'Sajjam - Building Resilience' programme; Kudumbashree is preparing its teenage Balasabha members to deal with disasters

As part of the 'Sajjam - Building Resilience' programme, as many as 8,000 Kudumbashree Balasabha members in the district and a total of one lakh across the State will be equipped to act not only during disasters, particularly those caused by climate change such as floods or landslides, but also during everyday emergencies. Children, who are the most vulnerable to natural disasters and other catastrophes, must learn to anticipate and cope with such situations without getting anxious. Through Sajjam, the Kudumbashree is preparing its teenage Balasabha members to deal with such incidents.

The training module, developed by the Kudumbashree disaster management authority, the Kerala Institute of Local Administration's disaster management wing, and the State Council of Educational Research and Training, focuses on knowing one's surroundings, understanding climate change, recognising disasters it may cause, how it may affect children, mitigating the impact of disasters, and children's rights and responsibilities. The training, which will be entirely activity-based, will be led by 44 resource people. The two-day training will be offered at the panchayat level in two groups of 50 youngsters aged 13 to 18. Training has already been completed in 21 of the 78 local self-government entities.

During the course, one of the objectives is to familiarise the students with the panchayat map. Resources such as schools, hospitals, police stations, common areas, and so on will be put on the map once it has been sketched on paper. Aside from resources, catastrophe risk reduction and preparedness will be prioritised. It will be plotted whether a region is prone to landslides. River, woodland, and other routes will also be indicated so that kids are aware of resources outside their immediate surroundings. Road portions prone to accidents or locations prone to stray dogs might potentially be identified. Members of the Kudumbashree Community Development Society and panchayat representatives will be present to provide feedback.

To make the training more creative, write-ups, poetry, drawings, tales, and so on by youngsters in their community will be collected and published in a booklet that includes a panchayat map. Role play will be used to get students to act out what to do and how to act during such events, as well as what the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority guidelines are so that they do not jump into situations on the strength of their training, but instead remain calm and decide how to deal with them.

The Kudumbashree in the district is also attempting to create a contact book so that, in addition to the general number for emergency service providers such as police, hospital, Fire and Rescue Services, ambulance, Childline, and so on, the children know who to contact at the local level in order to receive a prompt response. The training will help youngsters to not only protect their personal safety but also to plan for disasters and mitigate their effects.