For Mori Grant Report
Children
in Disaster Prone Areas:
Their
Insecurities and Capabilities
(Caraga Region in Focus)
Michelle
P. Dela Calzada
81026030
Graduate
School of Media and Governance
Human
Security and Communications Program
Introduction
During the conduct of the fieldwork in
August to September 2011, the researcher visited a number of national line
agencies including NEDA-CO, NEDA-Caraga Region, Office of Civil Defense
(OCD)-Caraga Region, Department of Education (Dep-Ed) - Caraga Region, and
National Statistics Office (NSO)-Caraga Region. The researcher also visited a
number of local government units and local officials were interviewed including
Barangay Agao, Buhangin and Mahogany of the City Government of Butuan City,
Barangay San Juan of Surigao City, Brgy. Punta, Municipality of Pilar, Surigao
Del Norte and Brgy. 8, Municipality of Dapa, Surigao Del Norte. Residents
coming from the said communities were interviewed and workshops participated by
children from the same places were conducted by the researcher. Interviews with
teachers from the Agusan National High School in Butuan City were also
conducted.
In the conduct of the fieldwork, the
researcher had set the following objectives to be attained at the end of the
fieldwork:
1.
Finalize
the specific areas to be covered in the conduct of the study (study sites);
2.
Generate
data on how children are impacted by disasters in their respective places;
3.
Locate
the current role/place of children in disaster management particularly at the
local level;
4.
Assess
the awareness and knowledge of children on disaster;
5.
Identify
areas where children’s participation in the disaster
management context can be maximized; and
6.
Gather
secondary data on past disasters in Caraga Region and collect relevant hazard
maps.
Background on Caraga
Region
Caraga Region is located in the
Southern part of the Philippines, in the northeast section of Mindanao Island
(See Figure 1. Location Map). It is composed of five (5) Provinces namely,
Agusan Del Norte, Agusan Del Sur, Surigao Del Norte, Surigao Del and the
Province of Dinagat Islands and four (4) Cities namely, Bislig City, Butuan
City, Bayugan City and Surigao City. The Region covers a total land area of
1,913,842 hectares. This represents 6.4 percent of the country’s total land area and 18.8 percent of Mindanao. Its total
population as of 2007 was 2,293,346. Around 47% of its total population is
children (population below 18 years old), which is slightly higher than the
national figure of 46% (percentage of child pop'n in the Philippines). Caraga
Region is one of the regions in the country that is prone to geological and
meteorological/hydrological hazards. Based on the Caraga Regional Physical
Framework Plan (RPFP) 2004-2030, storm surge, landslide, flooding, earthquake,
tsunami, liquefaction and seiche are natural hazards to which the region is
susceptible. Data from OCD-Caraga revealed that a total of 33 natural disasters
have occurred in the region from 1999-March 2011 with flooding as the major
cause of disaster occurring almost every year causing damage to properties and
posing risk to the lives of people living in the high risk areas. Table 1 shows
the effects of disasters in terms of number of persons affected and evacuated,
casualties and cost of damage to agriculture and infrastructure, which are the
indicators for monitoring whenever natural calamities occur.
Figure 1. Location Map and Map of Caraga Region
It is also important to note that the
poverty incidence of population in the Region in 2009 was around 47.8% (NSCB),
which is the second highest poverty incidence in the whole country. This high
poverty rate implies that communities that are affected by the disaster are
even more disadvantaged and bouncing back after every disaster is not an easy
task for them.
Table 1. Disaster Monitoring
Caraga Region, 1999 - March 2011
|
Number of families
affected |
121,874 |
|
Number of persons
affected |
626,397 |
|
Families evacuated |
47,942 |
|
Persons evacuated |
236,397 |
|
Total no. of houses
damaged |
25,357 |
|
Partially damaged |
22,784 |
|
Totally damaged |
2,580 |
|
Casualties |
333 |
|
Dead |
246 |
|
Missing |
32 |
|
Injured |
64 |
|
Cost of damage to
agriculture |
US$ 110M (estimate) |
|
Cost of damage to
infrastructure |
US$ 40M (estimate) |
Source: Office of Civil Defense –Caraga
Identification of
the Research Sites (Process and the selected sites)
Initially the research site was limited
to one (1) of the provinces of Caraga Region only, which is the Province of
Surigao Del Norte. However, the researcher has decided to expand the area of
coverage to include the whole region instead of one Province since the whole
region is basically susceptible to the same natural hazards to that of the
Province of Surigao Del Norte except for tsunami, which is unique to the
Province of Surigao Del Norte. The
researcher considered that the major natural disaster in the Philippine is
flooding which affects many highly urbanized cities (HUCs) and capital of other
region. Thus, by expanding the area of study one HUC will be included as part
of the research site. Moreover, as the focus of the research is children and
how they can participate in disaster management, a school located in Butuan
City has been identified as Caraga Region's pilot school for the integration of
Disaster RIsk Reduction (DRR) in the school curriculum.
Thus, the study sites shall include
those that were initially identified in the first fieldwork and three (3) more
barangays from Butuan City. As to the identification of the specific sites in
Butuan City, the researcher consulted the City Disaster Risk and Reduction
Management Office (CDRRMO) in mapping out high risk areas for flooding. Then
during the interview with the barangay officials, specific areas within the
barangay were identified as suggested by the barangay officials themselves and
with the confirmation from the CDRRMO. Figure 2 depicts the final sites to be
covered in the area, which include 3 barangays in Butuan City, one barangay
each from Surigao City, Municipality of Dapa and Municipality of Pilar in
Surigao Del Norte. The following are the study sites:
Butuan City -
Barangays Agao, Mahogany : flooding, earthquake
and Buhangin
Surigao City -
Barangay San Juan : flooding, tsunami, earthquake
Municipality of Dapa -
Barangay 8 :flooding, earthquake, storm surge
Municipality of General Luna - Poblacion. : tsunami,
flooding, earthquake,
storm surge
Municipality of Pilar -
Barangay Punta : storm surge, flooding, tsunami, earthquake
Figure
2. Fieldwork Sites
Interviews with the
LGUs, key regional line agencies and teachers
In order to gather first hand
information on how LGUs particularly at the barangay level respond to disasters
and how children are viewed in the disaster management context, the researcher
interviewed the Barangay Captain/Officials of all the identified study sites.
The researcher also interviewed three
members of the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council
(RDRRMC), two (2) of whom came from the education sector and the other one is
from the Secretariat of the Council, which is the Office of Civil Defense.
Interview with the
residents (adult respondents) and interaction with children
The researcher was able to interview a
total of 45 adult respondents coming from the identified research sites. 38 of
whom were females. These respondents were randomly selected on the basis of
their availability during the visit of the researcher. The barangay officials
have also facilitated the entry of the researcher to these communities. The
interview revolved around their daily activities, life situation and
experiences whenever natural hazards occur and how they view children
throughout the disaster management cycle.
All of the respondents relayed their
experiences on flooding and some also talked about what happened when a tsunami
alert level 2 was issued in Siargao Island. Many referred to their experience
between the end of January 2011 to the end of February 2011 where heavy rains poured
in the region which caused the swelling of Surigao River and Agusan River and
resulted to massive flooding. Respondents coming from Butuan City have
mentioned that for the last 10 years, the flooding which occurred sometime in
February 2011 has been the worst so far and it took longer time for the water
to subside and for them to go back to their own homes. Residents coming from
the Province of Surigao Del Norte also expressed deeper sense of insecurity as
the flood is getting worse and worse.
At least 15 children per barangay were
gathered and first hand information were obtained through a workshop. The
children participants in every barangay were divided into two groups and they
were asked to answer sets of questions after a 15-minute lecture on disaster
management was given. Representative/s from each group shared in plenary the
group output at the end of every workshop activity. Questions coming from the
researcher were also raised during their presentation to clarify their answers
or some meaning of the words they used as they were given the freedom to answer
the questions using their own language.
The results of the interviews with
adult respondents and the data generated from children shall be integrated in
the observations/findings section.
Observations/Findings
I. Impact of disasters on
children
During the occurrence of disasters, the
government through the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) conducts monitoring on the
effects of disasters focused only on the number of lives lost and damage to
properties, infrastructure and agriculture. Collateral damages which the
residents have to deal with which oftentimes take longer time to address to be
able to bounce back after a disaster are not given much attention. These
impacts include those that have to do with children whose families are affected
and whose personal spaces have been disrupted.
Children’s rights as contained in the United Nations Convention on
the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) are broadly categorized into four (4) namely,
survival, development, protection and participation. Disaster affects in one
way or more each of the four categories, which are responded adequately or
inadequately by the concerned LGUs, the community as whole and their respective
families.
Survival Rights
This category includes the right to
life and right to adequate health and nourishment, which is the heavily
impacted children's right in times of disaster. Children are the first to
suffer whenever their parents’ livelihood is affected. During
disasters like flooding, the loss of livelihood (opportunity to work or damaged
means of livelihood) is the immediate effect to every family and the longer the
duration of a disaster or calamity the harder is it for the affected families
to cope with the situation. Whenever flooding comes, work is suspended or the
parents are unable to proceed to their usual means of earning a living (e.g.
driving a tricycle, factory worker, fisherman, etc.). Thus, securing food is
hard. Families resort to cutting on the number of meals each day just to make
ends meet. They would even eat just porridge for the whole day just to stretch
the rice they have until flooding ends. Others resort to borrowing in order to
buy food, even just rice or root crops. The prices of basic commodities usually
go up making it even harder for them to afford even the cheapest commodity.
Thus, nutritional intake of already poor families is even more constrained.
Other families end up selling whatever family asset they have to be able to buy
food (rice or root crops, etc.) and/or to pay off pay off debts.
In evacuation sites, while the
barangays with the support of the municipal government and civil society
provide ration to the evacuees, nutritional needs of children particularly
infants are not given priority. This is because the barangays or the LGUs have
budgetary constraints and they need to prioritize the needs of the evacuees.
They usually go for more number of people being giving sustenance than paying
special consideration to the needs of the more vulnerable population such as
children.
Water and sanitation is also a problem.
Sources of potable drinking water are usually compromised. Thus, diarrhea and
skin diseases become pressing concerns particularly among children who are
easily affected due to their relatively weaker immune system. Diseases such as
fever, colds and coughs are also prevalent. In one barangay the threat of
schistosomiasis is a concern. Thus, children are given rain boots to protect
them from contracting such disease especially during the raining season.
Other than the more tangible impacts,
the children have also articulated one effect, which is not given enough
attention both at the community level and by the government. The children
respondents cited trauma as one of the effects of disaster to them and or to
their family. In the Philippines, post disaster debriefing or other form of
intervention to deal with the psychological impact of any disaster especially
to those families whose family members passed away because of natural disasters
or even at the time of disasters when children are displaced from their
personal spaces is not common nor a recognized need. It is also a common
response among mother respondents that children exhibit fear and anxiety
whenever natural disasters occur or the threat of such disaster to escalate.
Development Rights
The development rights of children are
also affected in terms of their access to education. Most of the schools of the
fieldwork sites are located in areas that are highly susceptible to flooding,
storm surge and even tsunami. Schools are supposedly potential evacuation sites
in times of disasters but due to the location of these schools they cannot
serve such purpose. More importantly, children’s
right to education is hampered. Classes are suspended whenever flooding occurs
which can run from one (1) day to one (1) month. Damage to school facilities
including learning materials are the more immediate concerns school
administrators have to deal with after every disaster. Much time is also being
devoted in restoring the cleanliness of the school and in trying to salvage
school properties including learning materials. Class interruption does not
only affect children’s access to education but also deprives
them of their chance to interact with their peers and friends in school and of
being able to socialize in general.
It is also noted that in evacuation
centers, which are usually local schools, gymnasium and churches, children’s right for recreation, is not given consideration. There is
no manifestation of trying to recreate the environment of children where they
can still play and interact with fellow kids even at the evacuation centers
which can be helpful for them to cope with stress.
Protection rights
In times of disaster both parents and
search and rescue teams usually prioritize children whenever evacuation is
necessary. Parents prioritize the security of their children. Thus, whenever
the water level rises they usually restrict their children from going out of
the house. Although, there are still children who go out and play in the flood,
local residents are confident that those children are aware of their
limitations in terms of the level of the flood which they are not supposed to
be going outside their homes. Such behavior is usually exhibited by children
ages 12 years old and above, who apparently know how to swim as observed by the
neighbors and parents.
II. How children are viewed
in times of disasters and in disaster management
Adults largely dominate the Philippine
disaster management cycle. Community based disaster management while being
advocated needs further push to be more inclusive and to be more engaging of
local residents. Currently, there is a move towards a more holistic approach to
disaster rather than the usual rescue and response intervention. Disaster Risk
Reduction is being mainstreamed in the development cycle. The Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Act of
2010 provisions that refer to children basically pertains to their protection
and in recognizing them as a vulnerable sector with special needs and thus requiring
special interventions (e.g. Ensure breastfeeding in the evacuation center). The said Act also
provided for the integration of DRR and DRM in the school curriculum. However,
this landmark legislation, which
is a pillar on the Philippines' disaster management, does not (explicitly)
recognize the potentials of engaging children in disaster management.
During the interviews conducted,
differing views on children and their potentials as active agents in disaster
management surfaced. Although the more dominant perspective on children is related to
their vulnerability, there is also a specific group of adults who expressed
their recognition and receptiveness on children's potential for involvement in
disaster management. The barangay officials who are actively
engaged in the community level disaster management (although mostly are still
focused on rescue and response) unanimously share the same perspective on
children. They view children as vulnerable, weak and they recognize the
negative impacts of disaster on children. Parents also view children as
vulnerable, weak and needs to be protected and secured in times of disaster.
Nevertheless, they are aware of the (little) contributions of their children in
the family during and after every disaster.
On the other hand, teachers who are
involved in mentoring and capacitating children for civic/humanitarian
activities and as emergency scouts unanimously recognized the potentials of
children to be actively involved in disaster management. They cited the
knowledge and skills children learned from school and in the organizations that
they belong to (as members of the Red Cross Youth, Rover or Roverettes, Girl
Scouts of the Philippines, Boy Scouts of the Philippines, etc.) as their leverage
to be able to contribute positively in making their families and communities
secure in times of disasters. The teacher in charge on DRR also believed that
children who are trained in schools know what they are supposed to do in times
of disasters.
III. Knowledge on disaster
(including information flat forms)
The children who participated in the
workshop have demonstrated their awareness on the different kinds of disaster
both natural and man-made. Children in the urban areas are able to identify more
disasters and are more precise on their identification (in terms of the name of
a particular disaster) compared with those who lived in the island
municipalities who tried to identified them not with the exact name of a
particular event but by describing the event. Although there is a difference on
how quickly and how much knowledge they have about disasters all children
demonstrated their awareness. The following are the natural and man-made
disasters that they were able to identify:
Table 2. Identified Natural and
Man-made Disasters
|
Natural |
flooding, flashflood,
tsunami, earthquake, landslide, tornado, volcanic eruption, storm, sand
storm, mudslide, hurricane, tidal waves, el nino, la nina |
|
Man made |
fire, hostage taking,
bombing, accident (car, airplane), wildfire, illegal logging, terrorism,
massacre, ambush, dynamite fishing,
electrocution, people buried because of the stockpile of garbage |
Flooding or flashflood, landslide and
threat to tsunami are the natural disasters which the children had experiences
in the past. In terms of sources of information, they commonly identified the
school, radio, tv, parents and friends as the sources of information. There
were groups that identified other sources of information, which they have
access to, such as the internet and cellular phones. Cellular phones
particularly text messaging is an important flat form of communication
especially for children in the urban areas where cellular phones are widely
used to exchange information when there is an impending natural disaster and as
a means of maintaining contact even during disasters. They also cited that they
gained knowledge on disaster through their own experiences.
Children's awareness on disaster can
also be manifested through their knowledge on the impact of disaster to
themselves and their families and to the community as a whole. The following
are the impacts of disaster based on the experiences and perception of
children:
Table 2. Impact/Effects of Disaster
|
Self and family |
people get sick/contract skin diseases (schistosomiasis,
liptospirosis, cold, fever), trauma, suspension of work of their parents/no
means of livelihood, hunger, need to evacuate, no potable water, difficulty
in securing food, sources of livelihood will be destroyed, houses are destroyed,
no income, death, cannot wash clothes, clothes will not be dried, cannot
sleep, many things need cleaning, cannot harvest the crops, cannot plant due
to drought, feel fear on what will happen next |
|
To the community |
Cancellation of classes and flights, paved roads (sand, asphalt
and concrete) are destroyed, accumulation of garbage and mud, household wares
will drift away and many appliances will be broken, garbage are everywhere,
lack of supply of food in the market, no electricity and water supply, no
access to public transportation (jeepneys or tricycle), roads become
impassable, farmlands get flooded destroying the crops, animals drowned, schools
are flooded and learning materials are destroyed/gets wet, difficult for the
barangay officials to help many victims |
Children are aware of
preventive measures that can be done at their end. They have identified the
improper disposal of waste as one factor that contributes to the flooding in
their area. Cutting of tress are also identified as another reason. Thus,
children have awareness or knowledge on how to prevent disasters and what
actions can contribute to the occurrence of disasters. These are basic lessons
they learned from school.
IV. Sharing of knowledge
Children cited that they usually share
their knowledge or what they learned from school to their friends, siblings
(especially younger siblings) and to their parents. Between the mother and
father, majority of the children cited their mother with whom they share their
learnings and ideas. Primarily because the mothers are more accessible to the
children since they are usually at home while the fathers are out working.
Based on the interviews with parents,
children directly or indirectly share their knowledge or even teach them how
things should be done especially if they learned it from school. Mothers said
their children would sometimes correct them if they think their parents are
wrong like how a word is pronounced, priorities in terms of spending the family
income, etc. Majority of the adult respondents said that they welcome this kind
of behavior because they recognize that parents don't have the monopoly of
knowledge and they expressed their desire to also learn from their children
considering that some of the children have higher education compared to their
parents. Moreover, it is a way of engaging children to participate in the
family affairs and to be more open to them. But parents also stressed the
importance of conveying what the children know or learned in a respectful
manner. This shows that the very traditional attitude that children are not
supposed to correct their parents or participate in decision-making is
changing. Today, parents are more open minded that they allow their children to
voice out their concerns, share what they learned and even participate in
decision making within the family. Children's openness or willingness to share
what they know or learned is also determined by the closeness among family
members or the willingness of the parents as well to listen to what they will say.
Children also showed liberty in sharing
what they know/learned and experienced with their friends. The sharing happens
when they are out playing or are gathered to meet up and discuss just about
anything. In times of flooding, children also communicate through text for
those who have cellphones and in the evacuation center when they move out of
their homes. They share what they experienced with one another and discussed
even their hardships whenever natural disasters occur. This particular exchange
or interaction among children is very helpful in terms of coping with the
situation. They feel comforted knowing that each one is making their own
struggles. Since children are usually told to stay at home especially when the
level of the water gets beyond the waistline level they also feel isolated from
their friends.
It is also important to note that since
children are usually tasked to look after their younger siblings, it provides
an opportunity for knowledge sharing within the family. Older siblings can share
what they learned to their younger siblings particularly in times of crisis.
V. Roles of children in
times of disaster/in the disaster management cycle
In times of disaster the security of
children is the outmost concern of their parents. Children are the ones being
prioritized by their parents whenever the family needs to evacuate. Oftentimes,
the father chooses to remain in the house as long as the water level is still
tolerable to look after the family home and their belongings. On the other hand,
children and the wife are sent to evacuation sites or to the house of their
relatives to ensure their safety. Most of the time the safety and security of
the children are the major considerations of parents in deciding whether to
stay on or to evacuate whenever flooding occurs. There is deep awareness on the
part of the parents that it is their obligation to secure their children.
Nevertheless, this does not mean that
children are not participating in any way to
contribute in securing the safety of their family and family properties
(regardless of the monetary value). In times of disasters, the children
respondents identified the following roles they perform or the activities they
engaged in to assist their respective families:
|
During the disaster |
Male |
assist in carrying things during evacuation, prepare food,
firewood and drinking water, collect banana pseudostem to be used as raft,
assist in draining the house with water, take care of siblings, put things in
elevated area, does not plug in electric appliances to avoid electrocution, secure
the animals, make temporary walkways, make a boat/raft, look for food (small
crabs, frog, sea shells, fish), earn money by ferrying residents to higher
grounds using improvised raft or as laborer, declogging of restrooms |
|
|
Female |
Assist in household chores (cooking, folding and packing up
clothes, washing clothes and dishes, cleaning the house, securing household
wares), taking care of siblings, secure important papers, prepare water to be
sold to neighbors, take a bath in the flood, gather food, listen to the news,
communicate through text with others |
|
After the disaster
(rehabilitation) |
|
Help in cleaning the house, washing clothes and emptying the
house with water and dirt, assist in restoring broken things |
Looking at the table, contrary to the
traditional notion that in times of disasters children are just victims and
vulnerable sector, they actually perform functions or certain roles to support
their families and to respond to disaster even at the family level. While much
of the activities they identified are basically domestic in nature (looking
after their siblings, assist in cooking and cleaning, etc.) these are the
activities that are necessary to ensure the security and safety of their
families. Thus, it is important that when they perform such activities they are
actually equipped with the right knowledge or information on how they can best
ensure that how they do things will not expose them to other risk or hazards
such as electrocution, water borne diseases, etc. Among the activities that
male children do is to assist the fathers to find food for the family
especially during the time when work are suspended or the usual means of
livelihood cannot be performed. They do this by fishing in the river and some
children (as also observed by other residents) actually earn money by
driving/ferrying residents to higher grounds (not flooded area) from their
homes using an improvised boat or raft. Children will walk through the flooded area while
pushing the improvised boat or raft (made of wood or pseudostem of the banana)
until they reach a much-elevated place where their client can get off and walk. They are paid
approximately 10 yen per passenger. Children coming from economically
disadvantaged families usually do this. The residents are actually tolerant to
this activity as they benefit from such services and they believed that
children who engaged in this activity are fully aware as to when they can and
they cannot do such activities anymore. Apparently, children engage in this
activity before the water level gets to the waistline level of adults (approximately
1 meter). So far there has been no casualty because of this activity although
there are instances where children
get hurt (e.g. stepped on a nail or broken glass). At the rehabilitation stage children
help in cleaning the house by taking out mud, garbage, and other debris that
got inside the house, restoring household wares and washing clothes. Much of
the contributions that the parents are aware of and are usually given to
children in order to help are domestic in nature.
While these are the current role
children play at their respective homes whenever there are disasters, there are
also children who are not in the affected areas helping to respond to
disasters. The so called emergency scouts, who are trained and equipped with
skills such as first aid, emergency response etc. are actively involved in the
response and rescue operations of the authorities. This is much prevalent in
the city area compared to the island barangays. While children are not deployed
in the field for the actual rescue operations they are usually tasked to
receive evacuees in the evacuation centers, assist in the distribution of
goods, safe keeping and maintaining the order within the evacuation center,
generation of relief goods coming from the private institutions or private
individuals. Thus, more than just being confined in the domestic response,
children (particularly high school and college students) are also engaged in
response operations.
The traditional notion that disaster
management is focused only on what is done in times of disaster also marred the
recognition of children’s contribution in disaster management
particularly in the pre-disaster stage. Children are actually involved in mitigation/prevention
and preparedness related activities. Currently, the education sector is
integrating Disaster Risk Reduction in the school curriculum. This integration
is mandated under the DRRM Act of 2010. To be able deliver this mandate Dep-Ed
has started to prepare modules that integrate various concepts and knowledge
about DRR in the subjects being taught in high school. The Agusan National High
School was the pilot school for Caraga Region. The said integration of DRR in
the school curriculum is focused to 4th year high school and this
shall be cascaded to lower years. The Department of Education has also prepared
a manual for DRR. One subject, the Citizen Advancement Training (CAT) is
conducting DRR lessons for 4th year students. The CAT meets once a
week and among the priority topics is the DRR. The adviser of the CAT is also
the DRR focal person for the school and has been trained on DRR. Conduct of
training or drills are also being done as a regular disaster preparation
measures in the schools. The most common drills being done are fire and
earthquake drills for all schools. The Dep-Ed 13 usually issues a memorandum to
all school divisions mandating the schools to conduct drills. However, the
conduct of the drill is not really based on the prioritization of the hazard of
the particularly area but a more generic directive. Even in the lectures
provided in the CAT the module is being followed and not really on what is the
more prevalent natural hazards in the area. Although this is not based on hazard
prioritization, such drills/training is still helpful on teaching children how
to behave whenever a particular hazard occurs.
It has been observed based on the
interviews that there is no conscious effort to involve children in
pre-disaster stage particularly at the barangay level. Not any of the children
participants had any participation in hazard mapping or disaster response
planning. Much more, their
participation in decision-making is not considered.
VI. How can children’s participation be maximized?
The children have unanimously expressed
the need to engage them in DRR/DRM and they expressed their willingness to be
involved. Although they were given a very limited input on DRM/DRR they have
identified possible contributions they can make based on their experiences and
on their past understanding and the lectures given to them. Table No. 3 shows
the responses of children in the other stages of the DRM cycle (flooding as the
natural hazard):
|
Prevention/Mitigation |
Do not
throw garbage anywhere (particularly in the river, in canals), don't cut
tress, declogging of canals to avoid the spread of dengue fever, do not live
in low lying areas, practice waste segregation, plant trees, keep the canals
free of garbage, avoid the use of explosives and chemicals |
|
Preparedness |
Prepare
food, firewood, clothes, water, candles, matchsticks, flashlight, and
medicine kit, secure important things/documents, make ready the improvised
raft/boat, secure the house (support structures to withstand current or water
flow during heavy rains/flooding), be informed |
|
Response |
Evacuate
when necessary (if the barangay issues an order to evacuate), do not panic,
look after the household belongings, carry things during evacuation, monitor
the weather and water level, do not go out of the house to avoid being hit by
lighting, listen to the instructions of the parents, keep posted, follow the
order of the barangay officials on where to evacuate |
|
Rehabilitation |
Restore
the house (broken parts), put support structures to ensure that it is sturdy
enough, make a two storey house, clean the roads, under the house, throwing
of garbage and debris, bayahinhan,
declogging of canals, plant trees again |
Based on the responses generated from
the children, they have firm belief that they can do something for their
families and their communities. There is also a strong sense of community among
children since at the rehabilitation stage, the bayanihan concept emerged or have been identified all groups.
While participation of children in the
disaster management can be a laudable concept, the children themselves
identified a number of possible reasons why they cannot participate. They cited
the following reasons: 1. Parents might not allow them to participate, 2. Busy
with school/study, 3. Not interested, 4. No enough training (don't know what
exactly to do) and 5. Occupied with other things (friends, computer games,
watching soup opera, et.).
They also identified facilitating
factors or prerequisites for them to be able to participate in DM. Table 4 shows
the summary of responses.
Table 4. Responses on What Could
Facilitate Children's Participation in DRM
|
Capability
building through trainings and workshops, mobilization and organization of
children through meetings, creation of IECs to relay information, enact local
ordinances to institutionalize children's participation through the
Sangguniang Kabataan, obtain more knowledge and information, support and
guidance from the parents and barangay officials |
The participants have identified the
Sangguniang Kabaan (SK) or the Youth Council, which is the barangay legislative
representative of children in the barangay who are elected by the children
themselves (the political leaders of children in every barangay) as a key
institution or mechanism in order for the children to be engaged in DRM. The SK
has a big role to play and children look up to the SK officials since they are
the representatives of children in the Barangay Council. The SK officials who
are elected by children themselves in a way can easily mobilize the children.
As can be seen in Table 4 the parents have a big say on weather the children
will be able to participate in any DRM/DRR related activities or not. Thus, it
is important that the parents are equally aware on DRM/DRM. When parents were
asked if they are willing to allow their children to participate in DRM or any
community based activity, the parents were positive about it but have also
pointed a number of considerations. These include that they are well informed
about the purpose of the activities, that it will contribute to the development
of their children, that they will not be deployed in hazardous areas
particularly in times of disasters as parents want their children to be intact
whenever there is flooding etc., and lastly, it wont conflict with the studies
of their children. Two parents also said they will allow their children
provided that there are no other family matters that they need to attend to
including helping the father in fishing etc..
Conclusion
Based on the information gathered in
the fieldwork, children have the potentials to become active agents in disaster
management. They have the basic knowledge and some skills that can contribute
to a more holistic approach to disaster management. However, adults tend to ignore their capacities as
they easily consider the lack of physical strength of children as a barrier
without knowing and recognizing their skills and knowledge. Moreover, the focus
on relief and response also marred the recognition of children's potential
contributions. Adults particularly parents and even barangay officials need to
realize that disaster management is not just about relief and response where
admittedly children's participation could be very limited. Children can play
more roles in the other stages of disaster management cycle such as in the
mitigation, prevention, preparedness and rehabilitation stage. They can act as
risk communicators and the possibility of knowledge transfer within the family
can be taken advantage given that children are usually tasked to take care of
their younger siblings and also because parents show more receptiveness or
willingness to also learn from their children.
Next
steps
To further make use and process the information gathered,
the researcher shall continue to read literatures relating to children's
participation in general and also about disaster management. It will be
necessary to be able to have a good conceptual framework and analysis of the
data.
References
Back, Emma, et.
al. “ Children and Disaster Risk Reduction: Taking Stock and Moving Forward”.
November 2009. http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/en/docs/Child_Led_DRR_Taking_Stock.pdf.
Bildan, Lolita. “Disaster Management in
Southeast Asia: An Overview”. Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, 2003.
Pandey, Bishnu and Okazaki, Kenji. “Community
Based Disaster Management: Empowering Communities to Cope with Disaster Risks”.
Wisner, Ben, et. al., “At Risk Natural
Hazards, People’s Vulnerability and Disasters”. 2nd Edition, 2003.
Disaster Risk Reduction Mainstreaming
Guidelines. National Economic and Development Authority and World Bank, Manila
Philippines, 2009.
Legacy of Disasters; Children Bear the Brunt of Climate Warming,
Save the Children UK, 2007.
Disaster Risk Reduction-Enhanced
Regional Physical Framework Plan 2009-2030, Regional Development Council
Caraga, 2009.
Surigao Del Norte Provincial
Development and Physical Framework Plan 2010-2030. Provincial Government of Surigao
Del Norte, Surigao City, 2010.
Surigao City Land Use Plan 2005-2010.
City Government of Surigao City, Surigao City, 2005.
Website
www.census.gov.ph
APPENDIX A: Children in Action
APPENDIX
B: Flooding
in Surigao Del Norte (late January 2011 to early February 2011)
APPENDIX
C: Flooding in Butuan City (late February 2011
to early January 2011)
APPENDIX D: Interviews
with local residents and officials
