also found effective during emergency. Antenatal and postnatal services in Lalitpur of Nepal helped pregnant women and women with new born babies with essential services. The support in constructing temporary, permanent and institutional toilet helped to improve sanitation. The programme oversaw the construction of temporary toilets and bathing areas safe enough that even females felt comfortable using them at all times. However, toilet support in Dhading district of Nepal was found not very effective as some toilets are still without roofs and walls. Moreover, a series of training courses, orientations, and interaction meetings supported by DCA fostered awareness about the need to improve water quality and sanitation.
As a result of skilled and well trained volunteers available in the community, it has significantly contributed to reduce the psychosocial problems associated with post-earthquake traumatic stresses. It was made possible due to the trained counsellor’s door-to-door visit of affected families and establishing psychosocial facility at the local level.

Along with providing relief materials, the programme took a more appropriate approach of linking people with other relevant humanitarian agencies working within the programme districts, so that they would be able to access other relief materials. All relief materials reached those segments of the population that ordinarily are overlooked. Because distribution was transparent, right-holders had more access to relief materials during the response phase than they are accustomed to. There were no disputes between those who received relief and those who did not, as distribution were based on genuine data and agreed-upon indicators.

In sum, DCA’s HR programme is successful in delivering the appropriate humanitarian assistance to the most affected communities effectively in coordination with partners, CSOs and relevant government agencies.
Improving the lives of communities in distress: DCA’s on-and-off farm based livelihood supports has assisted to reduce suffering of disaster affected communities in distress and protect them from deteriorating their lives. For example, right-holders in Achham district of Nepal expressed that the support of seed, seed bins, and grain banks helped them in restoring their livelihoods. Livelihood support also addressed the short-term food needs of disaster-affected population. With seed and irrigation supports, people are now able to grow and consume fresh vegetables. The farmers of Achham of Nepal also expressed that vegetable cultivation improved diets and generated considerable income and employment. The production of vegetables was impressive due to quality seed. Likewise, landless families that cultivate others’ land through lease, contract, and sharecropping also benefitted. Recipients of seeds in Lalitpur district of Nepal said that they would have been forced to keep their land fallow if they had not received seed grants in the time of emergency.
Mobile phone based cash transfer technology (Hello Paisa) was found highly effective for beneficiary’s verification, which the evaluation team found transparent and fast to reach cash at people’s doorsteps. The project’s cash support is now being used in small scale income generation activities such as buying goats and chickens, opening small shops and grocery business, ensuring land cultivation, improving animal husbandry, and initiating vegetable farming, kitchen gardening, off-farm based skills development like handloom and weaving, and sericulture. Beneficiaries expressed that these initiatives ensured immediate food security, income generating opportunities and economic empowerment. They also opined that these livelihood initiatives assisted them in reducing shocks, stresses and vulnerabilities (in short term), and decreasing humanitarian needs and underlying vulnerability and risks (in log-term).
Skill development training enhanced communities’ capacity towards investing in livelihoods inputs. In earthquake affected districts of Nepal, training to the carpenter and mason has helped to obtain additional income for livelihood. DCA’s livelihoods initiatives not only supported to restoration of livelihood recovery and diversifying income, but also linked relief/response work to the development programme which is also guided by DCA’s international strategy. It is good to see that while diversifying the livelihood initiatives, government livelihood strategies and guidelines were taken into consideration. NREGA guidelines and entitlements (India) and Youth Self-employment Program (Nepal) are some of the examples in this regard.
Reconstructing the damaged public infrastructure: The evaluation team has identified that DCA’s humanitarian response programme has contributed to reconstruct the damaged public infrastructures. Under the cash for work scheme, agricultural land was reclaimed, schools were renovated, houses were rebuilt and repaired, community infrastructures were repaired, evacuation routes were built, and irrigation canals and drinking water schemes were maintained and repaired. For example, reconstruction of damaged drinking water in Lalitpur district of Nepal helped in increasing quantity and quality of water (with public private partnership model). Ensured water is now being used in toilets and kitchen garden. Likewise, improved irrigation schemes supported by DCA in Doti district of Nepal has contributed to reduce the water leakage from the canals and increased irrigation command area. Rural roads have been improved which eased the safe mobility. The temporary crossings (wooden and bamboo based) in small rivers have eased to women, elderly, and children. Likewise, the improvement in evacuation route and maintenance of emergency shelters in Kailali district of Nepal has helped in safe exists and stay during emergency. Renovation of school buildings in earthquake affected district has helped in opening avenues for continuing education in risk free environment. These are only few examples among many other contributions of this programme to the local communities.
The child friendly space (CFS) supported by DCA in the aftermath of Nepal’s earthquake 2015 helped in reducing the psychosocial impacts on children. Families during consultation opined that psychosocial trauma of children has been reduced as a result of CFS’s extracurricular activities. CFSs have been not only very effective in helping children to socialize and share their feelings with each other, but also prevented children from being forced to work and from being trafficked. Children during evaluation consultation expressed that they play and enjoy themselves in and forgot their misery and distress.
In sum, DCA’s humanitarian response programme has assisted in enhancing capacity and resilience, reducing vulnerabilities, and increase confidence of disaster affected communities.
Increasing disaster resilience capacity of the local communities: The evaluation team has found that the DCA’s humanitarian response programme also helped disaster affected communities to access DRR information through community radio programme, hording boards, and community outreach programmes. As a result, communities are encouraged to form disaster management committees/response teams, establish emergency response funds at the local level, which further contributing to establish disaster resilient of local communities. This programme has also supported to claim social protection allowances managed by state/government and enabled disaster affected communities for accessing them (who, how and when to claim those allowances).
The effectiveness of school based interventions was high because the programme fully followed the INEE’s protocols and Department of Education’s guidelines in the programme countries. Parallel projects also contributed to increase disaster resilience of local communities and schools. For example, DSK in Bangladesh implemented ‘strengthening resilience and safety in schools and communities’ helped managing emergency at community and school level.
Strengthening the DRR institutions at the local and district level: DCA programme has contributed to strengthen the DRR based institutions at the local and district level. Strengthening of thematic task force and DMCs before the emergency helped to reduce the risks and vulnerabilities of disaster-affected communities during response period. DCA, as one of the nodal members of Act Alliance, is also coordinating for the preparation of Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan, which also supported to regularise the emergency response works. There are also good linkages between the ACT Forum and ACT global/Geneva due to DCA leadership in ACT Forum Nepal. DCA continues to have a leading role in ACT Nepal Forum and served as Convenor for 2014-2015. It is good to see that ACT forum members have already initiated project level collaboration such as Resilient Livelihood project (DCA/ICCO/LWF) and Nepal-India cross boarder Early Warning project (DCA/LWF/LWR). DCA could further coordinate to work together among ACT Alliance members in common areas of interest (designs and implements joint ACT appeals) for avoiding gaps and reducing overlaps, but this scope is not fully taken into account as each of the ACT members have their own priority programme and geographical focus.
DCA as a member of Disaster Preparedness Network (DPNet) in Nepal, Association of International NGOs (AIN), AIN Task Group for Disaster Management, Sphere Nepal Forum, ACT Alliance, and different clusters, it has contributed to strengthen the DRR institutions in Nepal. Likewise, DCA with its regular participation in food security, community based disaster preparedness and emergency communication network meeting organised by Nepal Risk Reduction Consortium Flagship programme, has also added values for learning and sharing of good practices and learning. Involvement of DCA in these groups and networks have not only fostered coordination and collaboration among the relevant actors and agencies, but also increased its visibility among CSOs, DRM stakeholders and government agencies.

Likewise, DCA Bangladesh being part of DeSHARi Consortium and an active members of INGOs forum and member of the HCTT in Bangladesh, helped in learning and sharing disaster preparedness and response related information, avoid overlapping in response, update the progress, and maintain transparency and accountability. Similarly, in Bangladesh, DRR Education/EiE network and Education Local Consultative Group is developed and this has contributed to strengthen school-based disaster preparedness and fostering ‘DRR through schools’ approach. The grants project funded by ECHO and DIPECHO projects in Nepal and Bangladesh also helped in creating synergy-learning from each other’s approach and ultimately strengthening of DRR based institutions.

DCA has supported the Government of Nepal for institutionalising District Lead Support Agency (DLSA) and this has contributed to data management for the effective humanitarian response. This enabled the Government of Nepal accountable for ensuring a coordinated humanitarian assistance to the affected people. Despite all these progresses, the evaluation found some coordination and collaboration challenges among humanitarian agencies. Some of these challenges are associated with a)poor institutional memory due to frequent changes of government officials (ii) poor mobilisation of government stakeholders, and (iii) different humanitarian agencies have different programmatic focus and geographical areas.
DCA has invested time and resources for ensuring accountability, participation, and transparency through DRR based institutions. In this regard, DCA and its partner NGOs have established a complaint mechanism by installing complaint/feedback boxes, erecting flex board, and providing an oral complaint mechanism during the distribution of relief packages. These systems, along with social audits, IEC materials and project’s briefs, journalist visits, and meeting at District Project Advisory Committee (DPAC), have significantly contributed to strengthen the transparency and accountability. Governance during the humanitarian response is ensured with the provision of field audit and certification of work from local the government.