The month of October is proudly recognized as the All-Hazards Awareness month, agreeing to the Nevis Disaster Management's
School-Based Multi-Hazards
calendar, in collaboration with the Department of Education.
All Eleven primary schools on Nevis Island, according
to this campaign,
are assigned a particular hazard on a given month to creatively educate the general public on its preparedness procedures. The month of October is dedicated to comprehensively showcase all the hazards, simultaneously.
Students on Nevis are empowered to become
Disaster Awareness messengers
based on their assigned hazards. Creative formats, not limited to audio-visual and print public service announcements, creative jingles and skits are to be utilized in message formation.
This idea is inspired by the regional concept of Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM), spearheaded by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA). This initiative believes that resilience is better than mere survival - hence the need to educate the general public to think in this fundamental way. A new mindset of proactive anticipation and mitigation is the continual drive, which propels this philosophy. What better way it is to commence this approach, other than involving children to actively play a role in the education building process.
It is worth noting that October 13th is the International day for Disaster Risk Reduction. It is utilized as a special day to promote a global culture of disaster reduction, including disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness.
If our children can do it, then we too can do it, even much better!
It is Better to Prepare and Prevent, than to Repent and Repair.
