Salvos share 135 years of expertise at disaster response conference
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BY SIMONE WORTHING
Daryl Crowden and Major Bindy Lupis represented The Salvation Army at the Disaster and Emergency Management Conference on the Gold Coast last week.
The conference brings together frontline agencies from Australia, New Zealand and, increasingly, from the Asia Pacific Region and globally. Fifteen countries were represented, including a delegate from Norway who specialises in counter-terrorism.
Daryl is The Salvation Army’s General Manager Emergency, Aid and Development, and Bindy serves as Senior Program Manager, Response and Wellbeing for The Salvation Army Emergency Services (SAES).
Daryl presented on ‘Integrated Crisis Response Isn’t New: 135 Years of Global Practice from The Salvos’.
He explained that “The Humanitarian–Peace–Development (HPD) Nexus is often discussed as a contemporary approach to addressing complex and protracted crises. However, my presentation explored how many of its core principles have been embedded in The Salvation Army International’s work since William Booth’s 1890 vision of ‘Rescue, Rehabilitate, Reintegrate’.
“Drawing on both historical foundations and current practice across Australia, the Pacific and other fragile contexts, I reflected on why the Nexus is best understood, not as a project or program model, but as a mindset – one that intentionally integrates humanitarian action, development outcomes and peace-building efforts,” he said.
“A key message was that sustainable transformation is built on long-term community presence, trust, local leadership and genuine partnership. When relief, resilience and social cohesion are designed and delivered together, communities are better equipped to withstand shocks and create lasting change.”
Daryl’s shared from William Booth’s book In Darkest England and the Way Out (1890), where, essentially, the General spoke about rehabilitation, reintegration and what is essentially peace-building and humanitarian development.
He emphasised that The Salvation Army is structured for sustainable transformation and has been doing it for 135 years, with varying degrees of effectiveness.
“The Church or the faith-based organisations are by DNA integrated programming models because of our relationships in communities,” he said. “We have this trusted relationship that can develop peace or social cohesion – which means peace-building.
“We do humanitarian aid, development and peace-building – and when we do those things together, integrated and seamlessly, we are extremely effective.
To conclude his presentation and the discussions that followed, Daryl thanked everyone who contributed questions and shared insights. “The conversations reinforced the importance of moving beyond silos and working collaboratively to create more integrated, dignified and transformative responses for communities facing crisis.”
Mental health and wellbeing
For Bindy, a personal highlight of the conference was “hearing Dr Tony Smith’s keynote on the Whakaari/White Island eruption, which reinforced the importance of prioritising the mental health and wellbeing of emergency services personnel.
“The impacts of disasters extend well beyond the event itself, making ongoing support for responders a critical priority.”
Bindy also shared that “it was fantastic to have The Salvation Army Emergency, Aid and Development represented by Daryl Crowden whose workshop explored how 135 years of integrated crisis response practice continues to inform contemporary disaster management.
“Drawing on The Salvation Army’s global experience, the presentation highlighted the importance of connecting immediate relief with recovery, resilience-building and long-term community development to create stronger outcomes for communities affected by crisis.
“I was proud to see The Salvation Army contributing to these important conversations and demonstrating how our mission continues to make a meaningful difference before, during and long after disasters occur.”
