Plan: Children team up with adults to prepare for natural disasters
When the annual monsoons pour across Asia, 14-year-old Atik worries.
“When it rains heavily for hours, there’s always a risk that soil in some parts of this village will shift and cause a landslide,” says the teenager from Dowan village in Indonesia’s Central Java province.
Natural disasters are a major challenge for Asia’s developing countries. Growing populations endure poverty, poor health and lack of education, while depending on water and land for food and livelihoods.
Children, who make up about half the population in these nations, are among the most vulnerable. Yet they are often viewed as powerless victims and excluded from prevention, planning and recovery.
Plan’s work shows that children’s involvement gives children a sense of control over situations in which they might otherwise feel helpless. They can also bring fresh ideas and enthusiasm to the task.
Spurring communities to act
In flood-prone Bangladesh, local administrative bodies often lack the knowledge and capacity to prepare for disasters.
To address this problem, Plan worked with children, aged 10 to 17, to get them involved with Union Disaster Management Committees (UDMC) in northern Hatibandha sub-district and southern Barguna district.
The children drew maps to analyse hazards and vulnerabilities, and convinced their families to prepare by tying a store of dry foods to the rafters along with an emergency piggy bank for purchases in the event of crop failure.
At the UDMC meeting, they presented their risk assessments and response plans, which prioritised the needs of children and people with disabilities.
“In the beginning, the UDMC members did not accept us… now we play an active role in the UDMC,” said 16-year-old Mahfuza, president of the children’s group in Barguna.
Plan has called for the formal participation of children in all UDMCs across the country.
Confidence to participate
Children in Indonesia learn vital first aid skillsIn Indonesia, another children’s council presented their hazard map findings to the Dowan village disaster preparedness team.
“In the beginning we were a bit shy and afraid to share our opinions,” said Atik, the deputy chief of the children’s council. “We thought that if we made mistakes, the adults would be angry at us or would tease us.”
Not only did they listen, the adults enlisted the children as partners in drafting the village disaster plan, giving children active post-emergency roles: Atik, for example, will support children at the education post and collect clothes for people affected.
Dowan is now drafting a decree on forest conservation.
“We need to find a solution to ensure that landslides will no longer occur in my village, so that during the rainy season, I can sleep and study in peace,” said 17-year-old Iman Yasak.
Children’s Charter for Disaster Risk Reduction
Step UP for DRREarlier this year Plan jointly launched a five-point Children's Charter for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). The Charter highlights 5 priorities identified through consultations with more than 600 children in 21 countries. Education, child protection and access to basic information are the main issues the children believed necessary to reduce the impact of disasters and climate change on their families and communities.
The children’s charter offers governments a five point checklist of priorities made by children for children:
- Schools must be safe and education must not be interrupted
- Child protection must be a priority before, during and after a disaster
- Children have the right to participate and to access the information they need
- Community infrastructure must be safe, and relief and reconstruction must help reduce future risk
- Disaster Risk Reduction must reach the most vulnerable people
Plan together with UNISDR and others are calling on governments, donors and agencies to step up by signing up to the Charter and commit to take action to protect children for a safer tomorrow.