Preparing for the future Incorporating Disaster Management ...

Preparing for the future: Incorporating Disaster Management Education into

Sri Lankan Schools

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the University's requirements for the Degree of Master of Science

JANUARY 2007

Coventry University

DEBORAH REA

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY _____________________________________________________________

For many people, Sri Lanka has been placed on the map because of the December 2004 Tsunami Disaster. As a result, numerous articles have been written about what happened on that day. Besides the tsunami, the country has continually experienced a multitude of weather-related hazards both before and after 26th December, 2004. This has resulted in seasonal floods, land slides, cyclones and droughts (ADB 2005: Annex XV). After the Tsunami Sri Lanka and the international community revisited disaster management protocols. The National Disaster Management Centre recognized that the country was within a disaster prone area. Because of the tsunami, the Ministry of Education (MoE) felt there was a `... dire need for educational course offers especially tailored to deal with the catastrophe for war and tsunami traumatized children and youth' (Deutsche Gesellschaft f?r Technische Zusammenarbeit 2005) (GTZ).

Mandela has stated that `education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world' (Personal quote). For that reason, and the fact that the country suffers from numerous disasters, the question of whether Disaster Management Education (DME) could be incorporated into the school curriculum evolved. Such education includes, but is not limited to, the learning of First Aid/CPR, evacuation measures and disaster definitions. As more material was reviewed it became apparent that, because Sri Lankan children were highly educated but continually at risk, such an education could and should be seen as a useful tool.

While visiting Sri Lankan schools, it was learned that teachers had not received information nor adequate training on DME subjects, even though these are activities that can be quickly learned and which save lives. Since there has been no prior knowledge of these skills there was never any thought about introducing them into the curriculum ~ that is, until 2005. From this time onward, special educational advisors have been commissioned to collect and review disaster preparedness subjects which will gradually be incorporated into different grades within the school curriculum over time. However, while some topics suggest that grades 8 and 9 students `should develop the capacity to cope with disasters and to respond quickly with relief and remedial measures',

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these subjects do not include DME topics (MoE Curriculum Reform 2006). Until they do it will not be possible to introduce disaster response teams within school settings, which was one of the aims of this research. As part of the research attention was paid to international non-government organizations (INGOs) since these organizations are usually the ones who offer both humanitarian and financial assistance after a disaster. While many do support a wide variety of programs, less than half were unprepared if a disaster were to occur. This has bought home the message that more training needs to be done in this area if sustainable development is to affect change. Teaching children about the response and demands of a disaster at an early age may well help to influence their thinking and attitudes when they become adults. In any disaster, children can and will be affected in different ways (James 2006 cited in IDER 2006 Conference). Sri Lanka is an amazing country whose citizens are quick to learn and accept change. While they have undoubtedly experienced one of the worst disasters of the century they do continue to smile and move forward.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ______________________________________________________________

Following the 2004 Tsunami Sri Lanka became a focal point for research. When asked by the University of Connecticut (UConn) (USA) International Office to assist in disaster relief efforts for its international students, I began to develop a broad knowledge of the country while assisting students. My gratitude, then, is given to Mr. Mark Wentzel and Ms. Susanne Atrens for allowing me to be a part of the preliminary relief work. Working along side the UConn Sri Lankan students ~ in what appeared to be endless days and nights packing up medical and clothing supplies ~ gave me a sense of what Sri Lankan people were like. With each passing day a love for the country developed.

Moving to England to study Disaster Management presented yet another opportunity to become involved with Sri Lanka. Pursuing my post-graduate degree it was felt there was a need to include disaster management education into Sri Lankan schools. Therefore, such a topic was researched. Over the course of several months many different actors became involved. A huge thank-you goes to Claudia Kreussler of GTZ who unselfishly passed on her completed dissertation allowing me to move forward with mine. A thank-you also is extended to Dr. Bitter who gave me invaluable research information. Another huge thank-you goes to Molina Jayaratna who responded to every email and request, and invited me into her home even though she did not know me. Thanks also go to Champita and Pushpitha (her two sons) for helping me along the way, picking me up at the Sri Lankan airport, and for putting me up at hotels. Another thank-you is extended to Walter, their father, who without any complaints took me to school after school introducing me to principals. Without him, I could not conduct my research.

Of course, no acknowledgement would be complete without thanking my dissertation supervisor, Robin Tasker and Michael Broadbent who `stepped in' when Robin was unavailable.

Thank you all for making this research possible.

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ADRC: ADB: CI: CRED: CRIN: CWC: DFID: DMC: DME: DPRP: DRM: EFA: EMA: ESDPF: F & CO: FEMA: GOSL: GTZ: ICS: IDMC: INEE: INGOs: JBIC: JVP: LAs: LTTE: MDG: MEHE: MoDRS: MoE: NDMC: NGOS: NIE:

LIST OF ACRONYMS

Asian Disaster Reduction Centre (Kobe, Japan) Asian Development Bank Command Incident Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters Child Rights Information Network Ceylon Workers' Congress Department for International Development (UK) Disaster Management Centre Disaster Management Education Disaster Preparedness and Response Plan Disaster Risk Education Education for All Emergency Management Australia Education Sector Development Programme and Framework Foreign & Commonwealth Office Federal Emergency Management Government of Sri Lanka Deutsche Gesellschaft f?r Technische Zusammenarbeit Incident Command System Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre Interagency Network for Education in Emergencies International Non-Governmental Organizations Japan Bank for International Cooperation Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (People's Liberation Front) Local Authorities Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Millennium Development Goals Ministry of Education and Higher Education Ministry of Disaster Relief Services Ministry of Education (Sri Lanka) National Disaster Management Centre (Sri Lanka) Non-Governmental Organizations National Institute of Education

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