GUIGUINTO, Bulacan—Living in flood prone towns of Hagonoy and Calumpit, Laurence De Castro, 16, and Jhonell Enriquuez, 10, are no longer fearful of calamities.
This came as Save the Children International (SCI) piloted in six villages in the said towns a disaster risk reduction (DRR) adaptation program aimed at increasing capabilities of children.
“We were taught and trained what to do before, during and after disasters,” said De Castro, a freshman management economics student at the Bulacan State University.
A resident of Barangay Gatbuca in Calumpit town, De Castro said that during the onslaught of floods spawned by typhoons Pedring and Quiel in October 2011, he was trapped in their house with his grandparents for two weeks, with floodwaters reaching over five feet deep.
That experience was replicated last year with the heavy monsoon rains.
So when SCI initiated its Enhancing Community Resilience to Disasters (Encore) program in Calumpit, De Castro immediately joined.
“I would like to know what to do even before disasters come,” he said.
He said that since December last year, SCI has trained 150 children ages 10 to 16 from Barangays Gatbuca, Frances and Balungao in Calumpit, and Barangays San Agustin, Sta. Monica and Sto. Nino in Hagonoy.
As member of the School Emergency Response Team (SERT), De Casto said they don’t necessarily respond to disasters.Instead, they form part of the information dissemination that imparts what they learned in trainings to their classmates and friends.
Last summer, he was one of the speakers at Frances National High School where he reiterated the need for children to prepare for disasters.
He said that when the warning is raised, they immediately prepare things they need going to evacuation centers, and help their parents save appliances in their homes.
During disasters, De Castro said they were told to stay at home or avoid swimming in flood waters. He said that it’s a way for their parents not to worry about them.
The same was echoed by Enriquez who at 10 said she is more confident in facing floods.
She said that after the floods, they were advised not just to clean their houses but its surrounding areas where mosquitoes can breed. She said she can also help in watching her younger brother.
According to Edwin Phillip Horca, senior manager of the SCI Program in Luzon and Visayas, equipping and enhancing children’s capabilities in addressing disaster is their main purpose.
He said that in the past, children issues were hardly mentioned in reporting disasters.
“Children belong to the most vulnerable groups during disasters,” he said.
Horca said that no special attention should be given to vulnerable groups if DRR programs are fully implemented as these are “holistic in nature and address the needs of everybody.”
As this developed, Ruben Sunpongco, chair of Barangay San Agustin in Hagonoy, said that increased capabilities of children during disasters give them more room in helping others.
He said that they no longer have to worry much about children because they are equipped.
In the past, children are the usual casualties of disasters due to drowning or disease caught while swimming in the floods.
