Town involves children in disaster preparedness

CEBU, Philippines - While other towns may be lax, the award-winning town of San Francisco culminated their celebration of the International Day for Disaster Reduction yesterday focusing their activities on children.

Mayor Aly Arquillano said the community should empower and support children and young people as agents of social inclusion and safety.

“They are our future leaders. They should be part of our decision-making, dili kay magsunod-sunod na lang sila nato. Dili na sad baya ma-underestimate ang mga batan-on karon,” Arquillano said.

Tricia Pleños, 14, and Andre Soon, 16, who sat among the stakeholders and officials of the United Nations during its Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction in Geneva, Switzerland last May, led the activities in their small town.

Last Thursday, the town opened the celebration by conducting simultaneous film showing to daycare workers on earthquake, tsunami, and flood drill both in the Northern and Southern Poblacion.

The following day, daycare students as well as elementary and secondary students planted trees along Santiago Bay.

Arquillano said the trees planted were part of their two million trees project which they launched last year and targeted to complete within five years. To date, the mayor said they have already planted over 100,000 trees, including those planted last October 14.

Last Saturday, they held a search for Mister and Miss Disaster Risk Reduction 2011 drill contest. Yesterday, the celebration was concluded with a program, Arquillano said.

The mayor said children, who are among the most vulnerable sectors of the society, should be aware themselves on how to reduce disaster risk to keep themselves and their communities safe.

Last May 12 in Geneva, Soon and Pleños, along with a 17-year-old boy from Kenya, launched a five-point Children’s Charter for Disaster Risk Reduction.

The charter highlighted five priorities identified through consultations with more than 600 children in 21 countries.

Education, child protection and access to basic information were the main issues the children believed necessary to reduce the impact of disasters and climate change on their families and communities.

“Before a house packed with government and community leaders from around the world, they put the interests of children and young people on the agenda of the largest Global Platform ever held,” Arquillano said.

San Francisco town won the 2011 United Nations (UN) Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction during last May’s United Nation Third Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva, Switzerland. – (FREEMAN)