Focus on social and cultural rights: the right to food, the right to education, the right to health care, the right to safe water and sanitation, and sustainable development.

CDRM&CDS will facilitate the empowerment of CBOs and congregations to improve food security and nutrition by providing capacity building and support for appropriate, environmentally friendly and sustainable integrated farming systems based on indigenous knowledge and to increase income by facilitating access to skill training and micro credit to enable them to engage in agricultural and small-scale industries activities. Furthermore, CDRM&CDS will facilitate the empowerment of communities to enable accessibility to and availability of both formal and non-formal education, primary health care services, and safe water and sanitation.

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• Focus on the civil rights, political rights and cultural rights: the right to association, the right to participation, the right to raise voice and expression, the right to information, the right to human security, women’s rights and gender equality and local governance.

  CDRM&CDS will facilitate the empowerment process to enable communities, their CBOs and congregations to build up their capacities to lead and manage the development process effectively and efficiently. CBOs and congregations will be facilitated and empowered to assess their needs and rights, prepare annual development plans, mobilize own resources and network for external support, and to implement, monitor and evaluate their activities. CDRM&CDS will ensure that the poorest and vulnerable people will be included in the CBOs and congregations and participate actively in decision-making, the development process and associated activities. CBOs, congregations and their vulnerable community members will be empowered to know their rights and enabling them to assert their rights in order to hold the government at all levels as duty bearers accountable to take action to fulfill these rights. Simultaneously, high level government authorities will also be engaged by advocacy means to address raised concerns and to solve local conflicts.

Focus on the rights to protection during emergencies and reduce disaster risk.

CDRM&CDS sees that disaster risk management and mitigation are key focuses of the program, which have to be linked with long term development. CDRM&CDS will facilitate the empowerment of vulnerable communities to enable them to reduce disaster risks and minimize disaster impact through provision of awareness and capacity building of CBOs, local authorities and congregations to enable them to organize relief, asses disasters, network for assistance for relief, prepare disaster management plans including disaster mapping, preparation and mitigation, and to implement mitigation projects. Communities will be empowered to mobilize own resources and to advocate duty bearers to provide assistance in case of emergencies, such as earthquakes, tsunami, droughts, floods, fire, landslides etc. CDRM&CDS also already had a membership with ACT (Action by Church Together) Alliance (www.actalliance.org) to get access to support for disaster relief, preparedness and mitigation.

Our Management

CDRM&CDS Church Partner

Project Advisory Board

Project Advisory Board | Nias

Project Advisory Board | Mentawai

Project Advisory Board | Pakpak

Our Governing Body

MEDAN

Medan is the headquarter CDRM&CDS. There is no program activities in Medan.

PAKPAK

Pakpak is a region located in the main land of North Sumatera province, about 200 km away from Medan, the provincial capital. Pakpak is a poor and under developed region, and is vulnerable to landslides and erosion. Although Pakpak is an agriculture area, more than half of its area is protected forest, and only small percentage of its population owns land for farming. CDRM & CDS presence in this area is to build the capacity of the communities in disaster preparedness, and also empower them to understand their basic rights in relation to the development process and improving their livelihood.

NIAS

Nias is the name of the islet that lies about 125 km off the western coast of North Sumatera Province. Currently Nias is divided into four districts: Nias, South Nias, West Nias, and North Nias, and one municipality: Gunung Sitoli. It covers an area of 5,121,32 km2 with a total population of 756,762. Nias is vulnerable to disasters, such as: earthquake, tsunami, flood, and landslide. CDRM&CDS works in 15 villages and serves community members, aims to build their capacity on disaster preparedness, development process and improving their livelihood.

MENTAWAI

Mentawai is a chain about seventy Islands, lies approximately 150 km on the West Sumatran coast across Mentawai straight. There are four main Islands, making up the chain including Siberut, Sipora, North and South Pagai, surrounded by many smaller ones. It covers an area of 6,011 km2, and very vulnerable to earth quake and tsunami. Most of the populations (68,097) live in these big Islands, relying on agriculture and animal husbandry as their main livelihood. CDRM&CDS works in 9 villages and serves community members, aims to build their capacity on disaster preparedness, development process and improving their livelihood.

STRATEGIC PLAN CDRM&CDS’ FOR 2022-2027
BASED ON THEORY OF CHANGE (ToC)

THE CHANGE WE WANT TO SEE :

The targeted vulnerable people, across their life course, live in inclusive, resilient communities where all members, as responsible rights-holders and stewards of the environment are empowered to enjoy dignified lives.

PROGRAM FOCUS AREA:

• Increase the sustainability of community Livelihoods.
• Increase community critical awareness, commitment, capacity, networks and resources to implement inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) plans.
• Increase capacity to PWDs’ access to basic services and participation in decision making.
• Empowerment of women and adolescent girls.
• Empowerment of Vulnerable people for their rights to basic services and social protection.
• Increase capacity CDRM&CDS and partner church diaconal departments as enabler of change.

STRATEGIC APPROACHES

• A risk management approach encourages people to proactively manage life-affecting situations, by actively applying mental and physical efforts, rather than reacting passively to the identified risks in communities.  This approach focuses on disaster preparedness and management, including COVID-19, and climate change adaptation.
• A rights-based approach leverages the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and all related conventions, the Sustainable Development Goals, the Constitution, existing laws, and pro-poor policies. It first and foremost involves building up Human Rights awareness at all levels, both among the powerless and the powerful (enlightenment of the powerful and empowerment of the powerless).
• A gender mainstreaming approach ensures that we:

1Consider the specific needs, interests, and views of women.
2 Do not unintentionally harm women and girls or maintain harmful social norms.
3 Actively contribute to overcoming the gender injustice that fuels poverty and undermines sustainable development.

• A twin-track approach to disability-inclusion involves us:

1 Targeting the empowerment of people with disabilities, their families and representing organisations through increasing their access to support services, health care, education, livelihood, and social and political activities.
2 Mainstreaming to identify and overcome barriers people with disability face within our programming.


• An empowerment approach builds people's capacity and confidence of both as individuals and as participating members of groups and communities, to achieve results for themselves.
• A community-based approach encourages communities and their members to have an active role and participate in highlighting and addressing the issues that matter to them.
• A partnership approach embodies mutual, equal relations between partners who share values and resources, and who collaborate and learn from each other to realise the desired change.

About Us

The Center for Disaster Risk Management & Community Development Studies (CDRM&CDS) is a faith-based, non-partisan development organisation that supports and facilitates humanitarian and development work in service to vulnerable people and communities in the provinces of North and West Sumatra. CDRM&CDS was established in 2007 as a department of the Universitas HKBP Nommensen located in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Working with partner Lutheran churches’ diaconal departments, we seek to transform lives through alleviating poverty, promoting justice, and realising human rights.

Our Vision

People living with dignity and empowered to achieve their universal rights.

Our Mission

Inspired by God’s love for humanity, CDRM&CDS works with vulnerable people and communities to strengthen their resilience, inclusion, and experience of gender justice. We do this in partnership with Lutheran churches, development and rights organisations.

Out Values and Principles

• Justice
• Equity
• Participation and Inclusion
• Transparency and Accountability
• Compassion and Commitment
• Accompaniment
• Do no harm.