In
the community of Desamparados, the most densely populated and
vulnerable part of San José, the capital of Costa Rica,
teachers and parents have worked together to make Edwin Porras
Ulloa School a safer place for children.
Some 268 pre-school and primary school children are students
at the school, which has been designated a high-priority learning
establishment.
With support from Costa Rican Red Cross volunteers, the teachers
and parents have analysed the emergencies to which the school
is vulnerable, drawn up an emergency plan, identified existing
capacities and resources, and proposed ways to address the vulnerabilities.
“We mapped risks and identified safety zones,” explains
Hilda Chacón, one of the teachers trained by the Red
Cross. “From this, we developed evacuation, fire prevention
and first aid brigades to cope in an emergency.”
This effort forms part of the work undertaken in schools by
the Costa Rican Red Cross with the support of the Regional Reference
Centre for Community Disaster Education and its protected school
training module.
The Centre was established within the Costa Rica Red Cross in
early 2004 as part of the International Federation’s strategy
to follow up its community prevention projects. Although based
in Costa Rica, the Centre also supports work undertaken by national
societies in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.
“The concept of a protected school aims to reduce the
risk in schools by utilising the capacities of the school community,”
says José Antonio Bonilla, officer in charge of the Reference
Centre.
“Schoolchildren, teachers and parents learn to be aware
of their surroundings and identify vulnerabilities and risks
with a view to developing and implementing alternative solutions.”
The protected school is one of the educational modules developed
by the Centre with input from specialists from Central America.
Each national society in the region is involved in designing
course materials.
Topics include basic first aid, psychological first aid, the
well-prepared family, floods and education and disaster preparedness.
“The most disaster-prone groups in Latin America are the
poorest communities and people,” says José Bonilla.
“This applies both in rural areas, where basic services
are often unavailable, and in the new urban communities, which
are often located in illegal settlements that lack minimum services
and the necessary infrastructure.
“Disasters can hit these communities hardest so they are
a priority target for Red Cross community education programmes.”
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Community
training modules developed by the Regional Reference Centre
for Community Disaster Education. (p14755)
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Work
includes risk mapping and the preparation of emergency
plans for schools. (p14758)
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Teachers
receive first aid training as part of the prevention programme
that the Costa Rican Red Cross is implementing in schools.
(p14759)
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News
