“Adults see the traditional dangers, like floods, cyclones, landslides or even tsunamis,” UNDP field coordinator for the programme Zihan Zarouk said, “but children can look outside the box, and identify things that adults probably see but tend to ignore.”
All too often children are taken for granted, as too young and naive, and thus are not consulted on what many view as adult decisions. However children look at the world with more open eyes and thus tend to see what most adults can miss. The case of disaster prevention is no exception and the adults have begun to listen with open minds in this case.
“Disaster management experts have come to appreciate the personal insight children bring to the training programme. They are often well attuned to the potential dangers that exist in their communities, and identify potential mitigating steps that might not otherwise be considered,” said UNDP field coordinator, Zihan Zarouk.
In Sir Lanka they have now begun to see children as early detectors, preventers of disaster. Children in 3 schools in each of the country's 16 districts are part of a disaster awareness program run by the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Center, part of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights, and the UN Development Program (UNDP).
The program even includes a disaster version of Snakes and Ladders, “The snakes represent disasters while the ladders are mitigation methods. When a player gets to a snake he slides down on the board but when he reaches a ladder he moves up. “
While there may be some fun and games in the children's disaster education, their ideas and thoughts are anything but child play!
