A word of introduction about myself. My name is Eddy, I am American, but have spent most of my life in Indonesia (since 1972) and now I have been in Penang, Malaysia, for the last 13 years. I am the International disaster response coordinator for the Christian NGO I work for – Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. I first met Chris in Aceh after the 2004 Asian Tsunami. At the time, I was living in West Sumatra and went up to Aceh to help – having no background in DR work, but speaking the language fluently. I have been a participant in a couple of Chris’ on-site trainings and have found them very helpful. I have utilized the “Disaster Risk Management Cycle diagram many times – I have found it to be the single best resource for quickly orienting people to DR work – especially coming in the early stages following a disaster and people on the ground are still grappling with what has happened and what steps they should take next. Since 2004, I have also been involved with responses in one way or another with responses in Yogyakarta (2006), Padang (2009), Mentawai Islands (2010), Japan (2011), Philippines (2013), Nepal (2015), Fiji (2016).
