As women and children form a significant proportion of death toll due to natural disasters, it is critical that these groups be involved in disaster management planning processes to spread awareness
More than 74 per cent of the population, in need for humanitarian assistance in 2014, were women and children. Humanitarian experiences and academic research amply demonstrate that women and children are amongst the worst affected during disasters and they need to be protected.
It is important to understand that children, of different age groups, have different levels of vulnerabilities and capacities. While infants and toddlers need constant support and supervision, as they explore the environment, learn new things, develop language skills and understand the difference between ‘yes’ and ‘no’, school-age children and adolescents have a lot of capacities.
Children aged between six and above can observe their environment, express their needs, come up with creative solutions, but there has hardly been any effort to involve them in response planning by humanitarian actors.
Even the elderly in the community tend to ignore the role of children as communicators of risk information and facilitators of disaster preparedness and resilience building.
Children have been victims of disasters with no capacities and capabilities. But they have a lot of information about their surroundings, and are a potential source of information during needs assessment.
As a change agent and as a key partner in the development process, children have the right to participate in assessments and planning for relief, recovery and development.
As per Article 12 and Article 13 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990), children have the right to participate by expressing, seeking, receiving and imparting information in all matters affecting the child.
During a vulnerability and capacity assessment (VCA) exercise in lesotho (2006), adults of community where VCA was taking place, brought up issues of poverty and loss of livelihoods as the main concerns besides health issues. A drawing session with small children highlighted a different concern that none of the adults had talked about.
On being asked to draw something in their community that they dislike, more than half of the children made sketches of guns and pistols. The discussion that followed, revealed that there were a lot of incidents of violence and shooting in that community.
Drawing, as a tool for assessment, serves dual objectives. First, it acts as a stress buster. Second, it is also a way to express deep seated emotions, especially for children who have been exposed to disasters. Equally important is the other objective of creating a platform for expression of inner thoughts through visuals.
Drawing sessions are followed by discussions on what was drawn and why. The key to this exercise is discussion which is critical in understanding underlying issues and their causes.
During the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004, when young Tilly Smith, 10, saw the waves on Maikhao beach of Thailand suddenly recede, she warned her family members who alerted other tourists on the beach, thus saving the lives of 100 tourists. This was possible because she had studied about Tsunami in her geography class at school.
In another incident, Siddesh Manjunath, 10, saved the lives of about 850 passengers of Harihara-Chitradurgatrain in Karnataka.
The boy noticed damaged railway track and took off his red shirt to signal to driver of approaching train to stop. Such incidents reinforce the fact that despite their vulnerability, children especially adolescents, through education and involvement in disaster preparedness planning can act as change agents.
One of the ways to reach communities with messages about disaster preparedness is through children. Children who learn about disaster preparedness in schools carry messages to their homes and neighbours. Children can also be engaged in community level activities to spread awareness.
As women and children form a significant proportion of death toll due to natural disasters, it is critical that these groups be involved in disaster management planning processes.
In Magu district of Tanzania, as a part of a project, children were engaged as health agents in surrounding communities. An educational approach was tested where children were supposed to take active part through a participatory and action oriented approach.
Emphasis was on learning. School teachers shared that using children as agents of change has not only been a positive experience but has also helped in reaching out to non-school-going children of the neighboring communities.
lack of involvement on the other hand increases the risk of their suffering, at the same time while missing the opportunity of using them as a resource. Development agencies, humanitarian actors as well as communities need to look beyond the passive role of children in disaster resilience and create formal and informal spaces for their voices to be heard.
(The writer is head, Disaster Management Unit, CARE India)