“Some consider 68-year-old as the elderly, I personally feel that with confidence, I am still able to do many things for the community and with the other people.”
When ADRA nominated Mr. Vo Van Thanh to be the communication facilitator of the project with relate to Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management, he was a bit hesitating to bear the responsibility. “I didn’t think I could help educate other people, or convince them to listen to me. I was not sure myself to approach the new concepts and be able to understand those thoroughly” said Thanh..
Thanh has been gradually becoming one of the most active members of the communication group belonging ADRA project in Can Tho City. After understanding more about the project, he participated in the training for communication facilitators. In turn, he shared the knowledge obtained to the neighbors and other members of his residential area during the community meetings held periodically. “They are my neighbors and acquaintances. Sharing with them is the ordinary thing in life. The highlight now is that we have a useful topic to work on together.”
“Once I learned about the Participatory Action Oriented Training methodology, I found it helpful and applied promptly to my family first and foremost. Cause if you don’t practice it, how can you persuade the others to follow right? Twenty five actions raised in the materials of ADRA are practical, some were already achieved in my house so I hold a small pride for that, for instance storing clean water or food to be used in the flood season, constructing properly hygienic latrine and bathroom and so on. Now we are learning about the evacuation route and frequent updates of the climate” told Thanh.
Thanh is working hard on his job to mobilize other households to complete 25 actions step by step, going from the easiest to the hardest one. The plus point of this method lies in the voluntary base of registration; as a result families feel more accountable to the achievements.
Thank shared “Some will take a while for the people to change the habit and behavior, such as saving energy and setting farming schedule according to recommendations of the Rural Development Department, paying attention to fortify shelter and clear the site to ensure human safety before typhoon season; but I believe this will help a lot our knowledge on climate change adaptation and disaster risk management”.
