A DC2TC Approach: towards a disaster ready society

Disaster cannot be managed by others if the affected people cannot manage by themselves. Many projects are currently

working for disaster management aiming at changing people’s behaviors through different approaches. But in many

cases these are in vain in sense of long term aspect because projects started without consideration stage of change.

Therefore a disaster manager, for a disaster ready society, can consider the DC2TC (Don’t Care to Take Care) approach

to start working from the right stage with proper way. Overwhelmingly, this approach rounds a cycle through five

stages-Don’t care, listening but not doing, ready for doing, acting and take care.

Don’t Care: not listening by people is the basis of this stage, people have general feelings that this (e.g. disaster) will not

happen to them. Thus they will be reluctant to hear any good advice on changing their behaviors. If a disaster manager

cannot strictly consider this level of people the project is going to work with, the said project will not reach at goal and

objectives. The manager will have to wait for and create enable environment for next stage to start the project.

Listening But Not Doing: at this stage, people agree that there is some possibility of disastrous events, they are willing to

at least listen to the advice, but again, are still not ready to make a change. Practically most projects are working within

this stage and even end up the same stage. For example, WASH projects are disseminating messages among people with

various forms that they should wash hands with soaps before eating, feeding and using toilets etc. On the other hand,

people are advised to take preparations for managing disasters; at least they listen to the advice but do not act

accordingly. In this situation, the disaster managers have scopes to push this stage into next stage for driving people into

real change. If the project is ended up with this stage it cannot be reached at lasting solution of people affected by

disasters.

Ready for Doing: this is the first opportunity of disaster manager to start really project’ main interventions among the

target peoples. In this stage, people are listening, thus project should provide reliable, credible and appropriate

information among people. The disaster manager needs such level of people’s perceptions to make them change

towards disaster ready society. If it is ensured before the project can be started right now if not the manager have to

wait for and create environment for this stage. Form practical knowledge, it is found that many projects are not

successful because of the managers cannot support with necessary information and advice, adequate and appropriate

resources and community involvement in the project.

Acting: at this stage, people are listening to the project’s advice and acting accordingly. The disaster managers here find

the real change of people the project working with. Practical experience is found that most of the good projects start at

the right stage and are able to make people acting as of project’s system. Everything is here organized and going on well,

people perform their roles and responsibilities as per project direction. If any disaster is happened at this period people

can show their best performances and project achieves the maximum outcomes from its interventions as a whole. It is

worth mentioning that almost every good project’s long term benefits are not continued beyond the project rather

ended up with project just phasing out because of not having maintaining mechanism.

Take Care: this is the most critical stage of people’s changing process. To continue the project benefits beyond the

project period, it must have systematic mechanism by the project to keep people engaged and active in disaster

management activities so that people can enjoy the benefits from their newly gained efforts and readiness. If disaster

managers ignore this vital stage, project can only achieve the project in time but not over time benefits.

Conclusion comes to consider the people’s stage at which they are before staring the project. Field observation is found

that most disaster management projects start at listening but not doing stage and end up at acting stage. Therefore the

DC2TC approach is increasingly important to reach towards a disaster ready society in the years to come.

[Write up by Osman Goni, Disaster Management Worker of British Red Cross, Bangladesh,Email:soilocbd@gmail.com]