26 August 2016
Research released today on World Humanitarian Day shows that skilled Australian volunteers play a unique and important role in responding to overseas humanitarian crises.
The research by Scope Global, a delivery partner of the Australian Volunteers for International Development (AVID) program, examines the work of a team of Australian volunteers who were deployed to the Philippines to work with local counterparts and support reconstruction in areas devastated by Typhoon Haiyan which hit the Philippines on 8 November 2013. Almost 15 million people were affected and more than four million people were left homeless.The Australian Government contributed $40 million in emergency relief to the Philippines to support affected populations. A small, but important, part of the Australian Government's response to the Typhoon was the deployment of the AVID volunteer team.
The volunteer team included engineers, an architect, an urban planner, a construction manager and a communications specialist.
The research released today recognises team volunteering as an innovative and effective approach to addressing complex development and humanitarian challenges.
"Team volunteering enables a critical mass of people with varied skills to work together and have substantial impact on humanitarian challenges," says Simona Achitei, Senior Program Manager for the AVID program at Scope Global.
Together, the volunteers provided guidance and technical expertise to government officials and front-line workers rebuilding public buildings and other structures that had been destroyed in Haiyan.
The team also collaborated with multiple partners to develop a single comprehensive building manual that could be followed to ensure new and restored buildings were more resilient to extreme weather. The manual continues to be used by the local government units in the Philippines.
"We are facing an increasing number of humanitarian crises as a result of climate change, urbanization and conflict," says Jamie Isbister, Humanitarian Coordinator with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
"The Australian Government actively responds to many of these crises and plays a leadership role – particularly within our region. The Australian Volunteers for International Development program is a very central part of how we respond to many of these crises."
The full research report can be downloaded, and videos and publications related to the project can be viewed, on the Scope Global website.
The AVID program supports around 1,300 volunteers every year. Many volunteers work with local governments in the Indo-Pacific region to support disaster preparedness.
