Forward Alliance Civilian Crisis Response Program

Between June 25th, 2025 and October 16th, Forward Alliance conducted 49 training lessons and trained 1,497 people. This brings to a total of 468 training lessons and 17,307 trained civilians since December 2023. During this quarter, we have slowly shifted out main focus to private organizations. A powerful indicator of the program's success is the fact that several major private organizations have actively sought out follow-up training sessions this quartar. Furthermore, the continuous inter-organizational training platform has become a unique mechanism for deep-level team building.

To broaden our preparedness efforts and to establish a consistent pipeline of highly motivated civilian volunteers, this quarter saw the successful launch of the Community Ambassador Program. This new initiative is specifically designed to bring motivated, community-minded volunteers directly into our rigorous training framework. By empowering the volunteers with the necessary skills and tools, they will be able to significantly broaden the reach of our training capabilities across different communities. 

On September 24th, a barrier lake near Guanfu, Hualian overflowed and flooded Guanfu. Although the floodwaters have receded from the village, the streets are still covered in a layer of mud and debris. People who lived in the vicinity were forced to relocate because the mud left behind can be as deep as 3 meters. Forward Alliance successfully mobilized civilian volunteers from all over Taiwan to join the effort of recovering Guanfu Junior High School. Aside from the volunteers that we had interacted with before, there are many more who simply showed up at the scene and were ready to help.

The extensive training of our civilian preparedness network culminated in a powerful display of community resilience during the recovery of Guangfu Junior High School in Hualian. Over the course of a single week, more than 2,000 volunteers, military personnel, and substitute service members from across the nation worked tirelessly, shovel by shovel, to transform the school grounds from deep mud and debris to a state ready for the students' return. This monumental effort was supported non-stop by dedicated healthcare professionals, including nurses, EMTs, and volunteer firefighters from various regional units, who provided immediate on-site medical care to dozens of injured responders daily. The collaborative success was built upon transparency and public-private cooperation: the seamless coordination of logistics, supply distribution, and heavy equipment allocation, which was continually optimized throughout the operation, demonstrated the unparalleled power of civilian unity when guided by effective processes. 

The collective efforts of this quarter have confirmed that our community-based approach is the most effective path toward comprehensive, enduring disaster resilience.

Links:

• Forward Alliance Facebook post after Hualian recovery work
• Forward Alliance participation in Taiwan National Disaster Day
• Forward Alliance Community Ambassador giving training

Between March 4th, 2024 and June 25th, 2025, Forward Alliance conducted 70 training lessons and trained 2,547 people. This brings to a total of 419 training lessons and 15,810 trained civilians since December 2023. During this quarter, collaboration with public and private organizations is still our main focus. We believe training pre existing organizations such as private enterprises with their own existing networks is a great force multiplier. 

In the previous report, we mentioned that we have uploaded our online manual for everyone to read. It's getting a big upgrade this quarter. With our collaboration with Microsoft Taiwan, we have now successfully turned it into an app available in both Android and iOS. https://app.icanhelp.tw 

iCanHelp empower individuals by providing the following content:

• Practical Manual : Offers knowledge and skills for disaster response, including emergency planning, digital safety, scene safety, trauma care, and more. This manual is designed to be accessible offline.
• Emergency Map: Utilizes GIS map technology to integrate real-time information such as weather conditions, distribution of shelters, and AED locations, helping users make informed decisions during emergencies.
• Disaster Report: Allows users to report immediate conditions and needs in their vicinity, assisting public agencies and response units in efficiently allocating resources.
• Volunteer Registration: Connects users with opportunities for volunteer service and civic participation, both in normal times and during emergencies.

We will continue to integrate more useful information in the future updates.

Now, time to share more details about what we do in our Navigation Training Course.

In this course, participants will be able to navigate complex environments without network connection or GPS signals. They will also practice map assessment and plan the most efficient route in emergencies. FA wanted all participants to be able to navigate with traditional, less technologically advanced tools. It is essential to enable everyone to be self-reliant, and not rely on modern technology which can fail or become unavailable. 

Feedback from participants

“I always love the way FA delivers their training courses. It always begins with simple and easy-to-understand concepts and ends with demonstration and practice activities. I will definitely sign up for other courses again.”

“The instructors all talk at a great pace. I can feel that they are trying their best to make sure everyone can understand and follow the course. This is extremely helpful for me when learning how to use the compass. Thanks for doing the improvement on the outdoor activities. With the help of instructors and training assistants, it works a lot better than last time. The team was able to complete the assignment in confidence.” 

Links:

• Collaboration with Microsoft for the app iCanHelp
• Download your iCanHelp App