When natural disasters continued to hit Nepal, recovery efforts seemed daunting. Tewa’s team looked to the community to get feedback on their needs, strengthening the recovery process.
Tewa’s team used feedback tools to pinpoint what earthquake-affected communities needed the most. “Through telephonic conversation, we were able to gather results—like what are the core needs of the community, how are they coping. After using this tool, we were able to know that people are in need of clothes, especially women and children, and health issues, like diarrhea, were chronic,” shared the Tewa team.
Pinpointing the community’s needs in the community’s own words meant the Tewa team was able to act strategically and address the needs that felt most dire. The team also distributed cash grants to survivors, who were then able to purchase exactly what they needed most after the 2015 earthquake in Nepal.
Though the weight of natural disaster efforts is heavy, Tewa’s team was able to get the community the support they needed by listening. And, acting as the learner, rather than the teacher allows the team to commit to their community-led roots.
With the help of feedback tools Tewa can continue to let their community’s’ voices lead their work. The Tewa team shared the importance of community feedback with GlobalGiving:
“We learned that it is not only important for natural disasters, but also very important for day-to-day life problems, which could be solved with ground-level communication with the community, as well as with our neighbors.”
GlobalGiving’s Director of Programs, Britt Lake, had this to say about Tewa’s team after visiting the community where they work: “Tewa is an amazing local women’s community foundation in Nepal. The community members raved about how wonderful it was to have these long-term volunteers from Nepal who could speak their language and understand their culture. This is a very professional organization with strong ties to the local community.”
What do your constituents think of your programs? Have you asked them what they need? Start your Listen, Act, Learn. Repeat. journey today by using GlobalGiving’s “Feedback Simplified Guide.” If you are already part of GlobalGiving, go to GG Rewards to earn points for sharing what you’ve learned.
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