When you are dog tired and your wife threatens divorce - TGLL.

When you are dog tired after 3 months of running a disaster relief operation, exhausted from having early recovery planning thrust on you, your wife is threatening to divorce you, then suddenly your boss comes along and in a chirpy mood and says "you will be the right person to run the recovery operation" you crumple on a heap on the ground and look for guidance from above. Having been in that type of situation many times, your first thought is "why didn't we plan this better at the outset?"

So today was an exciting day for me in what I call a crucial part in the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami legacy as I am with my Red Cross colleagues Dr Mahesh Gunasekera, Gothami Chandrarathna and Colin Fernandes at a Stakeholder Consultation workshop to review the recovery practitioner  handbook. 

The whole toolkit process has three components:

# Development of Handbook for Recovery Program Practitioners

#Technical Guidelines on “Build back better”, Scoping Document

# Development of Training course curriculum on recovery program implementation targeted at national and local agencies/institutions responsible for recovery

So seven years after the tsunami struck on Boxing Day 2004, most of the tsunami recovery work is over, but capturing the good practices and lessons learned is still continuing and this workshop is trialing the draft handbook.  Hopefully this toolkit/recovery handbook will ensure there will be improved recovery planning for future large-scale recovery operations, reduce staff melt-down and avoid divorces from overwork and absence from the family.

In the publication The Tsunami Legacy - Innovation Breakthroughs and Change , the last chapter poses the question, "Will we do better next time?"

We have a moral duty to ensure that future generations have access to our tsunami lessons learned to ensure mistakes are not repeated and good practices improved upon.

The IFRC has contributed US $250,000 towards the development of the below listed Tsunami Global Lessons Learned (TGLL) initiatives and have been active throughout the process.

1. A publication that records cross border experiences, the good practices and lessons learned so that future leaders, practitioners , administrators can learn and use the good practices, especially ones that accelerate recovery operations.

2. To make a documentary to be released on the 5th anniversary of the tsunami that will reach as many people as possible around the world by showing it on Discovery TV, and once shown, as many other TV channels around the world.

3. A toolkit/handbook for practitioners, Government administrators, NGO , INGO and community leaders.

Items one and two have been completed some time ago but the toolkit is the final product.

So how did all this start ? Way back in earlier 2007 Dr.Kuntoro Mangkusubroto (above with Jerry Talbot special adviser to SG of IFRC for tsunami) the Minister of Tsunami in Indonesia had the vision to call together a group of about ten of us working on the tsunami recovery operation in Indonesia, to what he called a tsunami legacy workshop. Out of this initiative over a delicious breakfast, the idea of a Global Lessons Learned steering committee was born.

Leading disaster officials from India, Sri Lanka, Maldives , Thailand and Indonesia were brought to Bangkok where they Decided to come up with 3 key key initiatives:

Today I was the keynote speaker at the meeting and here I am promoting that superb publication that every disaster practicioner should have, 'The Tsunami Legacy.' Zaffran IFRC

So as the tsunami operation nears a close, it really is both exciting as it is reassuring, to see that a learning legacy will be left thanks to the vision of Dr Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, Minister for tsunami Indonesia, supported by the governments of the tsunami affected countries, the UN, especially Satya Tripathi and IFRC. I am sure this recovery practitioners manual will guide people to plan for better recovery operations that provide an integrated recovery package to affected communities in a timely manner.

If you want to participate in this project and give your input to the current draft, contact Sudhir Kumar: suhir@adpc.net or gp directly to the website: the ADPC website:

A kalabubu, a letter and a toolkit

I depart for New Zealand next week after four years working in Indonesia. This is my last full week and it has been an unusual one as I have received a kalabubu, a letter and participated in a meeting on toolkits.

A kalabubu is a masculine ornament from the island of Nias, symbolizing high prestige and war success. In pre-national Nias, headtaking was associated with royalty, creative power, and masculinity. This kalabubu necklace  (above)proclaimed that the wearer had taken a human head from an outsider group (sometimes in another region of the island) and had brought it back to the village, at the same time bringing creativity and protective forces to his community. Such an act also signified that the man was now an adult.
I am most grateful to Nigel Ede for giving me a kalabubu. Nigel has just finished his tenure on Nias where he ran the Red Cross earthquake recovery operation.

With e-mail being the main form of communication these days, it was a pleasure to receive a letter last week by Indonesian post. These joys come rarely nowadays so I used my ancient letter opener to slice the envelope open. The letter read :

Dear Mr.Bob McKerrow,


The recovery effort following the  2004 tsunami brought together people from all corners of the world united in their dedication to help those most in need.


Although the public may have forgotten about the disaster, those who took part in rebuilding have committed to share the lessons with the world through the Tsunami Global Lessons Learned (TGLL).


This program is a joint initiative by theInternational Federation of the Red
Cross, United Nations and the Agency for Rehabilitation and Reconstruction (BRR)Aceh-­‐Nias, bringing together country representatives from countries affected by the tsunami along with recovery players.


Next week,TGLL will host a brainstorming session for the Development of
Tool Kit for Disaster Recovery Practitioners.
The BRR Institute on behalf of TGLL would like to invite you to this discussion.


We believe your valuable contribution will help make the tool kit beneficial
to host governments and the actors on the ground....


Sincerely


Kuntoro Mangkusubroto

Signing an MoU for the 'Toolkit'. L to R. Bob McKerrow, Satya Tripathi, Kuntoro Mangkusubroto and  Loy Rego

So why am I making such a fuss about a toolkit ? In summary, it will be an opportubnity for those of us who have worked throughout the tsunami relief to recovery operation, to record our experiences and pass them on. Here is additional information for those who may ne interested.

1.1 Purpose of the toolkit

• To document the experiences of handling large scale reconstruction and recovery programmes and their complexities in order to provide guidance in the future after a disaster when new agencies are created or individuals tasked with managing agencies responsible for reconstruction and recovery.

• To provide a collation of key recovery related documents (such as reconstruction policies, institutional arrangements, guidelines etc.) produced after recent large scale disasters, for ready reference in future.

• To build capacity of agencies both at national and local level to enhance their ability in planning and implementing recovery programmes, estimating and allocating resources, increasing utilization of local institutions and capacities, and executing in time bound manner.

• To equip the agencies tasked with reconstruction and recovery, on sector specific (shelter, livelihood, critical infrastructure, environmental management) ‘know how’ of recovery programmes.

Some of the participants at a brainstorming session for the Development of a Tool Kit for Disaster Recovery Practitioners. Photo: Bob McKerrow


1.2 Target users of the toolkit

• Government agencies at national and sub-national level tasked with managing reconstruction and recovery programmes (in some case these are existing agencies given additional responsibilities, and in some cases new institutions are created after a large scale disaster)

• Sectoral line agencies responsible for implementing sector specific reconstruction and recovery programmes

• UN Agencies, inter-governmental organisations, NGOs and development partners supporting the Government and the affected communities in the process of reconstruction and recovery.

From L to R. Dr. Kuntoro, Loy Rego and Bill Nicol at the workshop.
Photo: Bob McKerrow

1.3 Scope of the toolkit

• Current scope of the toolkit would focus primarily on the experiences of reconstruction and recovery program in the tsunami affected countries.

• Readily available documentations from other recent large scale disasters such as 2001 Gujarat earthquake, 2005 Kashmir earthquake, 2008 Cyclone Nargis and 2008 Sichuan earthquake would be referred

• Subsequent version of the toolkit would take a multi-hazard approach and capture experiences in relation to other specific hazards in Asia such as earthquake, cyclones, floods etc.

1.4 Components of the toolkit

• Component 1: Handbook for reconstruction and recovery program practitioners

• Component 2: Technical Guidelines on “Build back better”, Scoping Document

• Component 3: Training course on reconstruction and recovery programme implementation targeted at national and local agencies/institutions responsible for managing reconstruction and recovery.

The three musketeers: L to R. Satya Tripathi, Bill Nicol and self. Frequently we sit round a desk and discuss how we can make sure the lessons learned from the Tsunami are well documented, and passed on to others. Photo: Yogi Purmami

Satya and Bill have been my soulmates throughout my four years working on the Tsunami in Indonesia. Satya was head of the UN Tsunami operation in Aceh, and Bill was the senior adviser to Pak Kuntoro, the Minister for Tsunami. (BRR). Through many difficult challenges we formed a strong friendship, and enjoyed catching up again for the brainstorming session for the Development of a Tool Kit for Disaster Recovery Practitioners. Bill is working on a comprehensive book on the Tsunami and knowing Bill's journalistic skills and passion for tsunami, it promises to be a cracker.