“Women can be leaders.”

When Madalena decided to help other women in her remote village learn how to benefit from a microfinance scheme, she didn’t realise it would lead to inspiring women to become leaders.

Now the 50-year-old from Bobonaro municipality, Timor-Leste, is playing a key role in keeping her wider community safe when disaster strikes, through the Australian Government’s Disaster READY program.

“My village is prone to floods, landslides, high winds, prolonged drought and fire, which often causes devastation to the families and their livelihoods,” Madalena said.

“Although these incidents have happened frequently, we were not prepared before.”

Madalena and other training participants observe a traditional gabion built by the community as a means to channel water and prevent flooding. Image: Zito Soares/World Vision

Since 2019, she has been elected as the female delegate on the Suco (community) Disaster Management Committee and is part of the village council.

With training provided through Disaster READY, the committee has focussed on learning how to identify the types of disasters, community-based disaster risk management, disaster preparedness and response, first aid, gender and disability inclusion, risk assessment and learning from simulated disasters.

This is a very different to how it started for Madalena a few years ago, when AHP Partner, World Vision, promoted a savings and loan scheme in her village as part of an assistance package that included improving farming techniques, enhancing access to markets and preventing erosion and deforestation.

She took advantage of the microfinance scheme and shared what she’d learned with other women who lived in the area.

“I taught what I have learned to other women in my village because women have potential and ability when there is a chance for them,” she said.

“Women can be leaders.”

Madalena faced significant challenges in taking on even this first leadership role, including the paucity of public transport serving her remote village and having little support from the authorities in her administrative post.

Madalena shares the skills and knowledge gained through Disaster READY with women and men in her community. Image: Zito Soares/World Vision

But what she did have – which is crucial in women realising their potential – is encouragement from her family.

“My family fully support me, especially my husband,” she added.

“He gives me space to participate in these activities. I only need to manage my time between family and my activities.”

Madalena learned that good ways to share her knowledge within the community are via cultural ceremonies, family gatherings and village activities. When she organised and mobilised women within her community to participate in training, she always told funny stories or used games as icebreakers.

“The way I share information is by sitting in the group during cultural ceremonies and walking together to the market or to church,” she said.

She even applies the skills she’s teaching the community and applies them at home, ensuring cooking fires are turned off when not in use to prevent accidents.

Disaster READY deliberately promotes the voices of women and persons with disabilities when it comes to community disaster preparedness. Through the Disaster READY Project, funded by the Australian Government through Australian Humanitarian Partnership, 30 per cent of those who received training in disaster risk management and community mobilisation are women or persons with disabilities.

From the community of just under 25,000 people, 89 women and 31 men – including two persons with disabilities – took part in leadership training.