Promising Practices Booklet – RITA

Resilience in the Americas (RITA) is implemented by Red Cross National Societies in 12 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, with technical support from the American Red Cross. The focus of the program is to work alongside communities to strengthen their resilience in face of disasters. At the same time, RITA is also designed to strengthen the capacity of national societies in the Americas region.

An integral program, RITA examines a diversity of factors, including but not limited to disaster risk reduction, health care, environment, livelihoods, and infrastructure, among others. Because every context is different, each National Society tailors the program to the needs of the communities they are working with and the local and national realities they face.

In November 2014, 220 individuals from 79 Red Cross / Red Crescent National Societies gathered at the Fourth Community Resilience Forum in Cali, Colombia, to discuss news of engaging with communities to address jointly their most pressing needs. As a contribution to that discussion, the National Societies of the Americas region participating in the RITA program identified and drafted promising practices from their experiences. The Promising Practices booklet is the collection of these practices, which highlight the initiatives that have been the most successful in the communities the Red Cross works with.