Building partnerships and strengthening capabilities: Megan attends Airlink conference in the Philippines.

We are constantly striving to enhance our disaster response capabilities and nurture valuable partnerships, so the recent Airlink Regional Training Program conference in the Philippines provided REACT Operations Coordinator Megan Stacey-Edwards with a perfect networking opportunity. Airlink, who generously provided Megan’s travel, is a nonprofit organisation working with aviation and logistics partners to transport relief workers and emergency supplies responding to rapid-onset disasters and other humanitarian crises around the globe.

The event served as an invaluable platform for knowledge sharing and collaboration among various organisations involved in disaster response. Megan was able to take part in conversations with representatives from many organisations including Taskforce Kiwi and Disaster Relief Australia, reigniting the desire to collaborate and sparking ideas in operational planning, training, data sharing, volunteer recruitment and much more.

Relief Singapore highlighted the potential of exploring partnerships beyond REACT’s current operational areas. Their presence in countries including Indonesia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Nepal offers an exciting opportunity to expand our response capabilities.

Megan's participation in the conference was an invaluable opportunity that helped to showcase REACT’s dedication to continuous improvement and collaboration. The conference showed that by leveraging our experience and establishing ties with other disaster response organisations, we can improve our preparedness and support even more vulnerable communities in the future.