Training on Sphere and inclusion standards in Manila

“Inclusion ensures that nobody is left behind and reminds us that humanitarian response is always context-based and that there is no ‘one size fits all’.” — To see a photo gallery, click here.

Some 20 participants from a variety of organisations attended the 24-28 July course in Manila. The course focused on ).

Participants represented a variety of stakeholders from government to the Red Cross movement to disabled people’s and community-based organisations as well as national and international NGOs.

“There was a good mix of development and humanitarian workers, bridging the gap and fuelling the dialogue between both sectors,” says the lead facilitator, Axel Schmidt, from the German NGO Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund (ASB).

“We tried to have a diversity of voices, including persons with disabilities,” says Schmidt. The emphasis on inclusion was also reflected by the motto of the event: “Nothing about us without us.”

One of the course facilitators, Dr. Benjamin “Jun” Bernandino, has a mobility limitation and had attended the previous joint Sphere/ADCAP training of trainers course held in Kathmandu in January 2017 as a participant . Bernandino works for Life Haven Centre for Independent Living, a Disabled People’s Organisation.

For Schmidt, “listening to a disaster-affected Filipino who has a mobility limitation, or to an elderly participant speaking about older people and protection is a concrete expression of the ‘people-centred approach’.”

“We also asked Bernandino’s personal assistant and another participant who is a caregiver for a blind person to share their personal views about their position,” says Schmidt. “We thought it was really important to have them ‘on stage’ because personal assistants and carers are often overlooked.”

“This course enriched my knowledge and skills on inclusion, an issue that should be a must for humanitarian actors,” a participant commented. Another participant added: “Inclusion ensures that nobody is left behind and reminds us that humanitarian response is always context-based and that there is no ‘one size fits all’.”

In addition to building participants’ skills, the course was an opportunity for networking, with participants sharing ideas on follow-up training activities. “ASB will stay in touch and encourage participants to materialise those ideas and to implement Sphere and the age and disability inclusion standards in their work,” promises Schmidt.

“The course itself was very inclusive,” said a participant, “and made participants very sensitive to other people’s needs. It is important to raise awareness about inclusiveness and advocate for it within one’s own organisation,” as this is part of “the true meaning of ‘the right to life with dignity’.”

The course was funded by Aktion Deutschland Hilft and run as part of ASB’s Philippines Community Resilience Programme.