Access to safer Schools

 

Developing access to safe and good quality schools and health centres in rural central Viet Nam

The Viet Nam Poverty Reduction Strategy paper states, on the subject of the “Development of kindergartens and nursery schools” that
“Kindergartens and nursery schools, especially in rural areas, play a crucial role in helping the poor access to public services and reduce poverty sustainably”,
and underlines the need to
“Rehabilitate schools with special attention paid to those in difficult areas and areas that frequently suffer from floods and natural disasters”.

These targets apply particularly to central Viet Nam, where the coastal regions are hit annually by floods and storms and typhoons. An urgent objective is to ensure that all school and health facilities in the communes in the target provinces are able to resist storms and floods and able to provide refuge from floods. These buildings provide a safe environment for children and adults, they can continue to function during and after a hazard event, and they provide a permanent example of how vulnerability can be reduced in the home as well.

DW’s first projects in Viet Nam in 1989 began with safe school building in Phu Loc district, Thua Thien Hué, and continued in Quang Tri, Quang Binh and Thanh Hoa, with projects including hospital rehabilitation, a dispensary and other public facilities with the support of UN Habitat, UNDO and AusAid.
Since 1999 DW has assisted communes in Thua Thien Hué build or strengthen 40 public facilities.

DW current and planned actions:

1. Strengthen existing (retrofit) schools and health facilities and build new maternity and primary schools and health facilities at commune level in the central provinces of Viet Nam.
2. Develop a culture of prevention and exchange about disaster reduction in schools and health facilities, through short workshops with children, teaching and medical staff.
3. Train commune builders in flood and storm construction and strengthening techniques that can be used on public facilities and houses, and training them to provide technical assistance to families in strengthening their homes. This programme is complementary to the DW house strengthening programme in Central Viet Nam.
4. Support prevention activities in the Commune Damage Prevention Committees (established within the People’s Committee of each commune)

Raising children’s awareness about damage prevention and the action they can take

As part of its programme to promote preventive protection of homes, investment and infrastructure in Central Viet Nam, DW has been working with kindergartens, primary and secondary schools in the commune in order to raise awareness amongst children from an early age about typhoon damage prevention.

These actions are two fold:

• to encourage children to carry the ‘damage prevention” message, making it a theme in the school and at home;
• to demonstrate how damage prevention takes place by strengthening village schools.

DW develops and distributes a ‘damage prevention’ training kit for schools. The DW team works with teachers to introduce the theme, and then collaborates with primary schools in organising events around the prevention theme, such as drawing and painting competitions, participation in concerts, and in organising parades about damage prevention in the commune.

Children are encouraged to share information with their families and talk about what they are doing, and parents also benefit from the demonstration of techniques in the schools.

DW Experience:

DW has 30 years experience in the construction, rehabilitation and strengthening of community facilities, ranging from ongoing work in post war Angola, community based reconstruction support in Kosovo, and 15 years experience in Viet Nam.

In Viet Nam DW began work in 1989 on demonstrating typhoon resistant construction techniques on health centres and schools in central and northern Viet Nam with activities in Thua Thien Hué, Quang Tri, Quang Binh and Thanh Hoa,

DW past and present programme supporters in Viet Nam related to safer schools and infrastructure:

• ECHO Dipecho programme
• CIDA IHA
• Foundation Aide Vietnam Canada
• Save the Children Alliance
• Compassion International
• Association of Vietnamese Cities

International disaster and poverty reduction context.

At the outcome of the World Conference on Disaster Reduction, the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005 - 2015 calls for priority action in:

A 13/ I: The promotion of a culture of prevention
B 14/ 3: Use knowledge innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels
ii) Promote the inclusion of disaster risk reduction knowledge in relevant sections of school criteria at all levels…
ii) Promote the implementation of programmes and activities in schools for learning how to minimize the effects of hazards.

B 14/ 4: under social and economic development practices
i) Protect and strengthen critical public facilities and physical infrastructure particularly schools, clinics[..]

Developing access to safe and good quality schools and health centres in rural central Viet Nam [277KB]