BAGUIO CITY – The Office of Civil Defense in the Cordillera Administrative Region (OCD-CAR) staged another Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) for Kids activity which coincided with the annual Brigada Eskwela Program of the Department of Education (DepEd).
This information advocacy is specially designed for school children where the region’s action icon of disaster preparedness, Kapitan Alerto, appeared to teach the kids on the emergency survival kit or Go Bag.
Now on its second year, the activity was held at Puguis Elementary School in La Trinidad, Benguet. According to DepEd Benguet DRR Coordinator Nerissa Barbosa, the school was used as a refuge during the Little Kibungan Tragedy in 2009 where some pupils were directly affected. “Through this simple activity, the students, teachers, and parents are reminded that disaster risk reduction is a way of life. And that disaster preparedness is vital,” Barbosa added.
Information, education and communication materials on disaster preparedness such as posters, books, and leaflets, were also handed over to the school to further strengthen and widen the school constituents’ knowledge on disaster preparedness. Duck, Cover and Hold stencils and spray paints were also given out to be used within the school premise.
Meanwhile, OCD-CAR, in partnership with DepEd Baguio Division, conducted Basic Disaster Risk Reduction Management (BDRRM) training course for public school teachers on May 16-18, 2017 at DepEd Baguio Multi-purpose Hall.
The course aims to inform and train Baguio teachers to fully widen their knowledge on disaster risk reduction and management, said Guadaliva Panitio, OCD-CAR’s Chief of Capability Building Section
“We are doing our best to strengthen our partnership with the education sector because they are our partners in teaching students on our advocacies and since DRRM is already incorporated in the school curricula, it is but right to involve our teachers,” Panitio added.
“The program is very informative and we hope that we could impart what we learned from this seminar to our co-teacher and students,” said Teacher Richard Coytop, one of the participants.
More than 40 participants were taught the fundamentals of DRRM, different types of hazards, and basic life support. The 3-day training courses ended with simulation exercises on earthquake drill and basic first aid.
By Christianie Valencia and Kirstine Rombaoa