Listening to those who cannot participate in meetings
Ideas for residents’ participation
Meetings take place between local residents
and disaster response organizations from
outside of the community in order to assess
the needs of affected people. However, there
are few opportunities to hear local women’s
opinions. It is also rare to have women among
participants in a formal conference to decide
upon the contents of assistance.
Regrettably, the needs articulated in meetings
and conferences do not always reflect the
needs of “all voices” in the community. It is
important to respect community leaders and
their requests, but it is not enough.
One disaster response worker says, “Women
and children are not the only people who do
not attend the conference and speak out. It is
important to include various voices by various
means, considering those such as persons
with disabilities and elderly people who might
always be overlooked.
It is possible to pick up these missing voices
by holding “informal” gatherings, such as tea
parties, appealing for women and