Visiting RAAS Department

Before leaving Nicaragua, I had the opportunity to visit the community of Pahara Tigni in the municipality of Tortuguero, where a disaster preparedness project is being implemented by Alianza por la Solidaridad, together with FADCANIC, OIKOS, Acción Médica Cristiana and HORIZONT3000. The project, which is part of DIPECHO IX, aims to promote disaster risk resilience of communities in the area of Laguna de Perlas in the South Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAS). Nowadays, in every community, a COLOPRED, Local Emergency Committee, and a Response Brigade are being formed and trained.

Having worked for months in Nicaragua in the topic, it was rewarding to witness another way of doing things within a different scenario. The main hazards affecting the Caribbean area are hurricanes and floods, while in the north Pacific area are droughts and earthquakes. Moreover, it is a rather isolated place: medical assistance requires a three-hour walk, main means of transportation are pangas and horses in order to cope with the lack of roads, and services such as electricity and telephone are not provided in many areas. The difficulty to reach communities challenge not only the implementation of disaster risk reduction projects but also, their capacity to act during and after an emergency.

by Ainara Casajús