How to do VCA? - International Federation of Red Cross and Red ...

48Field testing:Putting into practicewhat you have learnedThe preparation phase takes time. It is like painting a house:seventy-five per cent of the time is devoted to cleaning walls,covering furniture, buying and preparing materials. Only 25 percent of the time is actually taken up with painting.Before going into a chosen community to start the actual process,you will need a bridge between the preparation phase and theimplementation phase – to practise what has been learned. Thisis called ‘field testing’.Field testing consists in undertaking a practice run. You can testout new skills and knowledge and then analyse what worked best,what did not and how to improve things. Field testing is not usuallycarried out in the community where the actual VCA will takeplace, but in a community with which the branch is familiar andis willing to help. It is important not to raise expectations in thepractice community. Everyone must understand what you aredoing and how it will help the Red Cross Red Crescent work betterin reducing vulnerability.National Societyparticipants in a VCAtraining session test thetools they have learnedto use in field practice.