Disaster risk reduction, in defense of life

Beatriz Maja Reitor throws the stone to the first square and jumps through the hopscotch grid. In the distance, one can see the wooded hills, where the palm trees stand out, which rise with Cuban elegance in the vicinity of the community of La Bicoca, in the Popular Council of Ti Arriba. A chorus of sixth grade friends surrounds her. They smile.

Recess is about to end at the Julio Antonio Mella elementary school in the Santiago de Cuba municipality of Songo-La Maya. Teacher Yaneisi Galán Casternaux waits in the classroom to begin her math class, which contains added information on disaster multi-risk reduction.

Before the expectant faces, the teacher reads the problem:

“In a neighborhood there are 27 sewers or drains, which can become a health risk for people due to water pollution, if heavy rains occur. If in La Bicoca there is a third of the amount in that neighborhood, how many drains are there here? What precautions should the population take in the face of intense rains?”

These problem situations are common in the small multi-grade school, thanks to a project coordinated by the Ministry of Education (MINED), with the support of UNICEF Cuba and funding from the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), which promotes the participation of children and adolescents in the multi-risk reduction plans of their school and community.

That is why José Carlos Vega knows that Santiago de Cuba is at risk of facing a major earthquake. “Families should be prepared to defend themselves in case one happens,” he says and looks at his friend Lorena Espinosa, inviting her to talk. The student explains that forest fires should also be avoided. For that reason, no campfires should be built in the forests and no lit matches should be thrown away.

It’s no wonder that one of José Carlos, Lorena and Beatriz’s favorite places is the school’s exploration area. There they learn some methods to survive in case of an emergency.

“We have the knowledge to keep ourselves safe, eat, drink, find shelter from the cold or the rain and entertain ourselves,” Beatriz says with confidence and a peculiar twinkle in her dark eyes.

Mother Earth in the face of a little girl

In the east of the municipality of Songo-La Maya is the Yerba de Guinea Popular Council, surrounded by beautiful natural landscapes. There the neighbors use the mottled spurge plant to fence their yards and place wet clothes on it to dry.

The impact of climate change can be felt in these eastern areas, where for much of the year the inhabitants suffer from drought, which leads to a lack of water for agricultural work and to soil degradation. Among the environmental problems that most affect them is contamination from liquid waste, when the rivers rise, due to the location of latrines near water supplies. Tree felling and excessive sweeping in dirt yards are other harmful practices that affect the environment.

In the midst of the ochre greenery, the small and modest Gilberto Isalgué González rural school in the community of Granja Hermanos Díaz stands out. In the garden, where banana bushes grow as ornamental plants, the students perform a play that reflects on respect for nature.

Wearing elements from the environment, such as dry leaves and bougainvillea in her hair, Irma Leina Rodríguez Despaigne, a sixth grader, embodies Mother Earth and cries out for care for her rivers, forests and living beings.

Later, when she returns to her role as a child, Irma Leina shows the multi-risk map and explains why it’s so important to know the environment in which they live and what to do in the event of natural disasters:

“It’s very important for the children. If there’s a hurricane, we must be aware of the phases stipulated by the Civil Defense and protect the roofs. If an earthquake surprises us at school, we should get under the table with our hands on our heads. If we are at home, we place ourselves under the door frame”.

The MINED and UNICEF Cuba project has also reached this school in Santiago, which enables the curriculum to include content related to disaster multi-risk reduction and disaster response.

For this reason, it is not surprising that the children know about the first aid they can provide to injured people after a natural disaster. The circle of interest where they learn about these topics has allowed them to develop skills to create an improvised stretcher to move injured people, to know the essential elements of a first aid kit and to apply bandages.