Disasters lead to human and economic loss as well as infrastructure damage. The effects of the climate emergency has seen an increase in the frequency and magnitude of disasters affecting areas that were previously presumed to be safe. Communities without the proper resources to prepare are the most vulnerable against such disasters.
The great majority of victims are women, children and those in poverty. Disaster recovery is critical, but neglected.
Our emergency support enables communities to overcome immediate problems, but other factors such as damaged infrastructures, broken livelihoods and the collapse of safety nets bring about another form of disaster. Eventually communities are not able to sustain themselves and can collapse.
Tens of millions of refugees who leave their homes due to natural disasters and conflict have been scattered all over the world. Their basic human rights are not guaranteed, and their lives are too often in danger. To prevent this Good Neighbours make the community build capacity to prevent disasters and minimise the damage.
This focuses on raising people’s awareness of disasters and developing community-based actions for preparing for disasters, enabling communities to become more resilient. In the event of a disaster, we ensure the necessary aid is available to the community in the shortest amount of time. We also assist victims suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with psychosocial support programmes to enable a rapid recovery to normal daily life.
We are concerned about the rights of refugees. We provide assistance for refugees to benefit from their human rights such as the right to life and the right to health. We strengthen their self-reliance through livelihood and capacity building activities.