Participation in the early response of Cyclone Nargis: Reflective case study
Introduction
Myanmar is exposed to multi-hazards such as fire, flood, earthquake, cyclone and landslide. It is situated in tropical climate zone and has three seasons-Summer (mid-February to mid-May), Rainy (mid-May to mid-October) and Winter (mid-October to mid-February). The official cyclone season is in monsoon period and the high potential of cyclone formation is in pre-monsoon and post-monsoon periods. Cyclone Nargis struck on 2nd and 3rd of May 2008 in Myanmar and it became the devastated ever disaster in country experience due to the death toll (about 138,373) and losses (approximately 4.1 billion US$). The response of the government was criticized by humanitarian actors, due to its delay in response and lack of cooperation. This essay will discuss and reflect my own experiences of participation in the project of cyclone response. Problem statement/background statement The Department of Relief and Resettlement activated the front-line relief office at Yangon in 4th of May 2008. I participated in the project of receiving relief assistant and distribution of relief items to the disaster affected areas. The relief items from local well-wishers and international donors were coming in and out from the warehouses. The government use the three ways of transportation (air, water and land) in relief distribution. At that time, there had no pre-defined plan for logistics and resources (demand-supply analysis), collaboration and coordination, and had no clear and inclusive governance structure. Therefore, many barriers have been building block the ways in achieving the goals of relief assistant. I would highlight the three barriers, according to my experiences such as the governance structure which effect on decision making, gaps in collaboration among humanitarian actors and the corruption in humanitarian operations. Objectives of the project / questions The main objectives of the cyclone Nargis response project was to save lives and to provide relief assistant, align with the humanitarian principles, to the victims of natural disasters. I participated in this project and the questions to be answer in this article based on my field experiences and academic evidence is What are the strength, weakness, opportunities and threats in the early response of cyclone Nargis. Method This case study will use the critical reflective approach which is widely recognized as a key method in individual learning processes (Dogba et.al., 2016). …show more content…
It is advocated in many areas of professional development and practice such as education, management and research, as it encourages practitioners to gain insight into their own professionalism through their experiences (Lucas, 2012). Furthermore, the reflection also enables me to reflect-on-action, reflect-in-action and reflect-for-action. There are many ways (from informal discussions to highly structured formats) to approach the critical reflection. This study will use the Borton’s model of reflection which consist of three simple questions such as what, so what and now what. Potential challenges The inclusion of biases which is common challenge in qualitative researchers may be a challenge in this reflective study. …show more content…
For example, selection biases including the sampling of times, places, events, people, issues, questions and the balance between the dramatic and the mundane; the affinity of researchers with certain kinds of people, designs, data, theories, concepts, explanations; the ability of researchers, including their knowledge, skills, methodological strengths, capacity for imagination (Norris, 1997).
Anticipatory action to address the
Introduction
Myanmar is exposed to multi-hazards such as fire, flood, earthquake, cyclone and landslide. It is situated in tropical climate zone and has three seasons-Summer (mid-February to mid-May), Rainy (mid-May to mid-October) and Winter (mid-October to mid-February). The official cyclone season is in monsoon period and the high potential of cyclone formation is in pre-monsoon and post-monsoon periods. Cyclone Nargis struck on 2nd and 3rd of May 2008 in Myanmar and it became the devastated ever disaster in country experience due to the death toll (about 138,373) and losses (approximately 4.1 billion US$). The response of the government was criticized by humanitarian actors, due to its delay in response and lack of cooperation. This essay will discuss and reflect my own experiences of participation in the project of cyclone response. Problem statement/background statement The Department of Relief and Resettlement activated the front-line relief office at Yangon in 4th of May 2008. I participated in the project of receiving relief assistant and distribution of relief items to the disaster affected areas. The relief items from local well-wishers and international donors were coming in and out from the warehouses. The government use the three ways of transportation (air, water and land) in relief distribution. At that time, there had no pre-defined plan for logistics and resources (demand-supply analysis), collaboration and coordination, and had no clear and inclusive governance structure. Therefore, many barriers have been building block the ways in achieving the goals of relief assistant. I would highlight the three barriers, according to my experiences such as the governance structure which effect on decision making, gaps in collaboration among humanitarian actors and the corruption in humanitarian operations. Objectives of the project / questions The main objectives of the cyclone Nargis response project was to save lives and to provide relief assistant, align with the humanitarian principles, to the victims of natural disasters. I participated in this project and the questions to be answer in this article based on my field experiences and academic evidence is What are the strength, weakness, opportunities and threats in the early response of cyclone Nargis. Method This case study will use the critical reflective approach which is widely recognized as a key method in individual learning processes (Dogba et.al., 2016). …show more content…
It is advocated in many areas of professional development and practice such as education, management and research, as it encourages practitioners to gain insight into their own professionalism through their experiences (Lucas, 2012). Furthermore, the reflection also enables me to reflect-on-action, reflect-in-action and reflect-for-action. There are many ways (from informal discussions to highly structured formats) to approach the critical reflection. This study will use the Borton’s model of reflection which consist of three simple questions such as what, so what and now what. Potential challenges The inclusion of biases which is common challenge in qualitative researchers may be a challenge in this reflective study. …show more content…
For example, selection biases including the sampling of times, places, events, people, issues, questions and the balance between the dramatic and the mundane; the affinity of researchers with certain kinds of people, designs, data, theories, concepts, explanations; the ability of researchers, including their knowledge, skills, methodological strengths, capacity for imagination (Norris, 1997).
Anticipatory action to address the