NDMA’s Conference Room, Aberdeen, Freetown, 4th August, 2022 — The National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) through its Directorate of Disaster Risk Reduction and Preparedness has engaged key stakeholders and partners such as the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), International Organization for Migration (IOM) and others on the validation of the School Disaster Risk Reduction Teaching Manual.
According to the Deputy Director-General of NDMA, John V. Rogers, who served as Chairman of the School DRR validation process, the initiative to develop and incorporate the Disaster Risk Reduction into the school curriculum is essential in achieving the recommendations of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030.
“With funding from the UNDP and support from our partners, we aim to actualize the recommendations of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015 – 2030 in Sierra Leone.” He added.
Whilst speaking on behalf of the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE), the Deputy Minister 1, Madam Gogra explained that when disasters strike, children especially infants and the disabled are amongst the most vulnerable groups that suffer the most and deprives them of their basic rights to free quality education and other amenities which they need as children. She also said that, The school Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) manual is designed to guide headmasters and teachers to facilitate the protection of children against potential disaster risk in Sierra Leone.
“Due to countless events around the Country which have mostly affected children and the disabled, this has necessitated the need to strengthen key preparedness mechanisms by integrating teachers and students in disaster management in the country. The training guide will serve as a supplement to the learning materials already available in schools.” She added.
In her statement, the UNDP Team Lead SLED Cluster Representative acknowledged that the initiative to develop the Disaster Risk Reduction Teaching manual for schools is a laudable venture by NDMA and partners.
“It is good to educate our children about the various types of disasters, their causes, preventive mechanisms and ways of responding to them. While this is intended to be included into the school curriculum, we consider it an opportunity to educate children in the Basic Education level in schools.” She commented.
Last year, NDMA in partnership with UNDP developed and launched a disaster dictionary in five 5 local languages with the aim of ensuring people in report places are able to read and understand early warnings, disaster mitigation and recovery in languages they are familiar with.
The validation of the Disaster Risk Reduction Teaching Manual has further demonstrated NDMA’s commitment in ensuring that the public understands the risk associated with disasters and actions to be taken when they do occur.
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Directorate of Communications:
National Disaster Management Agency
Contact: +23278388946
Email: mohamedlbah@ndma.gov.sl
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